How to enable ssh on ESXi

SSH is available on ESXi . Enabling SSH on ESXi differs from how to enable it for ESX. You must run some commands in order to get it enabled . Note: SSH is disabled by default on ESXi server as it is on ESX.

For ESXi
1. At the console of the ESXi host, press ALT-F1 to access the console window
2. Type unsupported in the console and then press Enter. Note: You will not see the text you that you are typing that is OK go ahead and proceed.
3. You will now see the Tech Support Mode warning and a password prompt. Enter the password for the root login
4. You will now see the prompt of ~ #
5. Edit the file inetd.conf Type in the command vi /etc/inetd.conf
6. Find the line in the file that begins with #ssh and remove the # Then save the file and close the the vi editor
I am assuming you know how to use vi if not then refer to the links below for more details.
7. Run the command /sbin/services.sh restart to restart the management services.

You'll now be able to connect to the ESXi host with a SSH client such as WinSCP3 or ssh client, Putty, etc.

The article that I used as a reference:
http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/ESXi_enable_SSH.php
If you need help with vi commands: http://www.cs.rit.edu/~cslab/vi.html#A1.15