Dell EMC Unity XT (380 / 480 / 680 / 880, hybrid and all-flash) support dates
| Milestone | Date | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTS Date: 380 / 480 / 680 / 880 and 380F / 480F / 680F / 880F | 27 June 2019 | Vendor-published | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| RTS Date: DC-powered 380 DC / 380F DC / 480 DC / 480F DC | 13 June 2022 | 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): hybrid AC models 380 / 480 / 680 / 880 | 31 January 2028 | Vendor-publishedThe sheet marks these rows 'EOL Updated?: Yes' and 'EOSS Updated?: Yes'. It also states 'The Dates below are subject to change', so check the current sheet before quoting. | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| EOL Date (end of sales): all-flash 380F / 480F / 680F / 880F and DC models 380 DC / 380F DC / 480 DC / 480F DC | 1 August 2025 | 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: hybrid AC models | 31 January 2031 | 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: all-flash F and DC models | 4 August 2028 | 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): hybrid AC models 380 / 480 / 680 / 880 | 31 January 2033 | Vendor-publishedDell's definition: the date after which 'Standard support (Basic, ProSupport, ProSupport MC, ProSupport Plus) is no longer available'. | 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): all-flash F and DC models | 31 July 2030 | 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 vendorThe sheet defines EOSL but has no EOSL date column, so it gives no EOSL date for the XT models. | Dell KB 000185734 attachment: Dell Technologies Hardware Release and Service Dates for All Hardware Products (dated 2026-10-02) |
| End of Security Support (EoSecS): policy row 'Dell Unity AFA' | 31 July 2030 | Vendor-publishedRow text: 'Dell Unity AFA 2025-08-01 High and Critical 2029-07-31 Critical 2030-07-31 None'. The row does not say 'XT'. Mapping it to the XT all-flash models is our inference, because its EOL and EoSecS dates match the XT all-flash EOL and EOSS in Dell's hardware list. There is no EoSecS row for the hybrid XT models. | Dell KB 000208328: End of Life Security Support Policy for Converged Infrastructure, Midrange and Enterprise Storage, and Storage Networking Products (modified 9 Sep 2026) |
Where the Dell EMC Unity XT (380 / 480 / 680 / 880, hybrid and all-flash) stands today
Dell released the AC hybrid and all-flash XT models on 27 June 2019 and the DC variants on 13 June 2022 (KB 000185734 spreadsheet, dated 2 October 2026). Drives, shelves and controllers can still be added through Dell until End of Expansion: 4 August 2028 for F and DC models, 31 January 2031 for AC hybrids. Dell flags the AC hybrid rows as updated and warns 'The Dates below are subject to change', so re-check before relying on them. The sheet gives no EOSL date.
Security support is split differently. KB 000208328 has a 'Dell Unity AFA' row: end of sale 1 August 2025, High and Critical fixes until 31 July 2029, Critical only until 31 July 2030. It does not say 'XT'; we match it to the XT all-flash models because both of its dates line up with theirs. The policy has no row for the hybrid XT, and the only other Unity entry is 'Unity VSA', to 31 December 2028. For a specific array, Dell Support shows its services and their expiry date once the service tag is entered.
Dell's model-wide dates are in the Hardware spreadsheet attached to KB 000185734 (https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000185734). Check whether your array is hybrid (380/480/680/880) or all-flash/DC (F or DC suffix), because the dates differ. Contract coverage for your own array is set per service tag. Enter it on Dell Support (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 tagged device, and it also gives a 'Check Support Status' link.
What still works after Dell support ends
Unity OE is still being released. Dell's Unity OE Matrix (modified 7 October 2026) lists 5.5.5.0.5.073 (1 October 2026) as latest and 5.5.4.0.5.037 (28 May 2026) as the recommended target, and says x80/F models 'require a minimum of Unity OE 5.0'. Dell's code-version KB sets 5.4.1.0.5.006 (12 December 2024) as minimum supported code, though its 'Latest' entry, 5.5.4.0.5.073, conflicts with the Matrix. The Matrix notes 'Only registered Dell users can access some of the links above' without saying whether an array lacking a contract can download releases.
