2 of my 5 servers are still running update 1. the other 3 were patched yesterday with the hotfix. I'm planning on bringing the U1 using Update Manager tomorrow so now that they released the new version of U2 I told Update Manager to download it. It did do that but it also duplicated the original 16 patches and the old U2 version. I've attached pictures so you can see. The first U1.jpg pic is from a U1 host that needed U2 and some other non-critical patches. The U2.jpg pic is from a U2 host that was patched yesterday. It already has the original version off all these patches but after telling it to Scan for Updates it was to reinstall all of these.

I know I can pick and choose the correct updates but I'm looking for a way to cleanup these duplicates.

HELLO... VMWare Support???

I'll probably be opening up a case tomorrow morning but it would be easier if they can just post a fix ahead of time.

I'm seeing the same issue and installing it on a swing server to see what happens.

Yes it certainly does show 2 releases of U2 when performing a query. The update took about 10 minutes. A reboot of the host is required to upgrade from this build (110181) to this build (110268).

I have not tried any pre-u2 hosts as of yet.

As for hosts with u2 and the timebomb patch, I've been remediating to the new builds (just leaving everything selected) and it has been working fine.

Note the VMware tools build is new and also installed fine for me, although having the original u2 build of VMware tools does not appear to trigger any 'out of date' notification so unless I hear/see otherwise, I'm not redoing all the tools upgrades....

I had posted earlier about issues going back to update U1 boxes using Update Manager. This issue was resolved by the slew of patch releases on 08/13. I can now update U1 (and prior versions) without error (using the default "Critical Host Updates" and "Non-Critical Host Updates" baselines). This results in a server being updated to 3.5.0, 110268. However, now, using the default provided baselines ("Critical Host Updates" and "Non-criticial Host Updates"), I can no longer patch any box that is 3.5.0, 103908 (the time-bombed version of U2). Installation fails on ESX350-200802301-BG stating that "A newer version of the patch is already installed".

If I create a separate baseline that only includes patches released 08/12/08 - 08/13/08... removing the Time-Bomb patch (ESX350-20086812-BG), but including ESX350-Update-02, then I can patch U2 Servers that have not yet had the "Time-Bomb patch (ESX350-20086812-BG) installed. These servers wind up as version 3.5.0, 110181

If I attempt to install all patches released from 08/12/08 - 08/13/08 onto U2 Servers (3.5.0. 103908) that have already had the "Time-Bomb" fix (ESX350-20086812-BG), then installation fails on ESX350-200806812-BG with an error that "Installation failed - higher version of patch already installed".

A quick check reveals that, following the bevy of patches released on 08/13/08, if you use the default baselines, they attempt to reinstall stuff as old as 03/04/08.... even though these patches are already installed. In addition, all servers now show "Not Compliant" in update manager for all of these old patches, dating back to 03/04/08.... even though these patches are already installed.

So it looks the like the "Critical Host Updates" and "Non-Critical Host Updates" default updates, if unedited, are no longer applicable, functional, or usable for any U2 version servers... meaning you must have a seperate "All Update" patch list for Pre-U2 servers and U2-Post servers. Which complicates matters if you have a mix of servers within a cluster or data center. In a multi-DataCenter, Multi-Cluster, hundred+ host environment, this is somewhat of an annoyance. It also leaves us without a single query capability to determine compliance of our servers.

I have not read through the remainder of the thread or KB articles thus far today so I am unsure if there is a repair in work but I am finding it difficult to get my servers at the same revision levels (3.5.0, 110286). The results described above are consistent and reproducible in my environment.

EDIT: Correction - I have managed to get U2 version 3.5.0, 103908 updated to version 110286, U2 version 110181 upgraded to 110286, and everything prior to 103908 upgraded to 110286. It's not as consistent as I would like and it is requiring 2 baselines in my environment to make this occur.

Anyone have any information about this "alternative installation procedure" ?

All this patch mayhem has really put a big dent in my trust for VMWare. I've now spent something like 20 hours just trying to patch our four machines. Update Manager behaviour is random at best. I expect the next VI update to be much more professional or we will actively start to look for alternatives.