Written by David Marshall
VMware vSphere 5.5 was probably the most installed version of vSphere to date. And many virtualization administrators have fond memories of this release. vSphere 5.5 goes all the way back to 2013, and it was hands down the most stable, fast and reliable hypervisor around. But all good things must come to an end. VMware products typically undergo a few stages within its lifetime:
- General Availability (or GA)
- End of General Support (EOGS)
- End of Technical Guidance (End of Supported Life)
"End of General Support" is the date, generally 5 years after GA, from which VMware will no longer support the product actively. And back in February of this year, we warned you that vSphere 5.5 was nearing the End of General Support or EOGS stage. Well, that time has come and gone. On September 19, 2018, vSphere 5.5 officially exited the general support phase and has moved onto something else, "Technical Guidance." If you're playing buzzword bingo at home and trying to follow along, we should probably try to clarify what this means.