Create a Custom ISO Image for ESXi

When your environment requires a custom ISO file for ESXi, you can create one using VMware PowerCLI or vSphere Lifecycle Manager.

You might need to create a custom ISO image for ESXi in the following situations:

• The ESXi version specified in the VMware Cloud Foundation BOM does not have an associated ISO file on VMware Customer Connect. This can be the case for ESXi patch releases.
• You need an async patch version of ESXi.
• You need a vendor-specific (OEM) ISO file.

Prerequisites

Download the zip files for the following:

• ESXi patch for the ESXi version specified in the VMware Cloud Foundation BOM or in the list of supported async patches in KB 88287. You can download patches from https://customerconnect.vmware.com/patch#search.
  Note: If you are preparing hosts for a VI workload domain where the ESXi hosts have been async patched to a later version of ESXi than the version listed in the BOM, the new hosts must use the later version of ESXi.
• OEM add-on for ESXi from VMware Customer Connect. If the ESXi version specified in the BOM is not available in the Select Version drop-down menu, contact your vendor to determine which OEM add-on version to use.