Reminder: vSphere 6.5 and vSphere 6.7 End of Support on October 15, 2022!

Hey, fellows administrators, this is a gentle reminder that the End of General Support for vSphere 6.5 and vSphere 6.7 is October 15, 2022. It is recommended to upgrade to vSphere 7 as soon as possible. During VMware Explore, the new version of vSphere was announced, vSphere 8. The End of General support for vSphere 7 will be on April 2, 2025.

Technical Guidance for vSphere 6.5 and vSphere 6.7 is available until November 15, 2023, primarily through the self-help portal. During the Technical Guidance phase, VMware does not offer new hardware support, server/client/guest OS updates, new security patches, or bug fixes unless otherwise noted. For more information, visit VMware Lifecycle Support Phases.

For anyone still running vCenter Server 6.0, it is a wake-up call. The end of general support and end of technical guidance was scheduled for 2022-03-12.

The End of General Support for vSphere 6.5 and vSphere 6.7 also means the End of General Support for Windows-based vCenter Server instances, and for the Flash-based vSphere Web Client. vSphere 7 supports the Photon-OS-based vCenter Server and HTML5-based vSphere Client.

NOTE: vCenter Server 7 can manage ESXi 6.5 and ESXi 6.7 hosts. If hardware support for ESXi 7 restricts the ability to upgrade ESXi, you can upgrade vCenter Server to version 7 to avail of some enhancements and improvements included in vSphere 7.

Upgrading from ESXi 6.5 and ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7

The process to upgrade your environment from ESXi 6.5 and ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7 is not complicated. Using the vCenter Server Appliance deployment utility to run your upgrade in the environment. It deploys the new appliance in the environment, copies over the database and configuration information, and assumes the identity of the previous vCenter Server. Take a look at my video, where you can see the step-by-step upgrade process:

If you would like assistance in moving to a newer version of vSphere, VMware’s vSphere Upgrade Service is available. This service delivers a comprehensive guide to upgrading your virtual infrastructure. It includes recommendations for planning and testing the upgrade, the actual upgrade itself, validation guidance, and rollback procedures. For more information, contact your Technical Account Manager or visit VMware Professional Services and VMware Consulting Engagement Request.

If you are curious about what the new vSphere 8 can offer, please take a look at this video: