Tag: esxcli

Manually Patching an ESXi Host from the CLI

Manually patching standalone ESXi hosts without access to vCenter or Update Manager using offline bundles and the CLI.

There are many different reasons you may want to patch your ESXi host. VMware regularly releases bug fixes and security patches, or perhaps you need a newer build for compatibility with another application or third-party tool.

Update 3/15/2021: See my video tutorial on how to update your ESXi 7.x host from the CLI:

In my situation, the ESXi 6.7 U1 ESXi hosts (build 10302608) are not compatible with NSX-T 2.4.0, so I need to get them patched to at least 6.7 EP06 (build 11675023).

hostupgcli-1

Before you get started, you’ll want to figure out which patch release you want to update to. There is quite often some confusion surrounding the naming of VMware patch releases. In some cases, a build number is referenced, for example, 10302608. In other cases, a friendly name is referenced – something like 6.7 EP06 or 6.5 P03. The EP in the name denotes an ‘Express Patch’ with a limited number of fixes released outside of the regular patch cadence, where as a ‘P’ release is a standard patch. In addition to this, major update releases are referred to as ‘U’, for example, 6.7 U1. And to make things more confusing, a special ‘Release Name’ is quite often referenced in security bulletins and other documents. Release names generally contain the release date in them. For example, ESXi670-201903001 for ESXi 6.7 EP07.

The best place to start is VMware KB 1014508, which provides links to numerous KB articles that can be used for cross referencing build numbers with friendly versions names. The KB we’re interested in for ESXi is KB 2143832.

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Updating NIC Drivers in ESXi from the CLI

A video walk-through on updating your NIC drivers from the command line for maximum control.

There are a number of reasons you may want to update your NIC drivers and firmware. Maybe it’s just a best practice recommendation from the vendor, or perhaps you’ve run into a bug or performance problem that warrants this. Whatever the reason, keeping your NIC drivers up to date is always a good idea.

There are several ways to go about updating your drivers, but the tried and tested ‘esxcli’ method works well for small environments. It’s also a good choice to ensure you have maximum control over the process. The below video will walk you through the update process:

Remember that finding the correct NIC on the VMware Compatibility Guide is one of the most important steps in the driver update process. For help on narrowing down your exact NIC make/model based on PCI identifiers, be sure to check out this video.

Another important point to remember is that some server vendors require specific or minimum firmware levels to go along with their drivers. The firmware version listed in the compatibility guide is only the version used to test/qualify the driver. It’s not necessarily the best or only choice. VMware always recommends reaching out to your hardware vendor for the final word on driver/firmware interoperability.

Stay tuned for another video on using VMware Update Manager to create a baseline for automating the driver update process!

I hope you found this video helpful. For more instructional videos, please head over to my YouTube channel. Please feel free to leave any comments below, or on YouTube.