With the release of update 1906 for System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) current branch, its time too do a checkup of your ConfigMgr environment and see if it is still supported by Microsoft.
What does that mean exactly?
As it states in the ConfigMgr documentation, there are two servicing phases for current branch support.
Security and Critical Updates servicing phase – When running the latest current branch version of Configuration Manager, you receive both Security and Critical Updates.
Security Updates (Only) servicing phase – After the release of a new current branch version, Microsoft only supports security updates to older versions for the remainder of that version’s support lifecycle
With the release of Current Branch (CB) version 1906, what versions of ConfigMgr are still supported?
As of this writing, CB version 1802 is the minimum version that you have to be on to be in the Security Updates (only) phase, while 1806 is the minimum version to still be on the Security and Critical Updates servicing phase. The 1802 version end of support date is September 22, 2019, so if you are still on that version, you should be already planning an upgrade to get current.
To keep ahead of these updates, refer to this statement from the Microsoft Documentation:
“The latest current branch version is always in the Security and Critical Updates servicing phase. This support statement means that if you encounter a code defect that warrants a critical update, you must have the latest current branch version installed to receive a fix. All other supported current branch versions are eligible to receive only security updates.
All support ends after the 18-month lifecycle has expired for a current branch version.
Update your Configuration Manager environment to the latest version before support for your current version expires.”
Any other version is now almost out of support completely (yes that means any version of SCCM 2012 correction, SCCM 2012 with Service packs are in extended support until July, 22nd 2022), so if you are one of those earlier version numbers you should get the upgrade going ASAP. If you are not sure what version you are on, you can check in the console by going to “About System Center Configuration Manager” an at the top left corner the dialog displays the site and console versions.
As it says in the documentation, note that the console version is slightly different from the site version. The minor version of the console corresponds to the Configuration Manager release version. For example, in Configuration Manager version 1802 the initial site version is 5.0.8634.1000, and the initial console version is 5.1802.1082.1700. The build (1082) and revision (1700) numbers may change with future hotfixes.
If you need to upgrade from SCCM 2012, then you should use the latest baseline version (currently version 1902) and then upgrade to the next version via the console.
If you are planning on installing ConfigMgr from scratch (like in the lab or a brand new site hierarchy), you should also use the latest baseline version and upgrade as needed with in-console updates.
For more detailed information on versions of ConfigMgr CB, baseline versions, and what you can do to upgrade your site if you are behind, you can check these links for details.
Support for Configuration Manager current branch versions
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/current-branch-versions-supported
Version details
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/updates#version-details
Baseline and update versions
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/updates#bkmk_Baselines