While VMware ESXi 6.5 was once a staple for home labs and small businesses through its free edition, Broadcom officially discontinued the free vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) in February 2024
| Category | Requirement | | :--- | :--- | | | 64-bit x86 CPU with LAHF/LZCNT instructions (Nehalem or newer Intel; Barcelona or newer AMD) | | RAM | Minimum 4 GB (8 GB recommended) | | Network | Intel, Broadcom, or Mellanox NICs (Realtek consumer NICs will not work ) | | Storage | SATA, SAS, or NVMe (SATA RAID often requires community drivers) | | Security | Unpatched 6.5 is vulnerable to ESXiArgs Ransomware and Log4Shell | vmware esxi 6.5 download iso free
Disclaimer: VMware, vSphere, and ESXi are trademarks of Broadcom. This guide is for educational and homelab use only. Always confirm licensing for commercial use directly with Broadcom. While VMware ESXi 6
General support for version 6.5 ended years ago, and even technical guidance expired on November 15, 2023. Availability: Backup existing data: