Managing ServiceNow Security Patching and End-of-Life UpgradesThis article outlines the features of patching and upgrade activities and provides information about managing your related Changes. From the Instance Dashboard on the Now Support portal, you can view, track, and manage your ServiceNow instances and their upcoming upgrade Changes. To make it easy for you to take ownership of your ServiceNow upgrade journey, the Security Patching and End-of-Life (EOL) upgrade Changes have been redesigned. Features The upgrade Change Subject will indicate whether the Change is a Security Patch, a Family EOL Upgrade, or a Customer Self-Scheduled Change. This makes it easy to understand and manage your scheduled Changes.A ServiceNow Security Patch Change can only be targeted to move your ServiceNow instance within the same family version (e.g. Vancouver Patch 1 to Vancouver Patch 3 Hot Fix 1).A ServiceNow Family EOL Upgrade Change can only be targeted to move your ServiceNow instance to a higher family (e.g. Utah to Vancouver).You can self-schedule upgrades even when a ServiceNow Security Patch or a Family EOL upgrade change is already open.A direct link to the Upgrade an Instance service catalog item under the Target version to make it easy for you to create your upgrade Change. Important Considerations ServiceNow Security Patch or Family EOL Upgrade Changes will upgrade on the planned start date and to the indicated target version, unless; Your self-scheduled Change is targeted to a higher target version and the planned start date is before the ServiceNow Security Patch or Family EOL Upgrade Change, then the ServiceNow Security Patch or Family EOL Upgrade will auto-cancel during the time of execution.Likewise, if a Family EOL Upgrade is targeted to a higher version and the planned start date is earlier than the Security Patch, then the Security Patch Change will auto-cancel during the time of execution.Or, an extension has been requested. ServiceNow Security Patch and Family EOL Upgrade Changes cannot be canceled and can only be rescheduled within the approved windows. You can seek an extension if you cannot complete an upgrade during the approved self-rescheduling window by entering a comment into the Security Patch or Family EOL Upgrade Change. Managing your ServiceNow Security Patch and Family EOL Upgrades Only one family or patch Change can be opened on a ServiceNow instance at a time. The existing Security Patch or Family EOL Upgrade Change should be leveraged to retarget to a different version or to reschedule the upgrade.Only one family or patch Change can be opened on a ServiceNow instance at a time. Rather than attempting to create a new Change, use the existing Security Patch or Family EOL Upgrade Change to retarget or reschedule the upgrade. If no Change exists, you can self-schedule a patch, hotfix, or family upgrade to the version you want to go to via the Upgrade an Instance service catalog item on the Instances Dashboard. If a Family EOL Upgrade CHG has been scheduled, you will not be able to schedule your own family upgrade. However, you can modify the planned start date and the target version to a higher family than the current family of your instance.You can self-schedule a patch or hotfix Change taking you to a higher available patch version within the current family of your ServiceNow instance. If a Security Patch Change has been scheduled, you will not be able to schedule your own patch or hotfix However, you can modify the planned start date and the target version to a higher available patch version within the current family of your instance.You can self-schedule a family upgrade taking you to a higher family than the current family of your instance. Older versions that are no longer supported or are below our Security Target are retired and cannot be selected as an upgrade target. You can manage your ServiceNow instances and their upcoming upgrade Changes within the Instance Dashboard on the Now Support portal. From here, you can manage all of your ServiceNow instances and their current upgrade schedule status, including direct links to all of your scheduled Changes. Terminology Phrase Definition End-of-Life Upgrade 90 days before a new family is released, ServiceNow schedules all customer instances that will become unsupported for an upgrade to the new family after it is released. These CHGs may stay open for 90 days or more. Family A complete solution including new capabilities that customers can implement to add value to their organization. The release family also incorporates available fixes to existing functionality. Patch An upgrade within a family (e.g., Vancouver Patch 1 to Vancouver Patch 3). No new features are released in patches. Hotfix Similar to a patch – an upgrade within a family, but containing only a small number of targeted fixes Additional Information For more information and steps to schedule upgrade Changes, view KB0541128 - How to manage and schedule instance upgrades.