ESXi

I am learning how to work with ESXi and the item now on my list is how to update ESXi.  Since I am running the appliance version of vCenter, it appears that I will need to learn how to update via cli.  In the vSphere client, it shows the Image Profile ESXi-5.1.0-20130402001-standard.  Since I am running with the version that I downloaded from VMware, I wasnt sure if I needed to apply all of the updates I found. If I go with the 20130402001 as an indication of what version/patch level I am at, it would look like I only need to get the latest 3 patches.

The next question is do I then apply these in order they were released or are they cumulative and I only need to apply the patch that was released last ?

I am scheduled to go to  5.1 ICM class in a couple of weeks, just trying to get a good foundation under my feet.

Thanks for being patient with a newbie,

Ron

There's no need to apply all patches. The patches are cumulative, which means you only need to install the latest one.

André

... and if anything doesn't work as expected, you can always revert to the previous build by pressing Shift-R while booting the ESXi host.

André

Thanks for the info.  I have 3 ESXi hosts in my home lab and I always like to try things out there first before doing anything on the 7 ESXi hosts that I am responsible for at work.

Downloading the latest patch now and will be working on this shortly.

Ron

It's always a good idea to test things in a lab prior to running them in production.

Take a look at e.g. http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2008939 for how to install the patch and whether "install" or "update" is the better option for your environment.

André

Thanks for the kb link.  I had run across that one earlier today.  I now have a better feel for what I will be doing on the systems at work.

Since we are running Cisco UCS at work with ESXi on each of the blades, I know have to check if we need to get different patches for that since we are using a custom ESXi image that we downloaded from Cisco.  I dont expect any problems, just need to make sure.

Thanks again for the help.

Ron