Hardware withdrawal: IBM TS3500 Tape Library models L23 and L53 and select features

Do you remember when the TS3500 base frames were first announced ? No ?
I also had to look it up : the L23 and L53 were first announced in May 2006 and now their End of Marketing date was announced : 'Hardware withdrawal: IBM TS3500 Tape Library models L23 and L53 and select features - Some replacements available (ZG16-0129)'.

Effective October 7, 2017 you will no longer be able to order the L23 (base frame for 3592) and L53 (base frame for LTO) frames. This seems like a logical evolution. We have a replacement in the meantime with the TS4500 L25 and TS4500 L55 frames.

So I wonder who would still want to order a new TS3500 Tape Library for the moment, when the TS4500 is a valid replacement. But don't worry if you want to expand an existing TS3500 : since the D23 and D53 frames are not mentioned and no field installs are mentioned either, I assume that you can still order additional expansion frames on the TS3500 tape library.

Here's some information on the TS4500 Tape library

• The IBM TS4500 Overview page where you can find a demo, the Data Sheet and an Infographic on 'Why TS4500 for z Systems'
• The IBM Knowledge Center TS4500 documentation page