Using the Cisco Custom ISO for ESXi offers several benefits, including:
Apply a boot policy to the Service Profile forcing a boot from the remote CD/DVD, or manually select it via the F6 boot menu. Common Troubleshooting Tips
Note your current UCS infrastructure and server firmware bundle version. vmware esxi cisco custom iso top download
The process for downloading a Cisco Custom ISO has changed following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware. Here is the definitive, step-by-step guide to finding the correct download portal for your ESXi version.
Download the instead of the ISO.
In a UCS domain managed by UCS Manager, you would typically map the ISO to a service profile's virtual media and then boot the associated server from that media.
If you are a VMware or Cisco partner, the VMware Partner Connect portal aggregates custom ISOs. Using the Cisco Custom ISO for ESXi offers
| ESXi Version | Cisco Custom ISO Build | Best For | Support Status | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | 8.0.3.0-24022550 | New UCS M6/M7 servers, PCIe 5.0, DPU support | General Availability | | ESXi 7.0 Update 3 | 7.0.3.0-22091225 | Legacy M5/M4 servers, stable production | End of General Support (2025) | | ESXi 6.7 | 6.7.0-17098360 | End-of-life hardware, air-gapped environments | End of Support |
If the Cisco ISO is older than 3 months, do use it as "top" – manually patch after install. Here is the definitive, step-by-step guide to finding
Choose the desired ESXi version to download the customized .iso or .zip offline bundle. Verifying Driver and Firmware Compatibility
For a practical example, the Cisco Custom Image for ESXi 6.0 U2 included updates for the enic (2.3.0.7) and fnic (1.6.0.25) drivers. Knowing which drivers are included in your ISO can be vital for troubleshooting network or storage performance issues.