Bug 8297 - Windows client requirements outdated
Summary: Windows client requirements outdated
Status: CLOSED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: ThinLinc
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Documentation (show other bugs)
Version: trunk
Hardware: PC Unknown
: P2 Normal
Target Milestone: 4.17.0
Assignee: Adam Halim
URL:
Keywords: linma_tester, relnotes
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2024-01-29 16:06 CET by Adam Halim
Modified: 2024-02-05 13:45 CET (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:
Acceptance Criteria:
MUST: * Our documentation should accurately represent which versions of Windows are supported - It should include widely used Windows desktop and server versions. * Windows client requirements should be written in a manner such that future Windows releases are included. - We shouldn't have to update our documentation each time a new Windows version is released. * Installing a Windows client on our supported platforms should not warn about Windows version. SHOULD: * Windows versions that aren't widely used should not be included in our client requirements.

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Description Adam Halim cendio 2024-01-29 16:06:11 CET 
As it stands right now, our documentation regarding Windows system requirements
are outdated. They currently state:
> The supported Windows versions are 7, 2008 R2, 8, 2012, 8.1, 2012 R2, 10 and 2016.
> Windows CE is currently not supported.
Windows 11 has been out for a while now, and should be included in our
supported Windows systems.

I had a look into which versions of Windows are still supported by Microsoft,
and some other popular/relevant applications:

* Windows [1]
  * Windows 7 stopped receiving updates in January 2020 (security updates until
    January 2023). 
  * Windows 8.1 stopped receiving updates in January 2023.
  * Windows 10 22H2 will continue to be supported until October 2025.

  * Windows Server 2012/R2 LTSC has extended security updates until October
    2026.
  * Windows Server 2016 LTSC has security updates until January 2027.
  * Windows Server 2019 LTSC has security updates until January 2029.
  * Windows Server 2022 LTSC has active support until October 2026, and
    security support until October 2031. Note that this is the only Windows
    Server version with active support.

* Chrome [2]
  * Stopped support for Windows 7/8/Server 2012/R2 with version 109, released
    10 January 2023.
  * Support for Windows 10 until October 2025.
  * Support for Windows Server 2016 until January 2027.
  * Support for Windows Server 2019 until January 2029.
  * Support for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 until further notice.

* Firefox [3]
  * Last supported version for Windows 7/8/8.1 is Firefox 115. Firefox ESR
    still provides security updates for them until September 2024. 

* Citrix Workspace App [4]
  * Support for Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022.
  * Support for Windows 10, 11.

* NoMachine [5]
  * Support for Windows 7 or later.
  * Support for Windows server 2008 or later.

* VMware Workstation [6]
  * No longer supports Windows 7 as of Workstation version 16.
  * Support for Windows 8, Windows 10.
  * Support for Windows server 2012, 2016, 2019.


* Steam [7]
  * Stopped support for Windows 7/8/8.1 January 2024.

[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/windows
[2] https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7100626
[3] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1594270
[4] https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-workspace-app-for-windows/system-requirements.html
[5] https://www.nomachine.com/nomachine-features
[6] https://www.vmware.com/products/workstation-pro.html
[7] https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4784-4F2B-1321-800A
Comment 1 Adam Halim cendio 2024-01-30 09:05:44 CET 
It seems like many applications have dropped support for Windows 7/8/8.1.
Perhaps it is time for us as well to drop support for these older versions (and
their server equivalents: 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2)?

Microsoft are generally good at keeping backwards compatibility with older
Windows versions, and our client should hopefully continue to work on older
versions on Windows.

With this in mind also, it is reasonable to speculate that our client will work
without any issues in future versions of Windows without much effort from our
end.
Comment 2 Adam Halim cendio 2024-01-30 10:00:10 CET 
Looks ~94% of Windows users are running version 10 or newer. [1]

[1] https://gs.statcounter.com/windows-version-market-share
Comment 5 Adam Halim cendio 2024-01-30 12:38:33 CET 
The documentation has been updated and now includes newer Windows versions. With this, support for versions older than 8.1 / 2012 R2 has been dropped.

The native client installation was tested using build 3392 on Windows 10, 11, 2016 and 2022 without any issues.
Comment 6 Adam Halim cendio 2024-01-30 12:41:31 CET 
> MUST:
> * Our documentation should accurately represent which versions of Windows are supported
>   - It should include widely used Windows desktop and server versions.
> 
> * Windows client requirements should be written in a manner such that future Windows releases are included.
>   - We shouldn't have to update our documentation each time a new Windows version is released.
Indeed, the TAG now states that the supported Windows versions are 10 or later, and Windows Server 2016 or later.
> * Installing a Windows client on our supported platforms should not warn about Windows version.
Tested installing on all supported Windows clients without issue.
> SHOULD:
> * Windows versions that aren't widely used should not be included in our client requirements.
Support for 7, 2008 R2, 8, 2012, 8.1, 2012 R2, and Windows CE is removed.
Comment 7 Adam Halim cendio 2024-01-30 13:00:04 CET 
Note that fully testing the native client on the newer platforms will be done as part of release testing 4.17.0, and not with this bug.
Comment 8 Linn cendio 2024-02-05 13:45:37 CET 
Tested installing client build 3393 on Windows 10 and 11, did not get any warnings.

I thought about testing to see if the warning is still triggered on an older system, but that functionality current isn't working due to bug 5673. For this reason, I excluded this step from my testing.

I also looked through the changes in the documentation. They look good, and are written in a way that our statements will be correct even if newer versions are released.

Checked the relnotes and commits as well, things look good. Closing.
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