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The free edition of VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) is no longer available on the VMware website.

As explained in KB 2107518, on February 16th 2024, VMware announces the End Of General Availability of the Free vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.x and 8.x).

As part of the transition of perpetual licensing to new subscription offerings, the VMware vSphere Hypervisor (Free Edition) has been marked as EOGA (End of General Availability).

The free version was available under Product Evaluation Center for VMware vSphere Hypervisor 8

Not a big issue for production customers, that never used the free edition due to its limitations (no API for backup, no managebility with vCenter, very limited PowerCLI support, limits on max resources, …).

But for testing and lab was a great option, consindering that the Essential bundle was also dismissed.

Of course, you can still install a fresh ESXi and use the evaluation mode for 60 days… but it’s not the same.

For more information see: End Of General Availability of the Free vSphere Hypervisor

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Virtualization, Cloud and Storage Architect. Tech Field delegate. VMUG IT Co-Founder and board member. VMware VMTN Moderator and vExpert 2010-24. Dell TechCenter Rockstar 2014-15. Microsoft MVP 2014-16. Veeam Vanguard 2015-23. Nutanix NTC 2014-20. Several certifications including: VCDX-DCV, VCP-DCV/DT/Cloud, VCAP-DCA/DCD/CIA/CID/DTA/DTD, MCSA, MCSE, MCITP, CCA, NPP.