NVIDIA AI Enterprise Lifecycle Policy

Quick Start

• 📋 Which branch should I use? → See Choosing the Right Release Branch for a decision guide with industry-specific recommendations

• 📦 View active releases → Jump to Application Layer Software or Infrastructure Layer Software for current and archived release branches

• ⚠️ Check EOL dates → Review End of Life Notices to plan migrations before branches reach end-of-support

🆕 What’s New in Lifecycle Policy

Lifecycle Policy Updates

• Decoupled Application and Infrastructure Layers — Starting with NVIDIA AI Enterprise 4.0, application software (NVIDIA NIMs, SDKs, frameworks) and infrastructure software (drivers, operators) follow independent release cadences and branch types.

Before You Begin

The Lifecycle Policy sits between initial setup and production deployment. Here’s where it fits and how to use it depending on where you are.

✅ What you should have completed before arriving here:

1. Account activated — You’ve redeemed your Entitlement Certificate, created your NVIDIA Enterprise Account, and have access to NVIDIA NGC, the Support Portal, and the Licensing Portal. If not, start with the Quick Start Guide.

2. Infrastructure running — You’ve installed GPU drivers, the NVIDIA Container Toolkit, and optionally Kubernetes operators. You’ve verified GPU access with a basic workload. If not, the Quick Start Guide covers three deployment paths: Bare Metal, Virtualized (vGPU), and Public Cloud.

3. Know what’s included — You’ve reviewed the NVIDIA AI Enterprise Software document and understand that your NVIDIA AI Enterprise license includes the full Application Layer (AI frameworks, NIMs, SDKs) and Infrastructure Layer (drivers, operators). If not, review the Software document first — it maps every component across both layers.

📍 What to do here (Lifecycle Policy):

• Choose your release branch — Use Choosing the Right Release Branch to determine whether Feature Branch (FB), Production Branch (PB), or Long-Term Support Branch (LTSB) fits your use case, industry, and update cadence.

• Plan your upgrade cycle — Review the Infrastructure Layer Software stack alignment diagram to understand how components release on staggered cadences and where overlap windows allow zero-downtime upgrades.

• Check support timelines — Verify that your current versions are still under Full Support or Extended Support, and review End of Life Notices for any upcoming deprecations.

➡️ Where to go next:

If you need to…	Go to	Why
Deploy NVIDIA GPU Operator or NVIDIA Network Operator	NVIDIA GPU Operator Documentation · NVIDIA Network Operator Documentation	Standalone documentation sites for Kubernetes operator installation and configuration
Set up NVIDIA NIM, NVIDIA NeMo, or other AI frameworks	NVIDIA NIM Documentation · NVIDIA NeMo Documentation · NVIDIA NGC Catalog	Each component has its own documentation site; the NVIDIA NGC Catalog lists all supported software
Plan a deployment architecture	Planning & Deployment	Reference architectures, sizing guides, and deployment blueprints
Check licensing or open a support case	Support	NVIDIA Enterprise Support Services