VMware ESXi 5.0 supports SSH for management tasks however it doesn’t come with SSH connection enabled by default, In order to use SSH and connect to your host via SSH you will need to enable the SSH service and open the SSH port in the built-in Firewall.
To Enable SSH and open the SSH port for incoming connection follow these steps.
Open Vsphere Client and select the host
Go to the Configuration Tab
Click on Security Profile
Click on Properties in top right corner
Select SSH and click on Options
Tick Start and stop with host, Click on Start and Click OK
Click on the Firewall Properties
Tick SSH and Click on Options
Tick Start and stop with host, Click on Start and Click OK
Make sure SSH is running and click ok.
Open SSH connection to the host