At least one Gigabit or faster Ethernet controller is required.
⚠️ ESXi 5.5 is vulnerable to numerous exploits (e.g., CVE-2021-21974, Log4j if vCenter components present). It should not be connected to any network with Internet access or untrusted users. Upgrade to a supported release (ESXi 7.x or 8.x) immediately.
It is impossible to review the requirements without mentioning the lifecycle status. vmware esxi 5.5 requirements
4 GB of physical RAM is required to run the installer.
This is the single biggest pain point in the ESXi 5.5 requirements list. At least one Gigabit or faster Ethernet controller
The following are the minimum hardware requirements for ESXi 5.5:
Supported controllers include LSI1068E, LSI1068 (SAS 5), Dell PERC 5.0.1, and various on-board SATA controllers like Intel ICH9. Upgrade to a supported release (ESXi 7
The processor is the most critical component for ESXi 5.5. It must be a 64-bit architecture. 64-bit x86 multicore processors. Core Count: Minimum of 2 physical cores.