How to add ISO to VMware ESXi

To add ISO to VMware ESXi, enable SSH access VMware > Actions > Services > Enable Secure Shell (SSH)

VMware ESXi SSH

Once enabled, you will be able to login to server using SSH. Once logged in, go to folder

cd /vmfs/volumes/datastore1

Create a folder ISO and change directory to ISO folder.

mkdir ISO
cd ISO

Now you can download whatever ISO you need to this folder using wget command. For Ubuntu 18.04 server, i run

wget http://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04/ubuntu-18.04.5-live-server-amd64.iso

Uploading ISO using Browser

Go to

VMware ESXi > Storage > Datastore

vmware esxi datastore

Click on “Datastore browser”. Create a folder, use the Upload button to upload ISO file from your computer.

vmware esxi datastore browser