Not sure if this is documented anywhere, my link for 3.5.x is incorrect in the procedure.
To enable SSHd on ESXi 4.0:
At the console Hit ALT-F1
type “unsupported” it will not be echoed back to you
you’ll see a passwd prompt. Enter the root passwd for that ESXi host.
vi /etc/inetd.conf
Uncomment the line begining with “ssh tcp”
ps ax | grep inetd
