As of early 2024, Broadcom officially of the VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi). Direct "free" downloads of older versions like 6.5 are no longer publicly available on the primary VMware/Broadcom site for users without existing paid entitlements. However, there are still legitimate ways to obtain the ISO:
Since the Broadcom acquisition, the official "free" download pages on the VMware/Broadcom portal have been removed or moved behind "entitlement" paywalls. However, legitimate alternative sources for the ISO still exist: Broadcom Community vmware esxi 6.5 download iso free
Official downloads are typically restricted to customers with existing paid licenses or entitlements. Broadcom has officially marked the older "Free Edition" of ESXi as End of General Availability. Security Risk: As of early 2024, Broadcom officially of the
Insert the USB into your server and select it as the primary boot device in the BIOS/UEFI. Follow the Installer: Select the destination drive. Set your root password (do not lose this!). Confirm the installation and reboot. However, legitimate alternative sources for the ISO still