The software clock runs ahead of the hardware one. Each OE release has its own EOSS/EOSL date: 5.3.1 reaches it on 31 October 2026 and 5.4.1 on 31 December 2026, while 5.5.3, 5.5.4 and 5.5.5 run to 29 February, 31 March and 31 October 2028; 5.3.0 and earlier are already past. Moving to 5.5 needs TLS 1.0/1.1 disabled and TLS 1.2 enabled, 5.5.3 or later needs the licence converted from .LIC to .XML, and systems older than 5.1 must go to 5.4.1 first.
- Unity OE is actively released. Dell's Unity OE Matrix (modified 7 Oct 2026) lists latest 5.5.5.0.5.073 (1 Oct 2026) and recommended target 5.5.4.0.5.037 (28 May 2026), and says the x80/F models 'require a minimum of Unity OE 5.0'. It notes 'Only registered Dell users can access some of the links above', but does not say whether an array without a contract can download releases. (dell.com)
- Each Unity OE release has its own EOSS/EOSL date in Dell's Operating Environment list: 5.5.5 on 2028-10-31, 5.5.4 on 2028-03-31, 5.5.3 on 2028-02-29, 5.4.1 on 2026-12-31 and 5.3.1 on 2026-10-31. Releases 5.3.0 and earlier are already past. (supportkb.dell.com)
- Before upgrading to Unity OE 5.5, TLS 1.0/1.1 must be disabled and TLS 1.2 enabled. Before 5.5.3 or later, the licence must be converted from .LIC to .XML format. Systems older than 5.1 must first go to 5.4.1. (dell.com)
- Dell's code-version KB gives the minimum supported Unity code as 5.4.1.0.5.006 (12 Dec 2024). Its 'Latest' entry reads 5.5.4.0.5.073 dated 1 Oct 2026, which conflicts with the Unity OE Matrix's 5.5.5.0.5.073 for the same date. Dell's OE lifecycle sheet also lists 5.5.5 with an RTS of 2026-10-01. (dell.com)
- Security schedule for the 'Dell Unity AFA' row: High and Critical fixes until 2029-07-31, Critical only until 2030-07-31, none after. Dell says it 'continues to publish Security Advisories and Notices for issues remediated in our products'. (dell.com)
What a maintenance contract needs to cover on the Dell EMC Unity XT (380 / 480 / 680 / 880, hybrid and all-flash)
Every Unity XT starts with a 2U Disk Processor Enclosure (DPE): 25 x 2.5-inch slots (the first four hold system drives, and five drives is the minimum), two active/active storage processors (SPs), and two power supplies, either of which can power the whole DPE. Each SP has a battery backup unit and vaults cache to an internal M.2 SSD on power loss. Compute scales by model, from one 6-core Xeon E5-2603 v4 and 64 GB per SP on the 380/380F to two 16-core Xeon Gold 6130 and 384 GB per SP on the 880/880F. A NEBS-compliant DC power option exists for the 380/F and 480/F.
Each 380/F SP has two 10GBASE-T and two CNA ports (16/8/4 Gb FC, 10 GbE optical or 1GBASE-T); the 480/F to 880/F take an optional 4-port mezzanine card (25 GbE optical or 10GBASE-T), and every SP takes up to two 4-port I/O modules (16 Gb FC, 32 Gb FC, 25 GbE optical or 10GBASE-T). DAEs hang off two 4-lane 12 Gb SAS ports per SP: 25-drive 2U and 80-drive 3U enclosures for 2.5-inch drives, plus 15-drive 3U 3.5-inch shelves on hybrids only. Maximums run from 500 drives (2.4 PB raw) on the 380/F to 1,500 (16.0 PB raw) on the 880/F. While Dell support lasts, third-party cover is an alternative to Dell ProSupport rather than a necessity.
| Specification | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | 2U Disk Processor Enclosure (DPE) with 25 x 2.5-inch drive slots and two Storage Processors (SPs) serving I/O active/active. The first four drives are system drives, and the minimum is five drives. | delltechnologies.com |
| CPU per SP | 380/380F: 1x Intel Xeon E5-2603 v4, 6 cores, 1.7 GHz. 480/480F: 2x Xeon Silver 4108, 8 cores, 1.8 GHz. 680/680F: 2x Xeon Silver 4116, 12 cores, 2.1 GHz. 880/880F: 2x Xeon Gold 6130, 16 cores, 2.1 GHz. | delltechnologies.com |
| Memory per SP | 64 GB (380/F), 96 GB (480/F), 192 GB (680/F) or 384 GB (880/F). On 480/F–880/F, each SP has 24 DIMM slots holding up to 12 ECC DIMMs of 16–32 GB. | delltechnologies.com |
| Max drives and raw capacity | 380/F: 500 drives, 2.4 PB. 480/F: 750 drives, 4.0 PB. 680/F: 1,000 drives, 8.0 PB. 880/F: 1,500 drives, 16.0 PB. | delltechnologies.com |
| Expansion (DAEs) | 25-drive 2U (2.5-inch), 80-drive 3U (2.5-inch) and 15-drive 3U (3.5-inch, hybrid only) DAEs on a 12 Gb SAS back end. Each SP has two 4-lane 12 Gb SAS ports. On 480/F–880/F an optional 4-port 12 Gb SAS I/O module supports up to 10 DAEs or 250 drives per port. | delltechnologies.com |
| Front-end I/O | 380/F SPs have 2x 10GBASE-T ports plus 2x CNA ports (16/8/4 Gb FC, 10 GbE optical or 1GBASE-T). 480/F–880/F SPs take an optional 4-port mezzanine card (25 GbE optical or 10GBASE-T). Every SP takes up to two I/O modules: 4-port 16 Gb FC, 4-port 32 Gb FC, 4-port 25 GbE optical or 4-port 10GBASE-T. FCoE and FCIP are not supported. | delltechnologies.com |
| Protocols | Unified block, file and VMware vVols, with native NAS (NFS, SMB), iSCSI and Fibre Channel. | delltechnologies.com |
| Power and cache protection | Two power supplies per DPE, either of which can power the whole DPE. Each SP has a battery backup unit, and SP cache is vaulted to an internal M.2 SSD on power loss. A NEBS-compliant DC power option exists for the 380/F and 480/F. | delltechnologies.com |
Extend or refresh the Dell EMC Unity XT (380 / 480 / 680 / 880, hybrid and all-flash)?
Extending is the straightforward path for a Unity XT in 2026. Standard support runs to 2030 or 2033, and Unity OE 5.2 added data-in-place conversions that turn an XT 480/F or 680/F into any higher model of the same type (a 480 to an 880, but not to an 880F) by swapping the storage processors and reusing the I/O modules, SFPs and power supplies; the 380/F uses a different chassis and cannot be converted. OE 5.2 also added an online 16 Gb to 32 Gb FC module conversion, the 32 Gb module having arrived in OE 5.1. To request a quote for cover alongside or after Dell's, use the maintenance coverage builder.
Refresh planning is about software and security horizons. AC hybrid owners have the longest hardware support but no published security-support row; all-flash owners have a matched security schedule (on our reading) that drops to Critical-only fixes after 31 July 2029. Dell's hardware list names no Unity generation after the XT. Dell PowerStore, listed in the same hardware sheet, is the line to compare, but that is our inference: the sheet does not name it as the XT's successor.
