VMware vSphere, particularly the ESXi hypervisor, remains the gold standard for enterprise virtualization. Version 8.0 introduces significant improvements in security, lifecycle management, and GPU partitioning. While the official method of obtaining ESXi 8.0 is through a VMware Customer Connect account, many homelab enthusiasts, students, or offline users opt to download the ISO from a shared source like for convenience. This essay provides a comprehensive guide on acquiring the VMware ESXi 8.0 ISO via Google Drive and performing a successful bare-metal installation.
Choose Release 8.0U3e (or the latest available version) from the dropdown. vmware esxi 80 download iso google drive install
The official way to download VMware ESXi 8.0 is through the Broadcom Support Portal, which has recently reintroduced a free version starting with This essay provides a comprehensive guide on acquiring
Hosting your own copy of the ISO on Google Drive can make it convenient to access from multiple locations or to transfer to another machine. Note: avoid sharing links publicly for security. Note: avoid sharing links publicly for security
For 99% of users, the official VMware download portal followed by a personal Google Drive backup is the safest workflow.
Once the server reboots, you will see the ESXi management console (Direct Console User Interface - DCUI).