The "Free ESXi" license (which limited you to 2 physical CPUs and no vCenter management) has been officially discontinued by Broadcom. However, you can still use the ISO for a .
Use a tool like Rufus to "burn" the ISO onto a USB flash drive. vmware esxi 6.5 download iso free
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. The "Free ESXi" license (which limited you to
⚠️ Because ESXi 6.5 is end-of-life (EOL), it no longer receives security patches. It is highly recommended to keep these hosts behind a strong firewall and never expose the management interface to the public internet. Insert the USB into your server and select
Finding the "free" version can be tricky since Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware changed the portal structure. Historically, VMware offered a "vSphere Hypervisor" license which was a free, feature-limited version of ESXi. 1. The Official Broadcom Support Portal