VMware ESXi 7.0 Update 3w Upgrade Restriction?

[Alexandru Capras]

Hello everyone,

In the latest ESXi 7.0 release notes (Update 3w), it says:

"Upgrade from ESXi 7.0 Update 3w to ESXi 8.x is currently not supported, but an upgrade path will be available with a future ESXi 8.x release."

So, does this mean that if we patch to the latest 7.0 version now… which we're kind of forced to do due to the critical vulnerability… we'll hit the end of support in October and we won't be able to upgrade to ESXi 8.x?

Are we basically stuck, waiting for a future 8.x release (maybe 8.0 U3g or whatever comes next), without a supported upgrade path in the meantime?

[Alexandru Capras]

So… apparently this is a known issue. That said, security concerns should take priority.
One simple way to avoid the "stuck" situation is to upgrade directly to v8 if possible. Otherwise, just patch the systems now and wait for the next 8.x release... there'll still be enough time to upgrade to v8 before v7 support ends.

[ninjabrum]

"Back in time" upgrades have been a concern for many many years. 

https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/312157/vcenter-server-backintime-release-upgrad.html

If security is your concern, as well as support, and you can upgrade to 8.0 instead of 7.0u3w, do that instead.  Otherwise, patch to u3w and wait for the next v8 release.  That being said, I've done a couple "back in time" updates to vCenter and ESXi without any issue. If the version release dates are close together, the risk is only to security issues from regression.