The free license limits the number of virtual CPUs assigned to a virtual machine.
Because Broadcom restructured the VMware customer portal, downloading older ISOs requires specific access. 1. The Official Broadcom Support Portal
The ESXi bootloader menu will appear. Select and press Enter. Wait for the installer files to extract into system memory. At the Welcome screen, press Enter to continue. Press F11 to accept the End User License Agreement (EULA).
Since Broadcom’s acquisition, all downloads require a Broadcom support account. vmware esxi 6.5 download iso free
for version 6.5 is no longer possible through official channels. VMware ESXi - endoflife.date 25 Feb 2026 —
Keep the partition scheme as and target system as BIOS or UEFI .
Provides 365-day evaluation licenses for vSphere, vCenter, and NSX. The free license limits the number of virtual
Newer ESXi versions have dropped support for older CPUs and hardware (such as certain older generation Intel and AMD processors). ESXi 6.5 is the sweet spot for older white-box servers and enterprise equipment.
Since Broadcom acquired VMware, all downloads have migrated to the Broadcom Support Portal.
Great options if you want to combine network-attached storage (NAS) with basic virtualization capabilities. The Official Broadcom Support Portal The ESXi bootloader
Set Partition Scheme to or GPT depending on target hardware (UEFI vs Legacy BIOS). Click Start . Select Yes if prompted to replace menu.c32 . Using dd (Linux/macOS) Identify your USB drive path using lsblk or diskutil list .
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Open a web browser on a separate computer connected to the same network. Enter the URL: https://[your-esxi-ip-address]
: 1GB minimum space for booting (USB, SD card, or local drive). 💡 Alternatives for Home Labs