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rbmadison
Contributor
Contributor

Update Manager Problems...

This is the first time I've tried  using update manger and it seems much more problematic than the old vihostupdate. I am hoping it will work more smoothly once I understand it but for now I am frustrated.

I have a mix of 4.0.0,24438 and 4.1.0,348481 ESXi  servers and I want to upgrade them to 4.1u2. I've tried downloading the  upgrade bundles and isos and they all fail on various points like the  uploaded upgrade is not a valid upgrade package, checksum error, etc.  Can someone tell me the process I need to go through to get these  updated to 4.1 Update 2? I'd also like to use the Dell OEM version of  ESXi 4.1 to upgrade if possible.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Rick

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nkrishnan
Expert
Expert

Hi,
Here you have 2 different base system and looking for upgrading to ESXi4.1Update02. Follow the below steps
- Refer the upgrade session in the release note https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_esxi41_u2_rel_notes.html , we have a matrix provided in it,
Also Major release to Another Major release upgrade (esx4.0.x to ESx4.1.x) we call it as UPGRADE and Major release to minor release upgrade (esx4.1.0 to ESx4.1.Update02) we call it as UPDATE.
Upgrade means,it have large amount of code change. In general Update is with minimal changes and can be update like the way we patch the ESXi system.
- In your scenarios, to upgrade the system to ESXi4.1Update02, you have to download 2 zip files
     - upgrade-from-esxi4.0-to-4.1-update02-502767.zip           - Download it from main download page                     - used it for esx4.1.x to ESx4.1.Update02
     - update-from-esxi4.1-4.1_update02.zip                                - Download it from ESXi patch download page            - used it for esx4.0.x to ESx4.1.Update02
- upload the  upgrade-from-esxi4.0-to-4.1-update02-502767.zip  files under Host upgrade session and create a base line in update manager as host upgrade base line.
- upload the  update-from-esxi4.1-4.1_update02.zip  files under Patch import window and create a base line in update manager as Patch base line.
- Now attach both base line in to datacenter or your cluster and start the remidiation.
We have one more way to update the host from ESXi4.1.x to ESXi4.1 Update02 (Below methods are only for patching and update, NOT FOR UPGRADE)
- connect your Update manager system to internet and download the lastest patches using online depot.
- Create a patch baseline and select patch bundle named ESXi4.1.0-Update02 and complete the base line creation.
- This base line you can used for update the system from ESXi4.1.x to ESXi4.1Update02
Thanks
Nithin
--Nithin
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rbmadison
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately when I use the upgrade-from-esxi4.0-to-4.1-update02-502767 to remediate a ESXi 4.0.0,244038 it gives me an error that the uploaded upgrade package is not a valid upgrade package. I've reimported it, redownloaded it and the same thing occurs. Any ideas?

Thanks again for your help!

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Troy_Clavell
Immortal
Immortal

Assuming your VUM and vCenter instances were updated at the same time, why not just use a Host Patch Baseline?  This will work just as well as an Upgrade baseline.

Also, if trying to upload the package, you have tried going to the Admin View for VUM, Configuration Tab--Patch Download Settings--Import Patches?

To me, I think it may be easier just to use a Host Patch Baseline....

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rbmadison
Contributor
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So I went back to vihostupdate to see if I could upgrade using the upgrade-from-esxi4.0-to-4.1-update02-502767.zip bundle and it worked. I received one error about ESXi410-GA-ESXUPDATE is installed or obsoleted but it worked. So why doesn't update manger work yet vihostupdate works with this package? Is my update manager the wrong version?

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nkrishnan
Expert
Expert

the bundle upgrade-from-esxi4.0-to-4.1-update02-502767 is using it for upgrade the host from ESXi4.0.x to ESXi4.1.Update02.

- You must have vCenter server  and Update Manager 4.1 or higher version to do the above upgrade.

- are you try to upload this bundle in to Patch import window, or are you uploaded in to host upgrade window

I think you have tried to upload the bundle through patch import rather than tring it through host upgrade tab in the admin page on update magner.

Thanks

Nithin

--Nithin
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rbmadison
Contributor
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I imported the upgrade from the host upgrade tab and it imported successufully. I then created a baseline for the upgrade and attached it to a host. I remediated the host and that where I received the error the uploaded upgrade package is not a valid upgrade package. This same package works usin vihostupdate however. If it was an issue with vcenter or update manager being at the wrong version wouldn't update manager complain when I tried to import it?

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rbmadison
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I just dont get why the update manager is so problematic. I upgraded vcenter and update manager to the newest version and then ran the remdiate on another 4.0 host and now I get error the host returns esxupdate error codes: 7. Check.... I ran vihostupdate and it works perfectly. Do other have this problem with update manager? It's very frustrating.

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