The landscape for downloading the has changed dramatically following the Broadcom acquisition. After completely discontinuing the standalone free vSphere Hypervisor in February 2024, Broadcom reversed its decision. VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) is once again available as a free download starting with the release of ESXi 8.0 Update 3e .
Once you have the ISO and the license key:
For learning virtualization, running a home media server, or hosting a few development VMs, the free version is perfect. For clustering or automatic failover, you need a paid license or VMUG Advantage. vmware esxi download free version
The process for obtaining the free license has changed over the years. You used to need a trial key that converted to free; now, you require a free VMware Customer Connect account. Follow these steps precisely.
⚠️ : The free license does not include support entitlements from VMware. The landscape for downloading the has changed dramatically
The free version of VMware ESXi is a great way to get started with server virtualization or test the waters before investing in the full vSphere suite. While it has some limitations, it's a robust and feature-rich hypervisor that can support a wide range of workloads.
Before you rely on the for production, understand the two biggest "gotchas": Once you have the ISO and the license
: Lacks vMotion, High Availability (HA), and Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) .
"I can't find the download link on Broadcom's site." Fix: The portal changes often. Use Google search with site:broadcom.com "VMware vSphere Hypervisor (Free)" . Ensure you are logged in.