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 the Broadcom Support Portal. 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 the Broadcom Support Portal.
    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 the Broadcom Support Portal. 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.