Restart after VM Tools Install?

[KGoch]

I searched but didnt see a topic on this.

I just upgrade to Update 3, so I need to update VMware Tools on all of my VMs. So two quick questions, is there a way to remotely upgrade the tools on all VMs without going into each individual Guest OS? Second is the restart absolutely necessary? I noticed on the first VM i updated that VMware Tools reported itself as OK in the VI Client, despite me not restarting the guest OS. So I didnt know if it was absolutely required or if Vm Tools will work fine without it.

Thanks in advance and Happy Holidays!

[kjb007]

If you don't update the tools, the tools status will say out of date. That does not mean that they won't work. They will work just fine, you just won't have the latest set of tools. You can select multiple vm's and run the upgrade, but it will reboot the vm's. You can also take the msi file for the tools, and run a batch file from the guests as a login/GPO install, in which you can specify no reboot.

The tools status may go to ok, but as there are drivers that are sometimes updated (not sure if U3 includes driver updates), those drivers won't run until the vm restarts.

-KjB

[gdesmo]

I use the vi tool kit to set all vm's to "check and upgrade tools before each power on" While the vm's are POWERED on. I do this before ms patches or other reason I need to re-boot my vm's. It then requires one extra re-boot.

Then I reverse this and un-check this option. After they have all been upgraded. While the vm's are POWERED on. This is key because thru the vi client you can only modify this option while the vm is powered off. Easiest method with control I have found.

http://Reflection.Assembly::LoadWithPartialName("vmware.vim")

$vmConfigSpec = New-Object VMware.Vim.VirtualMachineConfigSpec

$vmConfigSpec.Tools = New-Object VMware.Vim.ToolsConfigInfo

$vmConfigSpec.Tools.ToolsUpgradePolicy = "UpgradeAtPowerCycle"

Get-VM | %{(Get-View $_.ID).ReconfigVM($vmConfigSpec)}

[KGoch]

Awesome, thanks guys!