Solved: To Upgrade or To NOT upgrade?

esxlinux · ‎08-10-2010

Hi All,

Please i need your expertise on this matter but before i start,

I would like to Thank Everyone for thier unconditional support and contribution, many thanks for your time and effort, it is much appreciated, as it makes this forum special and helpful.

Now the issue,

We have 3 Hypervisor ESXi 4 and when i look at the update manager via the virtual Center i see the errors of missing updates and conflicting updates (PLEASE SEE ATTACHED IMAGES). I have done some research and found the following link explain what they do and how important they are

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=101773...

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=101774...

I have discussed this with the other systems administrator and he insists that we can safely ignore those WARNINGS i.e. missing and conflicting updates and I am saying we cannot ignore them as it is important to avoid any future issues with Hypervisors.

Environment:

The Esxi servers are hosting about 50 servers between the 3, with HA enabled

Cisco ws-c4510R-E V-Switch API is used with Esxi as i believe it is standard and i know this error has nothing to do with (vCenter Update Manager displays a conflict message with Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Ethernet Module ) as we dont have Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Module

What i need from anyone is the following:

-Provide me with information to prove either of 1-We can safely ignore those warnings *OR* 2- We CANNOT ignore them and must be resolved/remedy?

-If to be resolved and NOT ignored what is the best way to go about it?

-Are there any Risks involved if we go about resolving those issues

If you require further information, or i have not provided enough information Please feel free to ask me to.

Once again Thanks to all for your time and effort it is much appreciated

pcerda · ‎08-15-2010

Hi

- Provide me with information to prove either of 1-We can safely ignore those warnings *OR* 2- We CANNOT ignore them and must be resolved/remedy?

Regard to the missing updates, i recommend you to follow your software update policy. This indicate that one or more updates have not been applied to a specific host. If this is a critical update, i recommend you apply that update.

Regard the conflicting updates, this is just a warning and you can ignore it. A conflict does not indicate any problem on the host.

- If to be resolved and NOT ignored what is the best way to go about it?

In order to apply a missing update, you have to remediate a host. Remember the remediation process could reboot a host, so you have to move your VMs to another host in order to avoid downtime.

- Are there any Risks involved if we go about resolving those issues?

Always there are risks when you apply updates/upgrade on a host, just like any server. So it's recommendable to take backups before you apply any update, and schedule the downtime of your host. I insist, you have to follow your software update policy.

Again, check the vCenter Update Manager Installation and Administration Guide:

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsp_vum_41_admin_guide.pdf

Regards / Saludos

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Patricio Cerda !http://www.images.wisestamp.com/linkedin.png!

VMware VCP-410

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Si encuentras que esta o cualquier otra respuesta ha sido de utilidad, vótalas. Gracias.

If you find this or any other answer useful please consider awarding points by marking the answer helpful or correct. Thank you.

Regards / Saludos - Patricio Cerda - vExpert 2011 / 2012 / 2013

View solution in original post

pcerda · ‎08-11-2010

Hi

Missing compliance state indicates that the update is applicable to the target object, but not yet installed. You must perform a remediation on the target object with this update, so that the update becomes compliant.

The update conflicts with either an existing update on the host or another update in the Update Manager patch repository. Update Manager reports the type of conflict. A conflict does not indicate any problem on the target object. It just means that the current baseline selection is in conflict. You can perform scan, remediation, and staging operations. In most cases, you can take action to resolve the conflict.

Check the vCenter Update Manager Installation and Administration Guide: