FYI: VMware EOA for ESX 4 (not ESXi)

VMware Announces End of Availability Date for VMware vSphere® ESX hypervisor 4.x and VMware Management Assistant Versions 1 and 4

On November 28, 2012, VMware is notifying customers of an End of Availability (“EoA”) date for VMware vSphere® ESX hypervisor 4.x and for VMware Management Assistant (“vMA”) versions 1 and 4. The end of availability date is August 15, 2013. This is a follow-on communication to the general announcement made in July 2011 in connection with the launch of vSphere 5.0.

This notification has NO IMPACT on existing vSphere ESXi 4.x environments, and your customers are NOT required to take any action. However, it is recommended that customers make a backup or keep an archived copy of these binaries and generate any necessary license keys in order to maintain or expand a vSphere ESX hypervisor version 4.x or vMA versions 1 and 4 environment. These steps should be completed prior to August 15, 2013. VMware will not provide any binaries or license keys for vSphere ESX hypervisor 4.x or vMA versions 1 and 4 after August 15, 2013.

Please note:

• vSphere ESX hypervisor 4.X and vMA support lifecycle
  The end of support life (“EOSL”) date remains May 21, 2014. Learn more about VMware’s support lifecycle.
• Customer’s ability to use the binaries of vSphere ESX hypervisor 4.x or vMA versions 1 and 4 past August 15, 2013
  Customers retain the ability to use licensed binaries past the EoA or EOSL dates. However, they will not be able to download binaries or generate new license keys after the EoA date or obtain technical support and subscription after the EOSL date.
• vSphere ESXi 4.X availability and support – There is NO impact
• vMA 4.1, 5, or 5.1 availability and support for all versions – There is NO impact

Contact the Partner Support Center if you have any questions or require assistance. Beginning November 28, 2012, your customers can access an FAQ and learn more about these changes by visitingvmware.com.