Here is a brief guide for setting up UMDS to get updates for any ESX 4.x servers you have running in a contained environment.
VMware UMDS for vSphere Setup Guide
VMware UMDS is the tool used for getting VMware ESX patches
downloaded and exported for install on a contained network.
*Note: VMware recommends UMDS be installed on a workstation (Windows XP). Do not install on your vCenter server.
Setting Up UMDS and downloading Updates for ESX:
1. On the VMware vCenter install CD, go to the UMDS folder.
2. Run VMware-UMDS.exe
3. Select to use local SQL Express Install.
4. Once UMDS is installed, BEFORE RUNNING, navigate to the UMDS install directory. The default location is: “C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Update Manager\”
5. Open downloadConfig.xml and comment out the line for downloading ESX 3.x patches:
<!-- <ESX3xUpdateURL>http://www.vmware.com/PatchManagementSystem/patchmanagement</ESX3xUpdateUrl> --!>
6. Save and close downloadConfig.xml
7. Open a command prompt and change directory to “C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Update Manager\”
8. Set UMDS to only download ESX patches (to stop UMDS from downloading Windows and Linux patches)
vmware-umds –set-config –enable-host 1 –enable-win 0 –enable-lin 0
9. Download updates: vmware-umds –download
10. Once download is complete, export the updates to desired location by running the following command:
vmware-umds –E –export-store “<Your Desired Directory>”
11. Burn contents of export directory to a DVD (folder should contain a hostupdate directory, version.txt, and version1.txt)
Importing Updates to VMware Update Manager (VUM) Server on Contained Network:
1. Copy the contents of the burned DVD to the designated LOCAL directory of your VUM server.
2. Connect to vCenter using the VI Client and go to Update Manager.
3. Under Update Manager, go to the Configuration tab.
4. Click on Patch Download Settings
5. Select Use A Shared Repository.
6. Type in the path to the update repository (The local directory designated in step 1).
7. Click Validate URL
8. If validation shows Connected, click Apply. If it does not, something is wrong. Check to make sure version.txt and version1.txt are in the designated local directory.
9. Once connected, click Download Now.
10. You are now ready to build your Update Baselines and patch your ESX servers.
