vSphere 8 end of life on 11 October 2027: ESXi 8 and vCenter 8 dates and what to plan

What this means for your renewal

End of support is the most common starting point for our VMware optimisation. It usually takes one of three forms.

• Hosts still run ESXi 8, and nobody in-house has time for an upgrade that changes vCenter, every host, the cluster lifecycle and licensing. After a quick assessment of the state and the dates, we carry out the upgrade cluster by cluster in agreed maintenance windows, with a rollback plan at every stage.
• Term and tier are chosen before October 2027 without independent data on how the hosts are used. We take an inventory of versions, subscriptions and actual resource usage, and set the term against 11 October 2027 and, for Standard and Enterprise Plus 8 in the EEA, against 31 October 2028.
• Hosts that cannot run ESX 9 stay on ESXi 8.0 U3 under a vCenter 9.1, keep an 8.x key and also use 9.x capacity (KB 441187). We count the capacity this mixed period needs, host by host.

Tell us how many hosts still run ESXi 8, which vCenter build manages them and when your subscription ends. If the renewal is days away, say so: a proper assessment takes one to two weeks.

The dates, and who publishes them

General support for vSphere 8, that is ESXi 8.x, vCenter Server 8.x and vSAN 8.x, ends on 11 October 2027, according to Broadcom’s public KB 459135. For customers in the European Economic Area (EEA), Broadcom’s VCF blog of 4 November 2026 includes Extended Support in active vSphere Standard 8 and Enterprise Plus 8 subscriptions until the subscription ends or 31 October 2028, whichever comes first. Broadcom’s VCF blog of 13 October 2026 states that “vSphere 8.0 and the VCF 5.x stack reach the End of General Support (EOGS) on October 11, 2027.” Broadcom had put the month in writing earlier. In an August 2025 post on its VMware Cloud Foundation blog, addressed to SAP customers, it wrote that vSphere 8 “will be supported until October 2027, with an optional two-year Extended Support period available for purchase”. KB 459135, “End of General Support for vSphere 8.0”, lists ESXi 8.x, vCenter 8.x and vSAN 8.x, each generally available since 11 October 2022, with that end date: “The End of general support for vSphere 8.0 is October 11, 2027.” It needs no sign-in (re-read on 5 November 2026).

What follows that day is in Broadcom’s KB 456708, “Upcoming End of Service for vSphere 8, vSAN 8, Aria 8, NSX 4 and VCF 5 product suite”. It lists 11 October 2027 as the end of service for ESXi 8.x, vCenter Server 8.x, vSAN 8.x, VCF 5.2.x, NSX 4.x, HCX 4.x and the Aria 8.18.x products, states that “Post the listed End of Service dates, there will be no Technical Support and no new patches for these product versions”, and recommends VCF 9 or VVF 9. Broadcom’s undated end of technical guidance list gives 11 October 2029 for ESXi, vCenter and vSAN 8.0, which is at most a planning horizon. KB 456708 does not mention technical guidance, and for vSphere 7 Broadcom footnoted that phase: “Does not apply to Broadcom contracts. Applicable to valid VMware contracts only.” Do not plan on 2029 unless Broadcom confirms in writing what it covers under your contract.

Broadcom gives ESXi, vCenter and vSAN 7.0 the same dates, and their 8.0 versions the same guidance date (VCF 5.0 and 5.1: 1 June 2028). Broadcom KB 459135 and 456708 (re-read 5 November 2026) and 415405 (read 23 October 2026); Broadcom’s end of technical guidance list (undated, read 23 October 2026); VMware Cloud Foundation blog, 25 July 2024, 16 July 2025, 1 August 2025, 13 October 2026 and 4 November 2026 (read 5 November 2026).

