If you previously owned a license but cannot find the key, you have a few options:

Search your inbox for "VMware Order" or "vSphere License."

: If you own a paid vSphere 6.x or 7.x license, you can sometimes "downgrade" the key to 5.x within your Broadcom Support Portal account.

This review explores the legacy of , an pivotal release in the virtualization world that fundamentally changed how users approached free-tier licensing. While this version is now largely obsolete and no longer officially supported, it remains a case study in high-value hypervisor features and the start of a major shift in enterprise licensing. The Big Shift: Removing the 32GB RAM Limit

Since Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, the "Free ESXi" hypervisor has been discontinued .

: Connect directly to your ESXi host.