Installing VMware ESXi 8.0 on an HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9

The HPE DL380 Gen9 is a tank. Even years after release, it’s still common in labs and SMB environments. Officially though, VMware ESXi 8.0 does not support Gen9 servers, which means installing it is equal parts to “this still works” and “you’re on your own.”

This post walks through a successful ESXi 8.0 install, the caveats you’ll hit, and how to make the platform usable long-term.

Reality Check: Support Status

Let’s get this out of the way first. The HP DL380 Gen9 is not on VMware’s ESXi 8.0 HCL (hardware compatibly list), HPE’s last officially supported ESXi version for the Gen9 is 7.0 U3

ESXi 8.0 removes or deprecates several drivers Gen9 relies on

That said:

ESXi 8.0 does install and run, You lose vendor support, firmware validation, and some hardware monitoring so If this is production stop here.

If this is lab, dev, or learning carry on

Hardware Used (Reference Setup)

Your mileage may vary, but this is a common Gen9 configuration:

• Model: HPE DL380 Gen9
• CPU: Dual Intel Xeon E5-26xx v3/v4
• RAM: 128–256 GB DDR4 ECC
• Storage: Smart Array P440ar
• NICs: Embedded 4×1GbE (Broadcom) or FlexLOM 10GbE

Firmware: Latest available from HPE very important

Step 1: Update Firmware – Do Not Skip This

Before touching ESXi 8.0

• Update System ROM / BIOS
• Update iLO 4 to the latest version
• Update Smart Array firmware
• Update NIC firmware

Use: HPE SPP (Service Pack for ProLiant) Or iLO virtual media + offline firmware bundles

Why this matters:
Older firmware will cause:

• PSODs during install
• Missing storage controllers
• Random boot failures

Step 2: BIOS Configuration

Enter System Utilities (F9) and adjust:

Make sure these processor options are set

• Intel VT-x: Enabled
• Intel VT-d: Enabled
• SR-IOV: Enabled (optional)
• Hyper-Threading: Enabled

Boot Mode settings

• UEFI Mode (recommended)
• Secure Boot: Disabled

Power Management

• Power Regulator: Static High Performance

ESXi 8.0 is far less forgiving than older versions incorrect BIOS defaults will create issues for you.

Step 3: ESXi 8.0 Installation Media

Download ESXi 8.0 directly from VMware. for the free version you need to create an account, see here as to how you can do this

Why not HPE Custom ISO?

• There is no HPE ESXi 8.0 custom image for Gen9
• HPE drivers included in older ISOs are deprecated anyway

Boot Options include

• iLO Virtual Media
• USB installer (Rufus works fine)
• Physical DVD (yes, it still works)

Step 4: Storage Controller Considerations

Good news:
The P440ar is still detected in ESXi 8.0 if firmware is up to date.

Bad news:

• No HPE CIM provider
• No native health monitoring
• No SSA inside ESXi

Recommendation

• Configure RAID in Smart Storage Administrator (SSA) before install
• ESXi sees only logical volumes

If the controller is not detected:

• Firmware is too old
• Controller is in HBA mode

Step 5: Network Driver Issues

This is where most Gen9 installs fail.

Embedded Broadcom NICs

• Some Broadcom 1GbE NICs are not supported in ESXi 8.0
• ESXi installer may show “No network adapters detected”

Workarounds

Option 1: Add a Supported NIC

• Intel i350
• Intel X520 / X540 / X710
• Mellanox ConnectX-3 / 4

This is the cleanest solution.

Option 2: Inject Legacy Drivers

Possible, but:

• Requires custom ISO
• Drivers may break on updates
• Not future-proof

For your sanity: buy a supported NIC.

Step 6: Installation

If storage and NICs are detected:

1. Boot ESXi installer
2. Select install disk
3. Choose keyboard
4. Set root password
5. Install
6. Reboot

If it reboots cleanly  you’re good to go

Post-Install Configuration

Things That Work

• vSphere 8 UI
• VM creation
• Nested virtualization
• PCI passthrough (varies by device)

Things That Don’t (or Are Limited)

• HPE hardware health monitoring
• Integrated Agentless Management
• Power / fan telemetry in vCenter
• Official firmware lifecycle integration

Performance & Stability

Surprisingly solid.

• ESXi 8.0 runs smoothly on E5 v4 CPUs
• No noticeable performance regression vs 7.0
• Uptime measured in weeks/months is realistic

The DL380 Gen9 still has plenty of muscle for:

• Nested ESXi labs
• Kubernetes
• vSAN testing
• Windows/Linux VM workloads

Final Thoughts

Installing ESXi 8.0 on a DL380 Gen9 is absolutely doable but it’s no longer plug-and-play. If you’re running a home lab or non-production environment, ESXi 8.0 on a HP DL380 Gen9 is a solid and surprisingly stable setup as long as you accept the trade-offs. For production use stick with ESXi 7.0 U3 or move to newer hardware.