VMWare Update Manager (VUM) useless for "Essentials" license due to no DRS?

[Novox]

If VUM remediation required DRS to be enabled, but "Essentials" doesn't include the DRS feature, can I use VUM to perform any upgrades?

I just noticed the bnx2x issue in the CEIP online "Health" scan, but it doesn't seem possible to remediate anything (perhaps more correctly, anything requiring reboot and/or maintenance mode) with a three host "Essentials" license.

Am I missing something?

[patrickds]

i use remediation on a 2 host cluster just fine.

It warns me about having no DRS, but doesn't stop me from proceeding.

Just manually migrate all VMs off the host before you start.

[a_p_]

Welcome to the Community,

that's unfortunately a drawback of the Essentials edition. It comes at a low price, but therefore without vMotion.

André

[patrickds]

sorry, just saw it was Essentials, so no Vmotion.

Migrations would have to be cold, and would probably take longer than just performing the remediation with all VMs shut down.

[Novox]

Do you have "Essentials?"  If so, how are you moving VM's?  Shutting off and "moving" (which doesn't require vMotion)?  I know there are many ways, I guess I'm just curious.

Thanks.

[Novox]

ok, so what I ended up doing was the manual SCP/SSH install of the bnx2x vib (rebooting after turning the VM's off on the host and entering maintenance mode).  Once everything was back online, it seemed to be compliant (and the CEIP online check passed).

Thanks.

[patrickds]

No, we have Esssentials Plus, so VMs are Vmotioned off the host before remediation.

With plain Essentials you could cold migrate, but this would take a long time, unless VMs are on shared storage.

But, like i mentioned in my first answer, you could just shut down VMs and remediate, it usually only takes a minute or so anyway, excluding the reboot of the host, off course.