6.7
Table Of Contents
- VMware ESXi Upgrade
- Contents
- About VMware ESXi Upgrade
- Introduction to vSphere Upgrade
- Upgrading ESXi Hosts
- ESXi Requirements
- Before Upgrading ESXi Hosts
- Upgrading Hosts That Have Third-Party Custom VIBs
- Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer
- Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD
- Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade
- Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script
- Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script
- PXE Booting the ESXi Installer
- Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE
- Using Remote Management Applications
- Download the ESXi Installer
- Upgrade Hosts Interactively
- Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script
- Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script
- Boot Options
- About Installation and Upgrade Scripts
- Install or Upgrade ESXi from a CD or DVD by Using a Script
- Install or Upgrade ESXi from a USB Flash Drive by Using a Script
- Performing a Scripted Installation or Upgrade of ESXi by Using PXE to Boot the Installer
- PXE Booting the ESXi Installer
- Upgrading Hosts by Using esxcli Commands
- VIBs, Image Profiles, and Software Depots
- Understanding Acceptance Levels for VIBS and Hosts
- Determine Whether an Update Requires the Host to Be in Maintenance Mode or to Be Rebooted
- Place a Host in Maintenance Mode
- Update a Host with Individual VIBs
- Upgrade or Update a Host with Image Profiles
- Update ESXi Hosts by Using Zip Files
- Remove VIBs from a Host
- Adding Third-Party Extensions to Hosts with an esxcli Command
- Perform a Dry Run of an esxcli Installation or Upgrade
- Display the Installed VIBs and Profiles That Will Be Active After the Next Host Reboot
- Display the Image Profile and Acceptance Level of the Host
- After You Upgrade ESXi Hosts
- Using vSphere Auto Deploy to Reprovision Hosts
- Collect Logs to Troubleshoot ESXi Hosts
4 Verify that the VIBs are installed on your ESXi host.
esxcli --server=server_name software vib list
Upgrade or Update a Host with Image Profiles
You can upgrade or update a host with image profiles stored in a software depot that is accessible
through a URL or in an offline ZIP depot.
You can use the esxcli software profile update or esxcli software profile install
command to upgrade or update an ESXi host.
When you upgrade or update a host, the esxcli software profile update or
esxcli software profile install command applies a higher version (major or minor) of a full image
profile onto the host. After this operation and a reboot, the host can join to a vCenter Server environment
of the same higher version.
The esxcli software profile update command brings the entire contents of the ESXi host image to
the same level as the corresponding upgrade method using an ISO installer. However, the ISO installer
performs a pre-upgrade check for potential problems, and the esxcli upgrade method does not. The ISO
installer checks the host to make sure that it has sufficient memory for the upgrade, and does not have
unsupported devices connected. For more about the ISO installer and other ESXi upgrade methods, see
Overview of the ESXi Host Upgrade Process.
Important If you are upgrading or updating ESXi from a zip bundle in a VMware-supplied depot, either
online from the VMware Web site or downloaded locally, VMware supports only the update command
esxcli software profile update --depot=depot_location --profile=profile_name.
When you specify a target server by using --server=server_name, the server prompts you for a user
name and password. Other connection options, such as a configuration file or session file, are supported.
For a list of connection options, see Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces, or run
esxcli --help at the vCLI command prompt.
Note Options to the update and install commands allow you to perform a dry run, to specify a
specific VIB, to bypass acceptance level verification, and so on. Do not bypass verification on production
systems. See the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference.
Prerequisites
n
Install vCLI or deploy the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) virtual machine. See Getting Started
with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces. For troubleshooting, run esxcli commands in the
ESXi Shell.
n
Determine whether the update requires the host to be in maintenance mode or to be rebooted. If
necessary, place the host in maintenance mode.
See Determine Whether an Update Requires the Host to Be in Maintenance Mode or to Be
Rebooted. See Place a Host in Maintenance Mode.
VMware ESXi Upgrade
VMware, Inc. 63