Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F) support dates
| Milestone | Date | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTS Date (release to shipping) | 2 May 2016 | Vendor-publishedThe same date applies to Unity 300, 400, 500, 600, 300F, 400F, 500F, 600F and the 300/400/500/600 DC variants. | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOL Date (end of sales): Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid, AC) | 31 July 2020 | Vendor-publishedDell defines EOL as 'the date upon which Dell Technologies ceases selling product'. | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOL Date (end of sales): Unity 300F / 400F / 500F / 600F | 31 January 2018 | Vendor-published | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOL Date (end of sales): Unity 500 DC / 600 DC | 31 January 2020 | Vendor-published | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOL Date (end of sales): Unity 300 DC / 400 DC | 30 December 2022 | Vendor-published | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| End of Expansion (EOexp) and End of Mechanical Replacements | 30 September 2022 | Vendor-publishedThis applies to Unity 300, 400, 500, 600, 300F to 600F, and the 500 DC and 600 DC. Dell defines End of Expansion as 'the last date upon which a customer can add items (e.g. drives, shelves, controllers) to their existing system'. End of mechanical replacement is the date after which Dell can no longer build a full replacement system, with 'No change to HW break-fix activity'. | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| End of Expansion (EOexp) and End of Mechanical Replacements: Unity 300 DC / 400 DC | 31 December 2024 | Vendor-published | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOSS Date (End of Standard Support) | 31 July 2026 | Vendor-publishedThis applies to Unity 300, 400, 500, 600, 300F, 400F, 500F, 600F, 500 DC and 600 DC. Dell's definition: 'EOSS or end of standard support is when customer contracts are cancelled. The date after which Standard support (Basic, ProSupport, ProSupport MC, ProSupport Plus) is no longer available.' Some third-party trackers label this same date 'EOSL', but Dell's column is EOSS. | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOSS Date (End of Standard Support): Unity 300 DC / 400 DC | 31 December 2027 | Vendor-published | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOSL (End of Service Life) | — | Not published by the vendorDell's spreadsheet defines EOSL as the date after which Dell 'discontinues general support for a product offering, but may continue to offer limited support and/or maintenance only on a time and materials basis, subject to resource availability'. The Unity rows have only RTS, EOL, End of Expansion and EOSS dates. No separate EOSL date is given. | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| End of Security Support (EoSecS) | — | Not published by the vendorDell's storage end-of-life security policy (KB 000208328, modified 9 Sep 2026) has only two Unity rows: 'Dell Unity AFA' (EOL 2025-08-01, EoSecS 2030-07-31) and 'Unity VSA'. There is no row for the Unity 300–600 generation. Our inference is that the AFA row refers to Unity XT all-flash, because its EOL and EoSecS dates match the XT all-flash EOL and EOSS dates in Dell's hardware list. | Dell KB 000208328: End of Life Security Support Policy for Converged Infrastructure, Midrange and Enterprise Storage, and Storage Networking Products |
Where the Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F) stands today
The dates come from Dell's hardware EOL workbook attached to KB 000185734 (dated 2 October 2026). All the Unity 300–600 models, including the F and DC versions, reached release to shipping on 2 May 2016, and sales ended in stages: 31 January 2018 for the 300F to 600F, 31 January 2020 for the 500 DC and 600 DC, 31 July 2020 for the AC hybrid 300 to 600, and 30 December 2022 for the 300 DC and 400 DC. Dell describes EOSS as 'when customer contracts are cancelled'. Some third-party trackers label 31 July 2026 as EOSL, but Dell's column is EOSS, and the Unity rows give no separate End of Service Life date.
Dell publishes no End of Security Support date for this generation either. Dell's storage security policy (KB 000208328, modified 9 September 2026) has only 'Dell Unity AFA' and 'Unity VSA' rows; the AFA row's dates match those of Unity XT all-flash, so our reading, not Dell's statement, is that it covers XT. Contract end dates are set per array: KB 000185734 says a service-tag lookup at dell.com/support/home shows the support services and expiry date in a banner by a figure of the array, and Dell's Unity Hardware Information Guide has a Product Serial Number Tag section for each DPE type.
