VMware traditionally offered a time period of Technical Guidance after a version went end of support. During Technical Guidance there would be no patches, no vulnerability scans, and no product enhancements. One could call in to support and get best-effort support without access to engineering or deep log reviews. If you did call in you would often get in touch with a support engineer who would help you with a Sev-1, with the intention that your next planned step would be to upgrade to a supported version. In my experience the depth of the interaction depended on the TSE that was assigned the ticket. It turned out positive if they had the knowledge and availability. As time passed beyond the end of support the odds of a positive experience quickly downhill.
Broadcom is not offering post general support tech guidance any longer (with a minor exception). On October 2nd 2025 version 7 of vCenter, vSAN, and ESXi will be self/community supported. See https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2025/03/31/reminder-vsphere-7-to-reach-end-of-service-october-2-2025/ (Exceptions exist for those who have current support purchased prior to May 6, 2024)
A line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere. This is the line. Good, Bad, or Ugly. Each team and organization should make the upgrade decision based on their risk tolerance. I’m encouraging everyone to be upgraded well before the Oct date because in the high-wire balancing act that is IT I want to be working with a net.
vChris 