Here is a brief write-up on how to access the Service Console of VMware ESXi. As a disclaimer, this should only be done under the direct supervision of a VMware Support Engineer.

1. From the ESXi console summary screen hit ALT-F1.
2. Enter the word “unsupported” (without quotes).
3. Enter in the root password for your system.
4. Be careful

Now edit the inetd.conf file to enable remote SSH into this console;

1. Edit /etc/inetd.conf (vi /etc/inetd.conf).
   
2. Remove the # sign in front of the SSH line.
   
3. Kill and restart the inetd process.
   1.) ps -ef |grep inetd
   2.) kill -HUP
   # pid is the Process ID, the first number displayed from ps -ef</span>
4. SSH into the IP of your ESXi server, using your root login/password.