ESXi Image Builder is used to custom-build ESXi bootable images. There are several use cases, but the most prominent one is - a server hardware vendor using ESXi Image Builder to package required device drivers, along with the ESXi image. Image Builder is, in fact, used to create ESXi Image Profiles, which can then be exported as ISO images that contain bootable ESXi images. Before vSphere 6.5, all the Image Builder actions were performed using its PowerCLI plugin. Starting with vSphere 6.5, VMware introduced a vSphere Web Client GUI that makes it much easier to use the Image Builder service.
With vSphere 6.7, the Image Builder user interface is much more streamlined and easier to use, thereby removing the need to rely on the PowerShell plugin.
Before we delve into the details of how Image Builder can be used, it is essential to...