Maintenance Entitlement Overview for Symantec™ Data Center Security (DCS)
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Maintenance Entitlement Overview for Symantec™ Data Center Security (DCS)

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Article ID: 178881

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Updated On:

Products

Data Center Security Server

Issue/Introduction

 

Resolution

This article describes the entitlements associated with Maintenance for Symantec™ Data Center Security (on-premises), and the resources available when you renew your Maintenance.

Contents

Deployment Methods

Symantec Data Center Security (DCS) can be used to protect physical and virtual servers in on-premises, hybrid and cloud-based data centers. Note that an on-premises deployment of Symantec DCS can be installed in a cloud infrastructure once the underlying operating systems are supported.

On-premises software (often abbreviated as on-prem software, and also called “on-premise” software) describes a software delivery model where the software product is installed and operated on the computer infrastructure that is entirely located at the premises of the organization using the software.

Off-premises software is commonly referred to as “software as a service” or “cloud computing”.

Licensing and renewal basics

Symantec DCS software is licensed per Managed Server based on physical or virtualized counts. Symantec DCS software can be purchased according to the following license models:

Perpetual

Symantec DCS products that are perpetually licensed are sold as bundles consisting of a perpetual software license for the software product, and a Maintenance entitlement for a finite term (one year). For new customers, this means that the first year's Maintenance is included in the initial purchase price.

A Symantec DCS bundle consists of:

  • The perpetual software license that entitles you to use the core features and functionality delivered by the purchased version of your Symantec DCS product indefinitely, for a specified quantity based on the Use Level that is stated in the End User License Agreement (EULA).
  • Maintenance entitlement (for a one-year term) in equal quantity to the perpetual license quantity, providing access to the following benefits:
    • Security content updates for effective agentless antimalware protection
    • Version Upgrades (major releases ) every 6 to 12 months at no extra cost. A Major Release incorporates the last Minor Release (if one has occurred) and may include architectural changes,major feature changes, new platform support and new operating system support. It typically requires a new installation.
    • Product updates (minor releases). A Minor Release incorporates all previous Maintenance Packs and Fixes since the prior Major Release. It is tied to the preceding Major Release and may contains new features, new platform support, new operating system support, and the latest maintenance updates. It typically requires a new installation.
    • 24/7 Technical Support (Essential Support)
    • Break fixes, patches and enhancements (Maintenance Packs).A Maintenance Pack provides cumulative bug fixes for a particular Major release or Minor Release of Licensed Software, but contains no new features or functionality. It is generally installed as an overlay - also known as a patch. 
    • Various online support and learning options

Renewal: Your entitlement to access Maintenance benefits expires at the end of the Maintenance term. Prior to the expiry date, Maintenance must be renewed for continued access to benefits that sustain and optimize the original investment in Symantec DCS, including access to the latest product versions, critical security content updates and technical support. To be compliant with our license policy, the Maintenance quantity being renewed must equal the aggregate software license quantity. 

Subscription

A Symantec DCS on-premises subscription entitles you to use the Symantec DCS software product and access Maintenance benefits for a specified quantity based on the Use Level that is stated in the End User License Agreement (EULA), and for a specified term. The subscription term is 12 months.

For the duration of the subscription term, a Symantec DCS on-premise subscription provides access to:

  • The software features and functionality delivered by the then-current version of your Symantec DCS product or suite
  • Maintenance benefits:
    • Security content updates for effective agentless antimalware protection
    • Version Upgrades (major releases) every 6 to 12 months at no extra cost
    • Product updates (minor releases)
    • 24/7 Technical Support (Essential Support)
    • Break fixes, patches and enhancements (Maintenance Packs)
    • Various online support and learning options

Renewal: Your entitlement to use the software product and access Maintenance benefits expires after the subscription term. To ensure continued access to the software product and to Maintenance benefits, you must renew your subscription prior to the end of the subscription term.

Compliance Obligations

You are responsible for managing your Symantec DCS software licenses and your Maintenance entitlement on an ongoing basis as follows:

Perpetual: Maintenance for perpetually licensed Symantec DCS is purchased and renewed on a per license basis. To ensure full and continued access to your Maintenance benefits, the Maintenance quantity must always match the aggregate quantity of your software licenses (original purchased quantity plus any additional software licenses for the same product purchased subsequently).

