VMware Interview Questions – History of ESX/ESXi Release Versions

I came across a excellent post from Eric Siebert with the collection of build info for various products of VMware. I would like to share the content with few modification by removing the download link because many of the older version download link is removed from VMware website. It would be really helpful for the administrators during interview when they are asked about history of VMware ESX/ESXi and vCenter. The below table tells you the Version,Release Date,Build number and link to Release notes from VMware official website.

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ESX Releases

Version
Release Date
Build #
Release Notes Link
4.1 Update 3
8/30/2012
800380
4.1 Update 2
10/27/2011
502767
4.1 Update 1
2/10/2011
348481
4.1
7/13/2010
260247
4.0 Update 3
5/5/2011
398348
4.0 Update 2
6/10/2010
261974
4.0 Update 1
11/19/2009
208167
4
5/21/2009
164009
3.5 June 2011 Rollup
6/30/2011
391406
3.5 Update 5
12/3/2009
207095
3.5 Update 4
3/30/2009
153875
3.5 Update 3
11/6/2008
123630
3.5 Update 2 (Emerg. Fix)
8/13/2008
110268
3.5 Update 2 (Orig.)
7/25/2008
103908
N/A
3.5 Update 1
4/10/2008
82663
3.5
12/10/2007
64607
3.0.3
8/8/2008
104629
3.0.2 Update 1
10/29/2007
61618
3.0.2
7/31/2007
52542
3.0.1
10/6/2006
32039
3
6/15/2006
27701
2.5.5
10/8/2007
57619
2.5.4
10/5/2006
32233
2.5.3
4/13/2006
22981
2.5.2
9/15/2005
16390
2.5.1
6/20/2005
14182
N/A
2.5.0
11/29/2004
11343

ESXi Installable Releases:

 
Version
Release Date
Build #
Release Notes Link
5.1.0a
10/25/2012
838463
5.1
9/10/2012
799733
5.0 Update 1
3/15/2012
623860
5
8/24/2011
469512
4.1 Update 3
8/30/2012
800380
4.1 Update 2
10/27/2011
502767
4.1 Update 1
2/10/2011
348481
4.1
7/13/2010
260247
4.0 Update 3
5/5/2011
398348
4.0 Update 2
6/10/2010
261974
4.0 Update 1
11/19/2009
208167
4
5/21/2009
164009
3.5 June 2011 Rollup
6/30/2011
391406
3.5 Update 5
12/3/2009
207095
3.5 Update 4
3/30/2009
153875
3.5 Update 3
11/6/2008
123629
3.5 Update 2 (Emerg. Fix)
8/13/2008
110271
3.5 Update 2 (Orig.)
7/25/2008
103909
N/A
3.5 Update 1
4/10/2008
82664
3.5
1/10/2008
70348

vCenterServer(VirtualCenter)Releases:

Version
Release Date
Build #
Release Notes Link
5.1.0a
10/25/2012
880472
5.1
9/10/2012
799735
5.0 Update 1
3/15/2012
639890
5
8/24/2011
456005
4.1 Update 3
8/30/2012
816786
4.1 Update 2
10/27/2011
493063
4.1 Update 1
2/10/2011
345042
4.1
7/13/2010
259021
4.0 Update 3
5/5/2011
387869
4.0 Update 2
6/9/2010
264050
4.0 Update 1
11/19/2009
208156
4
5/21/2009
162902
2.5 Update 6a
5/5/2011
341471
2.5 Update 6
1/29/2010
227666
2.5 Update 5
7/10/2009
174791
2.5 Update 4
2/23/2009
147658
2.5 Update 3
10/3/2008
119598
2.5 Update 2
7/25/2008
104263
2.5 Update 1
4/10/2008
84767
2.5
12/10/2007
64201
2.0.2 Update 5
8/8/2008
104182
2.0.2 Update 4
5/30/2008
89601
2.0.2 Update 3
2/15/2008
75762
2.0.2 Update 2
11/8/2007
62327
2.0.2 Update 1
10/29/2007
61426
2.0.2
7/19/2007
50618
2.0.1 Patch 2
2/28/2007
40644
2.0.1 Patch 1
11/16/2006
33643
2.0.1
10/2/2006
32042
2
6/15/2006
27704
1.4.1 Patch 2
1/25/2007
36208
1.4.1 Patch 1
11/16/2006
33425
1.4.1
9/28/2006
30780
1.4
7/10/2006
28235
1.3.1 Patch 2
12/7/2006
35640
1.3.1 Patch 1
3/23/2006
22214
1.3.1
12/22/2005
18881
1.3
9/22/2005
16701
1.2 Patch 1
2/24/2005
12684
1.2
12/1/2004
11392
1.1
8/6/2004
9544
I hope this post will be helpfull for you all to face the interview with more information about the history of vSphere products. Thanks for reading !!!