FortiGate 81E End of Support and Nine Fortinet Lifecycle Dates: How China Government and Enterprise Tenders Should Split Replace vs Spare

How do you verify the nine models and dates?

The table below is taken from Fortinet's official Hardware RSS, checked on 2026-10-23. Before you freeze a tender or purchase order, re-check each exact suffix in Fortinet's Product Life Cycle portal (Hardware & VM tab). The portal UI is authoritative; RSS and third-party sites can lag.

Suffixes matter. FortiGate-81E-POE and FortiGate-81E-USG are separate RSS rows with later EoS dates (2027-07-15 and 2027-05-30). FortiDeceptor-1000F-USG lists EoS 2029-01-29. The string on the label decides whether a unit is in this window.

Why must EoS and EoO be separate lines in a China tender?

A common mistake is to write "end of sale" as if it meant "stop using immediately", or to mix replace and spare lines in one package without labelling the milestone. Evaluators then either force a full refresh where a spare would do, or leave an EoS firewall on a renewal path that no longer exists. Split the response columns in the deviation table.

Deviation table, ceiling price and 13% special VAT invoice

The following is common practice on China government and enterprise informatization projects. It is not legal advice. Always follow the current tax rules, the tender file, and finance or audit requirements.

• Deviation table: Write capabilities such as "cutover before EoS" and "spare must match the installed suffix and be registrable for support". Do not hard-bind an unverified successor part number. "Or equivalent" language is common; require a comparison matrix (throughput, ports, HA, licences).
• Ceiling price: If replace and spare sit in different packages, the ceiling must match the package scope. Mismatched FortiCare years make bids incomparable. Bids above the ceiling are usually invalid under the tender rules — confirm in the file.
• 13% special VAT invoice: Hardware goods quotes commonly settle on a 13% special VAT invoice. State whether software licences and hardware are invoiced separately, the tax-inclusive price, the rate, and the invoicing entity. Rates follow the State Taxation Administration and the contract.
• Domestic delivery and acceptance: Name the delivery site, cutover window, disposition of retired units if required, serial-number handover, and who registers support. Any cross-border supply path is a factual matter for the contract, not expanded on this page.

TAOHAN (Shanghai TaoHan Industrial Co., Ltd.) typically inventories serials and suffixes first, splits "replace package / spare package" RFQs second, and only then drafts wording that can enter a tender.

What if support already cannot extend past EoS? How to prioritise?

For the four EoS appliances, LSED closed in 2025, so a Fortinet-path renewal past EoS is not available. Practical steps:

1. Confirm whether production still depends on the chassis — especially internet-facing FortiGate-81E and identity FortiAuthenticator units.
2. Rank cutover windows by business impact, not by which box arrives first.
3. Collect orderable options against your own throughput, port, HA and licence matrix; require written confirmation. This page does not invent official successor SKUs.
4. Treat any channel trade-up matrix as secondary until it is checked against Fortinet's portal and your serial numbers.

For the five EoO models, prioritise lines with no cold spare, multi-site identical SKUs, and sensitive lead times. Units that already have spares can sit on the normal CapEx calendar toward 2030 LSED / 2031 EoS.

What belongs on the replace-or-spare RFQ?

Suggested fields for the inquiry letter:

• Exact model suffix and serial numbers (for example FortiGate-81E, not a vague "81E family")
• Current FortiCare / FortiGuard expiry per unit
• Milestone type: EoS or EoO, with the verification date and source
• Intent: replace, cold spare, or last identical buy for multi-site rollout
• For replace: inspected throughput target, interface mix, HA, licence years
• For spare: quantity, registration name, planned retirement year
• Delivery site, acceptance terms, special VAT invoice requirement, quote validity

Do not ask bidders to guess a successor. Ask them to map orderable SKUs to your matrix and confirm supply and support registration in writing. Any verbal industry figure is an industry estimate, pending confirmation. This site does not publish prices.

Who is this for, and who is it not for?

Useful for:

• China government and enterprise owners running any of the nine models who must budget in late 2026 or early 2027
• Tender agents and integrators who must encode EoS / EoO into specifications and deviation tables
• Buyers who need to split replace and spare packages and align 13% special VAT invoice wording

Not for:

• Readers who want an invented list of unpublished successor part numbers or a public price list
• Readers who only need FortiOS software calendars with no hardware SKU in this window
• Anyone treating this page as legal, tax or vendor commitment

Six implementation steps

1. Export installed Fortinet serials and copy the full model string from each label.
2. Tag each unit: EoS in this window, EoO in this window, later suffix variant (for example 81E-POE), or out of scope.
3. Re-confirm EoO, LSED and EoS in Fortinet's Product Life Cycle portal; keep a dated export or screenshot.
4. Issue two RFQs: "Replace — EoS" and "Spare / last buy — EoO".
5. On replace lines, write a capability matrix only; require orderable mappings and forbid unverified trade-up names as mandatory clauses.
6. Equalise support years, note that no contract extends past EoS, and set quote validity to cover internal approval.

FAQ

References

• Fortinet Product Life Cycle portal (confirm your SKU)
• Fortinet Hardware Product Lifecycle RSS (dates used here)
• Fortinet community: Product Life Cycle definitions
• State Taxation Administration of China
• China Government Procurement Network

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