Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 25, 2026

Sunset (computing)

In information technology (IT), to sunset a server, service, software feature, etc. is to plan to intentionally remove or discontinue it. In most cases, the term also connotes that this discontinuation is announced to users in advance, generally with an expected timeline. After sunsetting is announced, usually very few changes are made to the hardware or software in question, as such work would be counterproductive, when its termination is soon to follow. In some cases, however, individual features of an application, server, or service may be phased out at different times, leading up to the eventual full shutdown.

Last revised
May 25, 2026
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Wikipedia ↗

In information technology (IT), to sunset a server, service, software feature, etc. is to plan to intentionally remove or discontinue it. In most cases, the term also connotes that this discontinuation is announced to users in advance, generally with an expected timeline. After sunsetting is announced, usually very few changes are made to the hardware or software in question, as such work would be counterproductive, when its termination is soon to follow. In some cases, however, individual features of an application, server, or service may be phased out at different times, leading up to the eventual full shutdown.1234567

References

References

  1. Cornell University (2021). "Managing the Product Lifecycle Course". eCornell. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  2. Salyers, Jen C. (2019-04-19). "Information Technology: The Dark Side of Sunsetting" (PDF). Context Law. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  3. airfocus GmbH (2020-02-16). "What Is The Product Lifecycle? Definition, Benefits and Challenges". airfocus.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  4. Sandoval, Kristopher (2019-08-22). "How to Smartly Sunset and Deprecate APIs". Nordic APIs. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  5. Ballas, Linda (2010-03-16). "Application Lifecycle Management" (PDF). IT Professionals Forum. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  6. Wierda, Gerben (2019-08-14). "Lifecycle Management – Let the Sunshine in". R&A Enterprise Architecture. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  7. Particle Industries, Inc. (2020-06-05). "Product Lifecycle Stages". Particle Support. Archived from the original on 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2021-05-07.