Reboot the system, remove USB Disk A , and leave USB Disk B inserted to verify it boots successfully into the ESXi direct console user interface (DCUI). Optimizing ESXi for Portable USB Deployment

If you are actually looking for to run on your Windows/Mac/Linux laptop portably, search for "VMware Workstation Player offline installer." That is the actual portable app you are probably thinking of.

Since 2024, VMware’s download portal has been migrated to the . You no longer use the old VMware Customer Connect site. The process to obtain the official “VMware‑VMvisor‑Installer‑7.x.x‑xxxxxxx.x86_64.iso” is as follows:

Once you have your standard or customized ISO, the next step is making it portable. Creating a bootable USB drive allows you to pocket the installer and deploy the hypervisor on any machine instantly. Method A: Using Rufus (Windows)

Once you boot into your portable ESXi 7.0 (either physical USB or nested VM), you need to set up networking and storage.

A high-quality, high-end USB drive or external SSD where ESXi will be permanently installed and run. Installation Process Insert both Drive A and Drive B into a test PC or server.

The best "portable" option for developers is to run ESXi inside VMware Workstation Pro or Fusion.

When moving your portable drive between different physical machines, you may encounter network adapter errors if a host uses non-enterprise NICs (like Realtek or consumer Intel chips). ESXi 7.0 natively dropped support for many legacy and consumer network controllers. If you plan to use this portable drive on consumer PCs or Intel NUCs, look into the to slipstream consumer network drivers into your custom ISO using VMware PowerCLI before burning it to the USB.

To cover all aspects, I will perform multiple searches simultaneously: one for the official VMware download page, one for general ESXi 7.0 download ISO portable, one for installing on a USB drive, one for portable ESXi on USB step-by-step, one for system requirements, and one for creating a bootable USB installer. search results provide relevant information. Result 0 from the Broadcom Support Portal is likely the official download page. Result 1 from knowledge.broadcom.com covers installing on a USB drive. Result 2 from nakivo.com mentions the possibility. Result 4 from informatiweb-pro.net is a tutorial. Result 5 from Dell provides info. Result 0 from techdocs.broadcom.com is about formatting a USB drive. Result 4 from vinchin.com is a step-by-step guide. Result 0 from techdocs.broadcom.com is about hardware requirements. Result 4 from developer.baidu.com is about hardware. Result 5 from shuyeidc.com is about Rufus. Result 4 from informatiweb-pro.net is about creating a bootable USB key. I will also open some of these results to gather detailed information. gathered information covers downloading the ISO, preparing a bootable USB, installing to a portable USB drive, system requirements, and some troubleshooting. I will structure a long article with an introduction, sections on preparation, downloading the ISO, making a portable installer, installation steps, troubleshooting, and conclusion. I'll cite sources like the Broadcom portal, hardware requirements, Rufus guide, and installation steps. Now I will write the article. The Ultimate Guide to "ESXi 70 Download ISO Portable": Download, Prepare, and Install on a USB Drive

Because standard USB flash drives lack robust wear-leveling algorithms, standard storage logging can rapidly destroy a cheap flash drive. For a reliable portable experience, use a high-end USB 3.0/3.1 drive or a portable USB-C NVMe SSD. 2. Where to Legitimately Download ESXi 7.0 ISO

Create a new Virtual Machine (VM) and select the as the installer source.

As of 2026, 7.0 Update 3 (U3) is the recommended branch for stability.

Why someone might want a portable ESXi 7.0 ISO