Subscription: Where Symantec DCS is licensed by subscription, your rights to use the software and access to Maintenance, end on the subscription term end-date.

To avail of Maintenance benefits for software licenses not under Maintenance would be considered a breach of Symantec’s End User License Agreement. You are also reminded that use of a perpetually licensed Symantec DCS product above the specified quantity would be considered over-deployment and a breach of your license grant.

Visit Licensing Information to learn about licensing basics, license compliance and find resources to assist you. For assistance with all your non-technical licensing queries, contact Customer Support.

 

Value of Maintenance and the importance of renewing

Symantec DCS orchestrates constant and agile security for existing and next generation software-defined data centers.  It is designed to secure, harden, and monitor the compliance posture of server systems for on-premise, public, and private cloud data centers.

Today’s cyber-criminals will use any means to attack and compromise your highly valuable data. Products in the Symantec DCS family enable organizations to automate security assessments of technical and procedural controls, and to orchestrate application-level threat protection with agent-less antimalware, security policy administration and host-based hardening.

Data center security is already challenging with many IT fundamentals to consider: dispersed data centers, private cloud, multi-tier architectures, physical and virtual servers, legacy platforms, multiple security tools, manual processes, compliance and security standards requirements, migration to the cloud and Software-Defined Data Centers. In addition to these internal challenges, customers have to keep up with an ever-evolving threat landscape: on average, a new zero-day vulnerability was found every week in 2015; data breaches continued to rise with attackers accounting for 49% of breaches, while 191 million identities were exposed in one data breach alone [1].

In order to maintain the highest level of intrusion restriction and data protection, we recommend that Symantec DCS is continually updated for uninterrupted protection against zero-day attacks and new vulnerabilities; platform support; and regulatory compliance. Maintenance provides continuous access to:

  • Critical, daily security content updates that help keep your data center secure.  
  • Product updates that provide support for the latest platform versions, as well as legacy and emerging platforms; and support the management of heterogeneous environments including cloud.
  • New features for improved automation, management and workflow ability.
  • Policy template updates to help you remain compliant with the latest data privacy and security regulations.
  • Symantec technical expertise 24/7/365 for the times you need it most.

Maintenance Benefits

Designed to safeguard and optimize your data center security investment, current[2] Maintenance entitles you to a wide range of benefits for the duration of your Maintenance term:

  • Continuous protection with daily security content updates
    Leveraging the world’s largest Global Intelligence Network, Symantec proactively analyzes malicious data from over 130 million systems globally to aggressively respond to security threats. Critical security content updates that thwart malware threats and malicious attacks (e.g. virus definitions that provide new algorithms to deal with new virus strains and updated URL lists for anti-phishing) are automatically delivered to Symantec DCS multiple times every day. Without current Maintenance, your data center protection becomes outdated and your systems become vulnerable.

·         Cutting-edge product features & functionality with Version Upgrades
Running the latest Symantec DCS version[3] is critical for ongoing data protection and is available at no extra cost with current Maintenance. Symantec invests hugely in R&D resulting in significant product innovations and architecture enhancements. New updates are typically released every 6 to 12 months, providing ongoing supportability and improved features, functionality, performance and control including:

  • State-of-the-art feature innovations for improved assessment, protection and orchestration across Symantec and third party products such as Operations Director that provides a library of intelligence and workflows to normalize and orchestrate security policies and settings.
  • Support for the latest platform versions eg Docker, and legacy platforms eg legacy VMware and NSX.
  • Greater out of the box integration with other technology providers. For example, Symantec DCS now leverages its integration with VMware NSX service composer and VMware vCenter to deliver agentless antimalware and agentless network IPS.
  • Addition of new policy templates and updates of existing templates based on constantly changing government, industry and geographical standards and regulations on data privacy and security such as:
    • PCI (Payment Card Industry) regulations that protect names, card numbers, and other identifiable information
    • DSS (Data Security Standard) rules on what data organizations must encrypt
    • HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
    • HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health)
    • SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley)
      • UI and dashboard enhancements that streamline administrative tasks for improved operational efficiency and lower costs.
    • Continuous product innovation, optimization and adaptability with regular product updates

Critical software updates, enhancements, bug fixes and patches that enable your product to work optimally, adapt to technology and operating system changes, and provide ongoing product stability via regular Maintenance Pack and Minor Releases. The more up-to-date Symantec DCS is, the better it will function, evolve and adapt.

