VMware is back with a free version of ESXi 8. You can now download the VMware ESXi 8.0U3e and install it for evaluation purposes. This is not the full version, but it is at least something. Finding it is painful, but in some ways, it is easier than the older version. Still, this is going back on the direction when Broadcom VMware Ended the Free VMware vSphere Hypervisor Closing an Era.
VMware ESXi 8.0U3e Now Has a Free Version
This one is more painful than it needs to be. First, you need to go to the Broadcom support portal here. At that point, you will also need to be logged in. If you have not logged in recently because you did a VMware Esxidous, it may require resetting your password. On that support portal page, go down to VMware vSphere Hypervisor.
Then you need to click VMware vSphere Hypervisor again. This is really the UI design. That expanded menu will give you the Release 8.0U3e that you can click.
Then you can download the ISO, maybe. The download will require accepting the terms and conditions. You may also be required to update contact information to get access to the download.
Once that is done, you get to the download action and you are ready to go with the ISO and load it on a system. You do not need to go and register a license key or anything like that.
Final Words
If you just want a simple VMware ESXi based virtualization host, then this is fairly easily so long as you already have an account. For a lot of people, this is going to be all they need out of a virtualziation host, albeit one that does not have many of the advanced features. This at least brings back the path to have a free option in the VMware ecosystem. After around 14 months without a free option, the sad part is that many will have already found alternative ecosystems.
Given that they just recently locked down updates for ESXI to uniquely generated repository URLs, I wonder if it’s possibly to apply security updates to this install version, or if you’re just stuck with it as it is at install time.
Why would you use it. Proxmox is far better and full version, free.
Not free… Fix your title.
+1 for Proxmox VE.
Just to let you know, if you have an email that broadcom flags as pending you will be not able to download no matter what. Considering how scuffed their website is and how their word is garbage, just save yourself some hearache and install Proxmox.
Worth mentioning that this license does not support vTPMs. So, no modern Windows on this one.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Running back to VMware, especially considering limited budgets, when they already removed the free tier once, is dangerous. You get no guarantee for your free tier to receive future updates without paying.
I just installed it on my home lab HP DL360 … can’t extend the data store or creat new one even though I have a 2T raid 5 free … wondering if this buggy from the start
“the sad part is that many will have already found alternative ecosystems.”
Only sad for Broadcom, the rest of the world is happy to have switched…
I Couldn’t care less, vmWare ditched it’s home lab enthusiasts, so I switched to proxmox. VMWare are dead to me… And I’m never going back
I ditched VMware and I wasn’t even paying for it at home. Switching away was enough trouble, why would anyone switch back? I also preemptively ditched other VMware products like rabbitmq, just in case.
There are multiple caveats:
– you will have to download eventual updates manually (if they are available for download) and apply them manually from the command shell
– the download portal only works for accounts created before the acquisition by Broadcom or for paying customers, who get the ESXi anyway
– if you name or surname contains accented characters, you’re out of luck, because you will have the download blocked, because “name or surname must not contain special characters”. And you won’t be able to fix it, because accented characters’ encoding has been broken during account migration and you have no way to correct it, because those fields are NOT EDITABLE!
– and the support is only available during Pacific Time Zone office hours
Long story short … ditch VMware as quickly as you can use literally anything else.
Too bad Hock Tan ruined VMware. He can collect this “free” version along with the predatory licensing practices and shove them right back up his ass.
Ditched VMware last year at home, Broadcom killed the community. Actively working through ripping every piece of VMware at work this year due to price increases that belong to the funny farm.
Nice try. Too late dear Broadcom management.
No more your arogant company.
Viva Proxmox.