I came up with a fairly simple solution that is usable for non-VCPs in my orginization.
- create a Updates folder in the local datastore on the host you are preparing. (named localstore in my case)
- download ALL of the ESXi 5.x patches from the vmware site: http://www.vmware.com/go/downloadpatches
( this will allow for you to look in the Updates Directory to see which updates have been applied )
3. copy and paste the following code into a txt file named ApplyUpdates.sh ( Change localstore to match your local datastore name ) :
#!/bin/sh
#Apply all Updates in localstore
for file in /vmfs/volumes/localstore/Updates/*.zip
do
echo "Applying $file"
esxcli software vib install -d $file
rm $file
touch $file.txt
done
4. upload the ApplyUpdates.sh file to the Updates directory
5. You are now ready to Upgrade the host
when you are ready to update the host
upload the new patch .zip files to the Updates directory
- shutdown all VMs
- place the Host into maintance mode
- start the SSH service on the Host
- SSH into the Host using either Putty or any other SSH client of your chosing
- run the following commands in order:
cd /vmfs/volumes/localstore/Updates/
sh ./ApplyUpdates.sh
reboot
6. when the host finishes booting you should be running the latest version
NOTE: This method deletes the Patch files to conserve space after successfully installing, but creates a 0kb txt file with the patch's name in it's place so that you can easily verify which patches have been applied to which host.
NOTE 2: ESXi is Case-Sensitive! You will have problems if you are insensitive.
