Select the USB/DVD drive containing the HPE custom ISO.
| Feature | Vanilla VMware ISO | HPE Custom ISO | |---------|--------------------|----------------| | | Generic | Optimized for HPE Smart Array, Broadcom, Mellanox | | Hardware monitoring | Basic | Full iLO integration (temperature, power, fans) | | CLI tools | Standard esxcli | HPE-specific commands ( hpssacli , ssacli ) | | vSphere Lifecycle Manager | Manual driver injection | Native support with HPE Add-on | | Security | VMware defaults | HPE Secure Boot & firmware validation | | Support | VMware only | VMware + HPE (no "finger-pointing") | vmware esxi 7 download iso hpe custom image
Next he went to VMware’s download center to confirm licensing and to download the plain ESXi 7.0 ISO for reference. VMware’s vanilla ISO was useful for comparison: it showed the base build number and the default installer behavior. Marcus cross-referenced build numbers between VMware’s ISO and HPE’s custom image to ensure the HPE image was based on the correct ESXi build and included the drivers he expected. Select the USB/DVD drive containing the HPE custom ISO
Reduced risk of "Purple Screen of Death" (PSOD) caused by driver-firmware mismatches. Step-by-Step: How to Download the ESXi 7.0 ISO vmware esxi 7 download iso hpe custom image