Technical assistance is fundamental to the successful deployment and operation of your Symantec DCS product. Symantec’s skilled technical support engineers are available around the clock, every day of the year to help with your technical questions and resolve product issues.

  • Published Service Level Agreements by issue severity, with a Severity 1 target response time of 30 minutes.
  • Global reach with 3,000 technical support professionals in 26 centers supporting 15 languages and the safety net of Symantec DCS developers, engineers and researchers available to lend their unparalleled expertise.
  • Unlimited 24/7 phone access (language coverage according to regional availability and English only outside of regional business hours) to technical experts including weekends.
  • Continuous support for Severity 1 cases using a follow-the-sun model.
  • Web support enabling online case creation using the MySymantec customer portal.
  • Unlimited case creation quantity.
  • Up to 6 designated contacts.
  • Various self-help options to problem-solve and assist
    • Knowledge Base with technical notes, how-tos, tips and more.
    • Symantec Connect forum to engage online with other customers and Symantec technicians.
    • SymDiag diagnostic and security analysis utility that provides self-help support for technical issues and best practice recommendations, and gathers data for support-assisted troubleshooting.
    • Symantec’s eLibrary with access to over 1500 on-demand, online training modules
  • Cost Savings
  • Once you are out of Maintenance, you will have to buy a new version again; renewing will help you save costs in the long run.
  • Running the latest version also helps lower total cost of ownership and avoid the higher costs associated with technical difficulties involved with deferred upgrades and future migrations.
  • Availability of cross-grades to other Symantec DCS solutions to suit your growing business needs at reduced cost.

How to renew

On-time renewal of Maintenance is essential to keep the value of your Symantec DCS software investment.

Symantec primarily works with its partners to notify customers about upcoming renewals. In addition, we have the following methods of alerting you that your Maintenance is about to expire:

  • Symantec Renewal Account Managers work with Symantec partners to assist Enterprise customers to plan their renewals.
  • Renewal notification e-mails are sent to SMB customers starting 60 days prior to Maintenance expiration date (customer segment and frequency vary by region, but at a minimum globally, Symantec’s customers without Account Managers are directly notified).

Tip: Your Maintenance start and end dates are indicated on the Symantec License Certificate for your product.

Risks associated with not renewing

If you fail to renew Maintenance for your Symanec DCS product, you will no longer be able to access the benefits of Maintenance previously outlined.

Your data center will be open to security risks since you won’t be entitled to receive critical security content updates (delivered multiple times each day) that keep your agentless antimalware functionality current and help better secure your systems.

You won’t be entitled to the latest product updates and version upgrades delivering the latest features, and platform, architecture and integration support that are needed to stay ahead of today’s challenging data center security demands. Additionally, if you choose not to renew, you will need to repurchase your software licenses at a higher cost to reestablish your rights to the latest version.

Your ability to remain compliant with global data privacy laws and security regulations will also be weakened. In order to stay current with regulatory requirements, Symantec DCS needs to be running optimally with the latest policy templates. Non-compliance may come at a cost of assessed penalties, as well as reputational loss.

Finally, you will lose access to technical support and will no longer be able to log technical support cases online via MySymantec.

To safeguard the ongoing security and protection of customer data, to stay current with regulatory requirements and to help prevent non-compliance that could result in fines and reputational damage, you simply cannot afford to let Maintenance for your Symantec DCS product expire.

 

[2] Maintenance is considered “current” when both term (start and end dates of the Maintenance term) and quantity (Maintenance quantity should match software license entitlement quantity of the product being supported) criteria are met. Customers with expired Maintenance lose their entitlements to Maintenance benefits .

 
 
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