VMware ESXi is a bare-metal hypervisor: it boots instead of an operating system, directly controlling the server's CPU, memory, and network adapters. THE.Hosting installs ESXi on dedicated servers on request. One important note: since January 2024, Broadcom has eliminated the free ESXi license. Installing the hypervisor without a commercial subscription is no longer allowed under the EULA.
What ESXi Is and Why You Need It
A type-1 hypervisor means there is no host OS between the hardware and the virtual machines. ESXi uses around 150 MB on disk, boots first, and takes direct control of the entire server. This is its key difference from KVM or Hyper-V, which run as a component on top of Linux or Windows.
Each virtual machine gets dedicated vCPUs, an allocated amount of RAM, and a disk in VMDK format. Isolation happens at the hardware level: one VM cannot see another's memory, even if that machine has crashed.
vSphere. ESXi is part of the VMware vSphere platform. vCenter Server is the central management point for multiple ESXi hosts at once. vMotion migrates a running virtual machine between hosts with no downtime. HA (High Availability) restarts virtual machines on a live host if one cluster node goes down.
Storage. ESXi uses VMFS — a file system with simultaneous multi-VM access to a single datastore. VMDK disks can be moved and copied independently of the VM's runtime state, which is convenient for migrations and cloning.
What Changed After the Broadcom Acquisition
In November 2023, Broadcom closed its acquisition of VMware for $61 billion. Two months later, in January 2024, the company discontinued ESXi Free and stopped selling individual vSphere products.
VMware Cloud Foundation. The only official path to ESXi is now a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) subscription — a bundle of vSphere, vSAN, NSX, and several other components. Pricing starts at roughly $5,000 per year for 2 processors (16 cores). A standalone "just ESXi" license no longer exists.
What this means in practice. Previously the setup was simple: download the ESXi Free ISO, install it on a rented server, and start using it. Today you can still download and install an ISO without a key — technically it will run. But operating ESXi without an active VCF subscription violates Broadcom's EULA, cuts off security updates, and voids any access to official support. For production, that is unacceptable.
Versions and support. ESXi 6.x and 7.x have both exited VMware's mainstream support. The current active branch is ESXi 8.x. Running older versions in a production environment is a bad idea — security patches are no longer being issued.
When ESXi Makes Sense
The licensing changes have significantly shifted the economics, but there are scenarios where ESXi still makes sense.
Existing vSphere infrastructure. If an organization already manages a cluster through vCenter and pays for VCF, adding another ESXi host is a routine operation. The cost of migrating all workloads to a different hypervisor typically exceeds the license cost.
Tools without substitutes. vMotion, DRS, Site Recovery Manager — some of these tools have no direct equivalents in open-source solutions. If operational processes depend on them, switching hypervisors means reworking procedures and potentially renegotiating SLAs.
Windows Server Datacenter licensing. Windows Server is licensed per physical processor under Datacenter Edition. In an ESXi environment with vCenter, this allows running an unlimited number of Windows VMs on a licensed host without paying per VM.
Certified hardware. The VMware Hardware Compatibility List specifies which hardware ESXi is guaranteed to work with. If the hardware is certified and uses specific drivers — SR-IOV for network cards, particular RAID controllers — switching hypervisors requires separate compatibility testing.
ESXi Alternatives
The end of the free license accelerated the move to open-source solutions for many organizations. Two main options:
Proxmox VE. A hypervisor based on KVM/QEMU and LXC containers, running on Debian. A paid subscription exists, but it is only needed for access to the enterprise repository and official support — the product runs without it. Features include multi-host clustering, live VM migration with shared storage, snapshots, built-in backup to remote storage, and a web management interface. THE.Hosting supports Proxmox VE on dedicated servers — you can select it when ordering or request a reinstall.
XCP-ng. A fork of XenServer based on the Xen hypervisor, open and free. Managed via Xen Orchestra: live migration, host pools, storage management. XCP-ng is a reasonable choice if the team is familiar with Xen or needs an architecture close to Xen-based public clouds.
For a single dedicated server with no existing vSphere infrastructure, the economics are straightforward: both Proxmox VE and XCP-ng require zero licensing costs.
How It Works on THE.Hosting Servers
THE.Hosting installs ESXi on dedicated servers provided the client has a valid license. The process:
- The client purchases a VCF subscription from Broadcom or an authorized reseller.
- When ordering the server — or via a support ticket — the client provides the ISO and license key.
- THE.Hosting installs ESXi and configures the management network interface.
- Host access is via SSH or IPMI/iKVM. IPMI allows mounting ISOs, rebooting the server, and restoring the system without being physically present.
- Hypervisor management is done through vSphere Client (browser interface on port 443 of the ESXi host) or through an existing vCenter Server.
If there is no VMware license, the practical choice is to order a server with Proxmox VE — it is on the list of supported OS options and installs at no additional cost. OS reinstallation on THE.Hosting servers is done with one click from the control panel.
Server specifications: 2x Intel E5-2697Av4, 64 to 384 GB ECC RAM, hardware RAID controller, SSD, 10 Gbps port, unlimited traffic, IPMI/iKVM/iLO included. Activation takes approximately 30 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a license required to install ESXi in 2025? Yes. Since January 2024, Broadcom has discontinued the free ESXi Free license. Any use of ESXi requires a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) subscription. Minimum cost is around $5,000 per year for 2 processors. Installing from ISO without a key is technically possible — but running ESXi without a license violates Broadcom's EULA and cuts off access to security updates.
Which ESXi version does THE.Hosting install? The current branch is ESXi 8.x. The specific build is discussed in the ticket — typically the latest stable release from the ISO provided by the client. ESXi 6.x and 7.x are outside VMware's mainstream support and are not suitable for new deployments.
Can virtual machines be migrated from ESXi to Proxmox? Yes. Proxmox supports VMDK disk imports. The standard scenario: shut down the VM on ESXi, transfer the VMDK file to the Proxmox host, convert it to qcow2, and attach it to a new VM:
qemu-img convert -f vmdk -O qcow2 disk.vmdk disk.qcow2The VM configuration (vCPU, RAM, network adapters) needs to be recreated manually in Proxmox.
Does ESXi support nested virtualization? Yes. ESXi supports nested virtualization — running a hypervisor inside a virtual machine. Enable it by adding a parameter to the VM's VMX configuration file: vhv.enable = TRUE. Performance with nested virtualization is noticeably reduced — suitable for test environments, not for production.
I already have vSphere with licenses — how do I add a host on THE.Hosting? With an active VCF subscription, adding a host to an existing vCenter Server is a standard operation via Hosts and Clusters → Add Host. Two things to verify first: the THE.Hosting host must be reachable from vCenter over the network (VPN tunnel or direct routing), and the ESXi version on the host must be compatible with the vCenter version.
Choose a dedicated server: https://the.hosting/en/server
For configuration questions — support@the.hosting or Telegram @thehosting_sale.