What ends with general support

Broadcom’s maintenance handbook of 8 June 2026 covers “all generally available versions and releases of Broadcom Software” not designated end of service or end of life. After the end of service date Broadcom “has no obligation to provide Support” for the version, while “the published service and security packs and fixes will continue to be available as part of self-service support for the duration of your remaining active Maintenance term”, and it makes “reasonable efforts” to give at least twelve months’ notice. For vSphere 7, Broadcom called 2 October 2025 the end of service date and wrote that customers still running 7.x “will not be able to receive product support, security patches and updates”. The only technical guidance definition we found on Broadcom’s knowledge base is VMware’s for vSphere 6.0 (KB 318892): “primarily through the self-help portal”, without “new security patches or bug fixes unless otherwise noted”.

Critical patches. KB 314603, “Zero Day (i.e., Critical) Security Patches for vSphere 8.x Perpetual License Customers with Expired Support Contracts”, is the documented exception: Broadcom “will provide all perpetual license customers, including those that have expired support contracts” the patches for Critical Severity Security Alerts with a CVSS score of 9.0 or higher, and “Supported versions of VMware vSphere are version 8.x.” KB 456708 sets the end: after 11 October 2027 “there will be no Technical Support and no new patches” for ESXi 8.x, vCenter Server 8.x and vSAN 8.x. Broadcom’s critical advisory VMSA-2026-0006 lists no 7.0 fix, only “Contact Broadcom Support if you have extended support contract”.

Extended Support. Broadcom described its model before 9.0 as five years of general support with, “in certain cases”, two more years of Extended Support to buy, and its August 2025 post names that option for vSphere 8. For customers in the EEA, its post of 4 November 2026 includes Extended Support in active Standard and Enterprise Plus 8 subscriptions, as set out below; we found no public terms for what Extended Support covers. If some hosts may need it, ask for availability and conditions in writing with the renewal quote; our quote checklist covers the rest of the quote. What Broadcom support covers today, Extended Support included, is in our guide to VMware support after Broadcom.

vSphere 8 Extended Support and other options after October 2027

Broadcom’s documents name the options for a vSphere 8 host once general support ends on 11 October 2027. The supported path is an upgrade to a release that is still in general support: KB 415405, “End of General Support for vSphere 7.0”, points to its upgrade guides and, for “service after end of support”, to the maintenance handbook. A host that stays on 8.x under an active maintenance term keeps self-service access to the fixes published before that day, as described above, while KB 456708 rules out technical support and new patches after it. For technical support on 8.x after October 2027, Broadcom’s post of 1 August 2025 names “an optional two-year Extended Support period available for purchase”. For customers in countries in the European Economic Area, Broadcom’s VCF blog of 4 November 2026 states that vSphere Standard 8 and Enterprise Plus 8 “will have Extended Support included in any active subscriptions to those offerings until the earlier of the applicable subscription end date or October 31, 2028”. The post names no other edition and gives no terms, and KB 456708 did not mention it when we re-read it on 5 November 2026, so ask in writing which builds the included Extended Support covers and until which day.

As of 16 October 2026, Broadcom’s published Extended Support terms, its Extended Support SPD of 17 April 2024, do not name VMware, so they show the general shape of the offer rather than the terms of a vSphere 8 contract. They define Extended Support as “technical support for certain designated Broadcom software versions and releases” and require the customer to remain an active Broadcom maintenance or subscription customer for the whole Extended Support term. Included are “Access to published fixes and solutions” and, “At Broadcom’s sole discretion, new bug fixes for high-impact problems”. Additional service packs are excluded, and the document does not mention security patches. For vSphere 8, ask in writing which builds and dates a contract covers and whether security patches are included.

vSphere 7 as the precedent

vSphere 7 shipped on 2 April 2020 with end of general support first set for 2 April 2025. In July 2024, about eight months before that date, Broadcom extended it by six months to 2 October 2025. Broadcom extended vSphere 7 once. For vSphere 8, KB 459135 still gave 11 October 2027 when we re-read it on 5 November 2026, and Broadcom’s post of 4 November 2026 adds Extended Support for EEA Standard and Enterprise Plus 8 subscriptions, not a longer general support, so plan on 11 October 2027. And versions cannot be skipped: Broadcom’s June 2025 overview of vSphere 9.0 says “Upgrading directly from vSphere 7.0 is not supported” and that vCenter 9.0 “does not support managing ESX 7.0 or earlier”, so an estate still on 7.x has two upgrades ahead.

Where 8.x goes next

Broadcom’s vSphere Version Comparison (April 2026) states for the standalone editions: “vSphere Standard and vSphere Enterprise Plus are only available as versions up to the 8 Update 3 release”, and vSphere 9.1 features are “only available as part of VMware vSphere Foundation 9.1 and VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1”. On 4 November 2026 Broadcom’s VCF blog introduced vSphere Express, “Built on the reliability, resiliency, and performance of vSphere 9 and available immediately in all regions”, for “customers with 128 cores across all environments”; the post gives no licence terms and does not call it a Standard edition. The same post keeps Standard 8 and Enterprise Plus 8 on sale in the EEA until 31 October 2027, and neither edition has a documented 9.x version. What Broadcom has documented for these editions is in our guide to vSphere Standard end of life.

Perpetual licences need a step first: the VCF 9.1 FAQ of 3 September 2026 says customers with perpetual licences “will need to switch to subscription licenses prior to upgrading”, and the VVF 9.1 FAQ says the same. The tier and the term against this calendar are in our renewal guide, the core count in our core counting guide. What VCF 9.1 adds to VVF 9.1, component by component, is in our VVF and VCF 9.1 comparison.

Broadcom’s July 2025 support model expects six years from 9.0, to an estimated end of service on 17 June 2031, with a minor release about every nine months; early minor releases are expected to get 27 months of support, the last one 45. The minor release you land on sets the date of your next upgrade, so check its end date on Broadcom’s product lifecycle page before you pick the target. Broadcom’s VCF blog of 13 October 2026 gives 17 September 2027 for the end of general support of 9.0, 24 days before vSphere 8, and August 2028 for 9.1.1, so an upgrade to 9.0 alone does not extend the support period of a vSphere 8 estate. The dates of each 9.x release are in our guide to vSphere 9 end of life.

Upgrade paths and the order Broadcom sets

For 9.0, Broadcom wrote in June 2025 that “vSphere 9.0 supports direct upgrade from vSphere 8.0”, and the oldest host vCenter 9.0 manages runs ESX 8.0 (Broadcom’s 9.x documents call the hypervisor ESX), but the back-in-time rule below also bars 8.0 U3i and later from 9.0.0.0, 9.0.1.0 and 9.0.2.0. For 9.1, Broadcom’s procedure for a vSphere 8 estate, last updated on 1 October 2026, starts from vCenter 8 Update 3 and ESX 8 Update 3 or later, and “VCF Operations and the license server components are required to license all 9.1.x environments”. It first upgrades Aria Operations 8.18 or later to VCF Operations 9.1, or deploys VCF Operations, then deploys a licence server, then upgrades vCenter, the ESX hosts, the vSAN on-disk format and vSAN File Service. It applies only to estates without SDDC Manager, NSX or other Aria components; VCF 5.2.x deployments follow Broadcom’s upgrade of the VCF management domain. Broadcom’s fuller sequence, KB 390634 “Update Sequence for VCF 9.0 and Compatible VMware Products”, also puts the VADP-based backup product, vSphere Replication and Site Recovery Manager before vCenter, and adds: “Patches can be applied in any order. The upgrade order only matters for major/minor releases.” Which version of Veeam Backup & Replication each of vSphere 9.0, 9.1 and 9.1.1 needs is in our article on backup for VMware after Broadcom. A vCenter upgrade to 9.0 deploys a new appliance, which needs a temporary IP address until it takes over the old one’s address and host name. For 9.1, Broadcom’s vCenter upgrade guide (updated 12 October 2026) says: “You can deploy the new appliance on an ESX host 9.0 or later, or on the inventory of a vCenter instance 9.0 or later.” An estate whose hosts all run ESXi 8 therefore needs one ESX 9 host for the new appliance before the vCenter window. The full sequence is in our vSphere 8 to VCF 9 upgrade guide.

Broadcom does not support a “back-in-time” upgrade from a source that “contains code fixes, security patches, or driver updates that are not yet present in the target release” (KB 450972). vSphere 8.0 U3j and U3k came out after VCF 9.1.0, so they cannot be upgraded or converged to it; the Import workflow, which puts the estate under an existing VCF 9.1 fleet on its 8.0 U3 builds, still works. Broadcom’s KB 448135 adds that VCF 9.1.1.0, released on 3 September 2026, resolves the block for 8.0 U3j and later, and Broadcom’s VCF blog of 13 October 2026 names 8.0 U3j and U3k among the sources whose forward path 9.1.1 restores; as of 23 October 2026 the vCenter 8.0 U3k release notes have not been updated, so confirm U3k in the Interoperability Matrix. Broadcom published 9.1.1.0100 patches for ESX, vCenter, NSX and vSAN on 12 October 2026. Check your 8.0 build against the target build before you book the window. Your administrators can prepare with official VMware courses on current versions in our Enterprise Training; ask us which course fits your target release.

What to check on every host and cluster

Each check below, from Broadcom’s knowledge base or release notes, can decide whether a host moves to ESX 9 or waits. How to run the CPU, device and boot checks on each host is in our ESX 9 hardware guide.

Broadcom KB 318697, 428874, 391170, 401070 and 317631; TechDocs: ESX 9.0 hardware requirements (24 August 2026), VCF 9.0 vSphere support notes (29 September 2026) and VCF 9.1 support notes (1 October 2026).

A deprecated CPU still installs, with CPU_SUPPORT_WARNING, and runs 9.x, but Broadcom’s policy in KB 428874, “Deprecated CPU Systems / Servers in ESX 9.0 and implications for support”, is that such systems “will be removed in the next major VCF release”. For Skylake-SP, the KB attaches an install and upgrade procedure with an override, dated 18 September 2026, and ties support to the server models in the Broadcom Compatibility Guide, with hardware support left to the server maker. The device lists are spreadsheets attached to KB 391170, such as ESX_9.0_End_of_Life_Devices.xlsx; check every adapter and controller against them. vVols is the strictest line: Broadcom discontinued all vVol certifications for 9.0, while critical fixes for vVols continue on 8.x until its end of support.

Our VMware optimisation covers a full inventory of your estate, with versions and subscriptions, and an action plan ahead of renewal and end of support, with dates. Send us the CPU models and current builds of your hosts through the form below.

A plan against the calendar

October 2027 is the date to work back from. The order below is ours; every step rests on the Broadcom documents cited above. How this date goes into the 2027 IT budget, next to the other support end dates of that year, is covered in our guide to the IT infrastructure review before a budget cycle.

Our planning order, built on the Broadcom documents cited.

What we do

For a vSphere 8 estate we work back from 11 October 2027. The inventory covers vCenter and ESXi builds, CPU models, boot and I/O devices, vVols datastores, baseline-managed clusters and the vCenter sign-in method, together with versions, subscriptions and actual resource usage, and marks for each host whether it can run ESX 9. You receive an action plan ahead of renewal and end of support, with dates: the build each vCenter and host has to reach first, the clusters that move to images, the hosts that stay on 8.0 U3 and the licence capacity the mixed period needs. The upgrade then runs cluster by cluster in agreed maintenance windows, with a rollback plan at every stage, followed by support under an agreed SLA, and we supply the licences. The first call is free of charge; the technical assessment is paid, with its price fixed before work begins.

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