Are non-critical patches needed when installing critical patches?

[mrizos]

I'm getting ready to do my first ESXi patch install.  I installed update manager last night and did a scan.  All 3 hosts say they're missing 15 critical patches.  They also say they're missing 20 non-critical patches.  Do I need to do these non-critical patches or should I just stick with what's needed. 

We're basically trying to upgrade from esxi 4.1 update 2 to update 3

[CedricAnto]

To answer your question, No , its not *needed* to push non-critical patches, but if you have a downtime you might as well push all patches.

Here are the general guidelines,

Abstract from KB http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2014447

Critical - A problem which  may severely impact the customer's production systems (including the loss of production data). Such impacts could be system down or HA not functioning. A workaround is not in place.
Recommendation: Immediately implement the critical patch.

Important - A problem may affect functionality, or cause a system to function in a severely reduced capacity. The situation causes significant impact to portions of the business operations and productivity. The system is exposed to potential loss or interruption of services.
Recommendation: Immediately plan for a maintenance window for the patch.

Moderate - A problem may affect partial non-critical functionality loss. This may be a  minor issue with limited loss, no loss of functionality, or impact to the client's operations and issues in which there is an easy circumvention or avoidance by the end user. This includes documentation errors.
Recommendation: Implement the patch in your next maintenance window.

Low - A problem is considered low or no impact to a product's functionality or a client's operations. There is no impact on quality, performance, or functionality of the product.
Recommendation: Implement the patch at your convenience.