- The all-flash XT models are no longer sold (end of sale 1 Aug 2025), but drives, shelves and controllers can still be added through Dell until End of Expansion on 4 Aug 2028. The hybrid XT models stay on sale until 31 Jan 2028, with End of Expansion on 31 Jan 2031. (supportkb.dell.com)
- To extend an XT in place, Unity OE 5.2 added offline and online data-in-place conversions. They convert an XT 480/F or 680/F to any higher model of the same type, for example a 480 to an 880 but not a 480 to an 880F. The storage processors are swapped, and the I/O modules, SFPs and power supplies are reused. The XT 380/F cannot be converted because it uses a different chassis. Separately, the 32 Gb FC I/O module arrived in Unity OE 5.1, and OE 5.2 added an online conversion from 16 Gb to 32 Gb FC modules. (delltechnologies.com)
- The same OE line covers mixed estates. Unity OE 5.0 and later run on the older x00/F and x50/F models as well as the XT, so an older Unity and an XT can run the same code during a migration. (dell.com)
- Dell's storage security policy has no End of Security Support row for the hybrid XT models. Only 'Dell Unity AFA' (to 2030-07-31) and 'Unity VSA' (to 2028-12-31) are listed. (dell.com)
Keep your Dell EMC Unity XT (380 / 480 / 680 / 880, hybrid and all-flash) 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
The Unity XT is the generation after the original Unity 300/400/500/600 and their all-flash F models, including the 350F–650F, which Dell's H17782 white paper compares with the XT. Most of those earlier arrays reached Dell EOSS on 31 July 2026; the DC 300/400 and 350F/450F DC models have an EOSS of 31 December 2027. Because Unity OE 5.0 and later runs on the x00/F, x50/F and XT, old and new arrays can share code during a migration; the storage end-of-life checker covers other Dell storage in the estate.
- 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
- Dell EMC Unity 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 (hybrid and all-flash F) end of lifePast the vendor’s last date of support
- Dell Compellent SC4020 end of lifePast the vendor’s last date of support
- Dell EMC SC Series SC5020 / SC7020 end of lifePast the vendor’s last date of support
- Dell EqualLogic PS Series (PS6100 / PS6110 / PS6210 / PS4210 and siblings) end of lifePast the vendor’s last date of support
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 XT (380 / 480 / 680 / 880, hybrid and all-flash)
Is Dell Unity XT end of life?
Not for support. Dell has ended sales of the all-flash F and DC models (1 August 2025) and lists 31 January 2028 as the end of sale for the AC hybrids, a date it says is subject to change. Its own hardware list keeps standard support until 31 July 2030 for F and DC models and 31 January 2033 for the AC hybrids.
When does Dell stop supporting the Unity XT 480F?
The 480F, like the 380F, 680F and 880F, has an End of Standard Support date of 31 July 2030 in Dell's list. The 'Dell Unity AFA' security row, which we match to the XT all-flash models, gives Critical-only fixes in its final year, ending on the same date.
What is the end of support date for a hybrid Unity XT 380 or 880?
For the AC-powered hybrid 380, 480, 680 and 880, Dell's EOSS is 31 January 2033. The DC-powered 380 DC and 480 DC are dated with the all-flash models instead, at 31 July 2030, so check the suffix on your system.
Which Unity OE version should a Unity XT run?
Dell's Unity OE Matrix names 5.5.4.0.5.037 as the recommended target and 5.5.5.0.5.073 as the latest, and says x80/F models require at least OE 5.0. Releases carry their own EOSS/EOSL dates: 5.3.1 reaches its date on 31 October 2026 and 5.4.1 on 31 December 2026.
Can I get third-party maintenance for a Unity XT?
Third-party maintenance can be used as an alternative to Dell ProSupport even while Dell support continues; it generally covers diagnosis, replacement parts and engineer visits. List the DPE model, I/O modules and every DAE when you request a quote.
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 (modified 9 Sep 2026) — 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 XT (380 / 480 / 680 / 880, hybrid and all-flash) are re-verified against Dell's own notices at each review; a date a vendor has not published is never filled in.