Dell's model-wide dates are in the Hardware spreadsheet attached to KB 000185734 (https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000185734), but your own contract end date is set per array. Enter the array's service tag at https://www.dell.com/support/home/. The KB says the support services and their expiry date appear in the banner next to a figure of the device. Dell's Unity All Flash and Unity Hybrid Hardware Information Guide has a 'Product Serial Number Tag' section for each DPE type.
What still works after Dell support ends
Unity OE is still being released: version 5.5.5.0.5.073 shipped on 1 October 2026, after the hardware's 31 July 2026 EOSS, and Dell's recommended target is 5.5.4.0.5.037. Dell's OE matrix states that 'Unity OE 5.0 and later releases are compatible with the existing Unity models x00/F and x50/F'. It notes that 'Only registered Dell users can access some of the links above' but does not say whether an array without an active contract can download these releases.
Each release has its own support dates in Dell's Operating Environment list: 5.5.5 to 31 October 2028 and 5.5.4 to 31 March 2028, while support for 5.3.1 ends on 31 October 2026 and for 5.4.1 on 31 December 2026; 5.2.x and 5.3.0 are already past their EOSS/EOSL. These are software dates, not hardware ones. Before upgrading to OE 5.5, TLS 1.0/1.1 must be disabled and TLS 1.2 enabled, and before upgrading to 5.5.3 or later the Unity licence must be converted from .LIC to .XML format. We have not confirmed whether Dell sells a named post-EOSS support offer for these models.
- Dell is still releasing Unity OE. Version 5.5.5.0.5.073 shipped on 1 Oct 2026, after this hardware's EOSS of 31 Jul 2026, and Dell's recommended target is 5.5.4.0.5.037. Dell's OE matrix says 'Unity OE 5.0 and later releases are compatible with the existing Unity models x00/F and x50/F'. It notes that 'Only registered Dell users can access some of the links above', but does not say whether an array without an active contract can download these releases. (dell.com)
- Each Unity OE release has its own support dates in Dell's Operating Environment list. OE 5.5.5 is supported to 2028-10-31 and 5.5.4 to 2028-03-31. Some older releases end sooner: 5.4.1 on 2026-12-31 and 5.3.1 on 2026-10-31. Releases 5.2.x and 5.3.0 are already past their EOSS/EOSL. (supportkb.dell.com)
- Dell's OE matrix lists two upgrade prerequisites. Before upgrading to Unity OE 5.5, TLS 1.0/1.1 must be disabled and TLS 1.2 enabled. Before upgrading to 5.5.3 or later, the Unity licence must be converted from .LIC to .XML format. (dell.com)
What a maintenance contract needs to cover on the Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F)
A Unity 300–600 contract starts with the 2U Disk Processor Enclosure (DPE) and its two storage processors (SPs), each with one hot-swappable power supply and an internal battery backup unit. Hybrid systems use a 12 x 3.5-inch or 25 x 2.5-inch DPE; the F models use only the 25 x 2.5-inch version. SPs scale with the model, from a 6-core E5-2603 and 24 GB of DDR4 on the 300/300F to a 12-core E5-2680 and 128 GB on the 600/600F, so record the exact model.
Each SP has two 10GBASE-T ports, two converged ports for FC or 1/10 Gb iSCSI, two 12 Gb/s mini-HD SAS back-end ports and two PCIe Gen 3 x8 slots for front-end FC, optical or BASE-T I/O modules; hybrid 500 and 600 systems can reach six back-end SAS ports per SP, the hybrid 300 and 400 only the two embedded. Shelves are 2U 25-drive and 3U 80-drive 2.5-inch DAEs, plus a 3U 15-drive 3.5-inch DAE on hybrid models. End of Expansion, 30 September 2022 (31 December 2024 for the 300 DC and 400 DC), was 'the last date upon which a customer can add items (e.g. drives, shelves, controllers) to their existing system'; the End of Mechanical Replacements on the same dates is when Dell can no longer build a full replacement system, with 'No change to HW break-fix activity'. For contract scope, see hardware break-fix support and storage and SAN maintenance.
