Nearly all Operating Systems have an end of life date for availability and support, sometimes called a life cycle. At that point obtaining support direct from the software company or obtaining patches and updates is not possible. Microsoft has already ended support for MS-DOS 6 (10/2001), Win 95 (12/2000), Win 98 (6/2002), Windows NT 4 (6/2002), Win ME (12/03), Win 2000 (3/2004). Novell had ended support for Netware 2.2 (7/1998), 3.11 (1/1999), 3.12 (5/2000), 3.2 (2/2002), 4.02 (7/1998). 4.11 (12/2001), 5 (3/2002).
 You may still have one of these at your site. Still performing fine and fulfilling all requirements. You may have received at some point a letter stating support will end and you should plan to upgrade to the most recent version. Obviously you made a different choice. Just like the auto makers who would like you to buy a new car each year, software companies also need to keep the sales machine going. That is what pays for development of new features that you do need. There are still many environments that have MS-DOS on the desktop and Netware 3.11 (or earlier) on the servers. It fulfills all business requirements, does not pose a security concern and is reliable. Except for hardware failure it is a stable environment.
 Technical support for OS's past their end date can be obtained from independent telephone support firms, PC manufacturers,  system integrators, consultants and by hiring the expertise in-house. What none of these can provide is patches, service packs, updates, drivers and fixes. That means there may be issues or new security holes that will never be resolved. Still there are areas where they do support these old versions. Microsoft has an Active Directory client designed for Windows 95/98 and NT 4 to connect to newer Windows servers. Novell also still makes available clients for DOS and early Windows. This allows organizations to upgrade their servers to newer supported versions such as Windows server 2003 and Netware 6.5 but keep their older client workstations.
 When replacing hardware on these systems you must make choices carefully. Most hardware manufacturers phase out driver support sometime soon after the end date. Still some choose to continue providing drivers for years. Driver support for your OS must be verified before purchase. Normally newer technologies like SCSI-3, Fiber Channel, USB, etc. will not support OS's created before these technologies were created themselves. This may mean staying with slower hardware technologies. Hardware upgrades required of newer OS's often are one of the largest expenses of the upgrade.
 Security is a major issue today. Older Operating Systems did not have the security features and protection of today's systems. For a very small office this may not be a concern at all. But for most organizations and businesses security must be taken into account. Proper configuration of the network infrastructure which may include proxy servers, firewalls, mail gateways, etc. offer significant protection when connecting to other offices or the Internet. A well designed DMZ will expand this protection greatly. Eliminating some network protocols from these systems blocks other avenues of break-ins. Without a smart network infrastructure even a single older operating system could create a backdoor entrance to the rest of your network and systems.
  Viruses can attack older systems. New viruses are being created all the time. While the older Operating System may function well, an older anti-virus is probably out of date with newer viruses. Some current versions like Norton & McAfee  support back to Windows 98 and Netware 5. There are a few others that continue to create anti-virus programs for even earlier OS's. Before deciding on an anti-virus program you need to check for its end date of support. Also are their signature files and virus definitions still being updated to reflect newer computer viruses and worms. There are several packages still being sold that have not been updated in several years. Hardly the protection you need. It is not only the program but the updates that will work for you.
  Lastly there may come a point where it makes sense to upgrade to a newer Operating System. There is always a saying of never purchase the first version of software. Most reach a level of reliability by the end date. It is this reliability that makes most decisions to keep an older system. The cost in the end usually will be offset with other factors. You may still find other use with the older systems. Older desktop systems can become terminal server (thin) clients, web terminals, etc. Older servers can become print, DNS or DHCP servers. They also can be tax deductible donations to local schools. Or continue to work for you for years to come.
 
 
 
 

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