By default SSH on ESXi is disabled and unsupported.
If you need to access the console of ESXi, follow these steps:
- At the console of ESXi host, press ALT-F1
- Type unsupported in the console and then press Enter. (Text typed will not viewed)
- If you typed correctly, you will see Tech Support Mode warning and a password prompt. Enter the password for the root login.
- Enter the command “vi /etc/inetd.conf “
- Find the line that begins with #ssh (you can search with pressing “/”) and remove the # (press the “x” on the character #). Save the file by typing “:wq!”
- Restart the management service “/sbin/services.sh restart”
