For production environments, Broadcom (which acquired VMware) strongly recommends upgrading to vSphere 8.0 or later to ensure continued security and support. ESXi 6.7 License Types & Features
VMware vSphere 6.7 uses a . A single license covers one physical CPU with up to 32 cores; if your CPU has more than 32 cores, you need an additional license. End of General Support for vSphere 6.5/6.7/7.0 esxi 6.7 licence
The free version of ESXi 6.7 is intended for labs or non-critical workloads and has specific technical restrictions: For production environments