A: Technically, yes. Practically, no. The Cisco drivers may conflict with non-Cisco storage controllers, leading to PSOD. Always use the vendor-specific image.
The VMware installer will initialize, showing the custom Cisco boot drivers loading into memory.
After booting ESXi from the Cisco ISO, run these commands to confirm the custom bits:
: Corrupted download file or bad virtual media mapping. vmware esxi cisco custom iso top download
This is where the comes into play.
Download the instead of the ISO.
As of the last 12 months, the consistently is ESXi 7.0 Update 3o Cisco Custom Image (version 7.0.3 build 22348816) for production, with ESXi 8.0 Update 2b gaining traction for new deployments. A: Technically, yes
To help you get the exact file you need for your environment, please let me know: What are you looking to deploy? What model of Cisco UCS servers do you have?
Avoid these pitfalls that even senior admins make:
A: Cisco releases a new ISO within 4-6 weeks after every VMware major or patch release (e.g., ESXi 8.0U2 -> 8.0U3). Always use the vendor-specific image
Look for "VMware ESXi Software" within the software type menu. Cisco organizes these downloads by major hardware release trains, making it easy to cross-reference your current UCS Infrastructure Bundle version.
Always download the .iso file and the .md5 or .sha256 checksum file.