for version 6.5 is no longer possible through official channels. VMware ESXi - endoflife.date 25 Feb 2026 —
You can download the ISO for free, install it, and activate it with a free license key obtained from VMware’s website. vmware esxi 6.5 download iso free
It could not be managed via vCenter Server; users had to manage it as a standalone host using the web-based host client. CPU Constraints: It supported a maximum of two physical CPUs Resource Limits: Virtual machines (VMs) were capped at 8 virtual CPUs (vCPUs) for version 6
To apply the license:
ESXi is a bare-metal hypervisor that installs directly onto your physical server. Version 6.5 introduced the HTML5-based vSphere Client, moving away from the old Windows-only desktop client. This made management significantly easier across different operating systems. Key Features of 6.5 REST-based APIs for VM management. Enhanced hardware support for NVMe. Improved security with VM-level encryption. Native HTML5 Host Client. Where to Download VMware ESXi 6.5 ISO CPU Constraints: It supported a maximum of two