| Specification | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | 2U Disk Processor Enclosure (DPE) with two storage processors (SPs). Hybrid models take either a 12 x 3.5-inch or a 25 x 2.5-inch DPE. All-flash (F) models support only the 25 x 2.5-inch DPE. | dell.com |
| CPU per SP | Intel Xeon E5-2600 family. 300/300F: 6-core 1.6 GHz (E5-2603). 400/400F: 8-core 2.4 GHz (E5-2630). 500/500F: 10-core 2.6 GHz (E5-2660). 600/600F: 12-core 2.5 GHz (E5-2680). | dell.com |
| Memory per SP | DDR4: 24 GB (300/300F), 48 GB (400/400F), 64 GB (500/500F), 128 GB (600/600F). | dell.com |
| Min/max drives | 300/300F: 5/150. 400/400F: 5/250. 500/500F: 5/500. 600/600F: 5/1000. Maximum raw capacity runs from 2.4 PB (300) to 16 PB (600). For the all-flash models, these maximums apply to Unity OE 4.1 and later; on OE 4.0 the 500F and 600F were limited to 350 and 500 drives. | dell.com |
| Disk array enclosures (DAEs) | 2U 25-drive (2.5-inch) and 3U 80-drive (2.5-inch) DAEs on both hybrid and all-flash models. 3U 15-drive (3.5-inch) DAE on hybrid only. The back end is 12 Gb/s SAS. | dell.com |
| Embedded ports and I/O per SP | Each SP has two 10GBASE-T ports, two converged network adapter (CNA) ports (FC or 1/10 Gb iSCSI) and two x4-lane 12 Gb/s mini-HD SAS back-end ports. It also has two PCIe Gen 3 x8 I/O module slots for front-end modules: 4-port 16 Gb FC, 4-port 10 Gb optical, 4-port 10GBASE-T, 4-port 1GBASE-T or 2-port 10 Gb optical. On the hybrid models, the 300 and 400 are limited to the two embedded SAS ports per SP. The 500 and 600 can take up to six (two embedded plus four on a 12 Gb SAS back-end I/O module). | dell.com |
| Protocols | Unified block and file: Fibre Channel and iSCSI for block, NFS and SMB for file, plus VMware VVols. This comes from Dell's spec sheet for the DC-powered Unity Hybrid 300/400, which describes the family's integrated block, file and VVols architecture. | delltechnologies.com |
| Power and cache protection | One hot-swappable power supply module per SP, so two per DPE. Each SP has an internal battery backup unit (BBU). | dell.com |
Extend or refresh the Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F)?
Extending a Unity 300–600 on maintenance works best as a bridge with a known end. Apart from the 300 DC and 400 DC, the hardware is past Dell standard support, but Dell's OE matrix lists OE 5.0 and later as compatible with x00/F systems, and Dell's Operating Environment list supports release 5.5.5 to 31 October 2028; that date belongs to the software release, not to x00 hardware. That suits arrays with a planned retirement, fixed capacity (with End of Expansion gone, growth means used or third-party parts, or a refresh) and a team able to keep OE current.
Security is the main argument for moving on. Dell's security policy gives this generation no End of Security Support date and notes that 'Sometimes, mitigation of a security issue might require a move to a newer product.' Unity XT (380, 480, 680 and 880, hybrid and F) is the next model in the same line; the x80/F models need at least OE 5.0, so an x00 array and an XT can run the same OE line during a migration. Dell's XT dates run later, with EOSS on 31 July 2030 for XT all-flash and the XT 380 DC and 480 DC, and on 31 January 2033 for the AC hybrid 380, 480, 680 and 880.
- Dell's End of Standard Support for the mainstream Unity 300–600 and 300F–600F models was 31 Jul 2026. By Dell's definition, standard contracts (Basic, ProSupport, ProSupport MC, ProSupport Plus) are no longer available after that date. Arrays still in service need another support route or a refresh. (supportkb.dell.com)
- End of Expansion was 30 Sep 2022, which Dell defines as the last date a customer can add drives, shelves or controllers. Growing capacity now means used or third-party parts, or a refresh. (supportkb.dell.com)
- Dell's storage security-support policy gives no End of Security Support date for the Unity 300–600 generation; KB 000208328 lists only 'Dell Unity AFA' and 'Unity VSA'. The policy says that 'Sometimes, mitigation of a security issue might require a move to a newer product.' (dell.com)
- The second-generation all-flash Unity 350F, 450F, 550F and 650F share the 31 Jul 2026 EOSS, except the 350F DC and 450F DC, which run to 31 Dec 2027. Unity XT runs on a different timeline. The AC-powered XT hybrid models (380/480/680/880) have an EOL of 31 Jan 2028 and an EOSS of 31 Jan 2033. The XT all-flash models and the DC-powered XT 380 DC and 480 DC reached EOL on 1 Aug 2025, with EOSS on 31 Jul 2030. (supportkb.dell.com)
- Dell's OE matrix says Unity XT (x80/F) 'was released in the same day as Unity OE 5.0.0.0.5.116' and that the x80/F models need at least OE 5.0. OE 5.0 and later are also compatible with the x00/F and x50/F models, so an x00 array and an XT can run the same OE line during a migration. (dell.com)
Keep your Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F) covered
Tell us how many you run and when your current cover ends, and we will come back with a like-for-like maintenance quote for that estate. Your model and its support status are attached to the enquiry automatically, so there is nothing to re-type.
Related models
Unity combines FC and iSCSI block access with NFS and SMB file services and VMware VVols, as Dell's spec sheet for the DC-powered Unity Hybrid 300/400 describes the family. Inside the Unity range, the second-generation all-flash 350F, 450F, 550F and 650F share the 31 July 2026 EOSS, except the 350F DC and 450F DC, which run to 31 December 2027. The two PowerVault lines in this group have their own pages: PowerVault ME4 Series end of life and PowerVault MD3 Series end of life.
- PowerVault ME4 Series (ME4012 / ME4024 / ME4084) end of lifeNo model-wide date published — check your unit
- PowerVault MD3 Series end of lifeNo model-wide date published — check your unit
Look up another model in the storage end-of-life checker, or read what third-party maintenance covers.
Questions people ask about the Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F)
Is Dell EMC Unity end of life?
For the first-generation Unity 300, 400, 500 and 600 and their F versions, yes: Dell ended sales between January 2018 and July 2020 and published 31 July 2026 as End of Standard Support. The 500 DC and 600 DC share that EOSS date, while the 300 DC and 400 DC run to 31 December 2027. Unity XT is on a separate, later timeline.
When did Dell stop supporting the Unity 300?
Dell's End of Standard Support for the Unity 300 and 300F was 31 July 2026, after which Dell's standard support offerings (Basic, ProSupport, ProSupport MC and ProSupport Plus) are no longer available. Dell's spreadsheet gives no separate End of Service Life date for these models. The DC-powered Unity 300 DC is the exception, with EOSS on 31 December 2027.
Can I still update Unity OE on a Unity 400 or 600?
Dell's OE matrix says Unity OE 5.0 and later are compatible with the x00/F models, and release 5.5.5.0.5.073 shipped on 1 October 2026, with 5.5.4.0.5.037 as Dell's recommended target. Some download links are limited to registered Dell users, and the matrix does not say whether an array without an active contract can download them. Before upgrading to OE 5.5, TLS 1.2 must be enabled with TLS 1.0/1.1 disabled.
What came after Dell EMC Unity?
Unity XT (380, 480, 680 and 880, in hybrid and F versions) is the next model in the same line. Dell's OE matrix says XT was released on the same day as Unity OE 5.0.0.0.5.116 and needs at least OE 5.0, the same OE line the x00 models can run.
Can I get third-party maintenance for a Unity array after EOSS?
Once Dell standard contracts are unavailable, third-party maintenance can cover the array instead, generally providing fault diagnosis, replacement parts and engineers beyond the vendor's support dates. A quote should list the model, DPE type, I/O modules and every disk array enclosure. See an alternative to Dell ProSupport for how that kind of cover is set up.
Sources
Every date, rule and specification above was checked against these on 8 October 2026 by an independent verification pass. Vendors revise lifecycle notices; this page is re-checked by 8 January 2027.
- Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) — supportkb.dell.com
- Dell KB 000208328: End of Life Security Support Policy for Converged Infrastructure, Midrange and Enterprise Storage, and Storage Networking Products — dell.com
- dell.com — dell.com
- supportkb.dell.com — supportkb.dell.com
- dell.com — dell.com
- delltechnologies.com — delltechnologies.com
Last reviewed 7 October 2026. Lifecycle dates for the Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F) are re-verified against Dell's own notices at each review; a date a vendor has not published is never filled in.