: Historically, a free version was available with a dedicated license key, but Broadcom announced the End of General Availability for the free "Personal Use" version of ESXi in early 2024. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Review of Key Features Performance

Elias watched the percentage tick upward. This was the moment of no return. The drive was being formatted, the old data obliterated, replaced by the VMkernel. It was a baptism by fire.

If the official VMware portal is temporarily unavailable, or you need a specific patch version: