
VMware support team is available 24/7 both online and by phone unless there’re any vSphere license restrictions. At this stage, guys who bought VMware support are provided with maintenance upgrades and updates, security patches, and versatile technical assistance within the Support and Subscription Terms and Conditions. General Support Phase (GSP) starts on the date of Major Release general availability. End of Availability (aka End of Distribution).Officially, all VMware products pass the following stages within their lifecycles:

But, wait, why write about it in January 2019? You see, some being misled by a title starting with “End”, think that it might be the end for the solution… WRONG! To overcome this fallacy, I decided to write an article that sheds light on VMware Lifecycle Policy and proves that End of General Availability is not the end!

19 September 2018, VMware announced the end General availability for vSphere 5.5 – their probably most installed vSphere versions to date.
