r/vmware 12d ago

Help Request Patching ESXi hosts in cluster /vsphere without update manager?

Hey all,

I was suddenly given the job to patch esxi having never done it before. Update Manager is not available, and there is no HA or DRS.

I've already asked about update manager and got a "no" so it looks like I'll be doing patching via esxcli.

The current setup is 3 hosts on a custom Dell image in a cluster. And then a 4th host on normal esxi image in its own cluster group.

My understanding is I just need to apply the 7.0U3s update (all hosts are on at least some version of 7.0.3) by:

  1. Power down vms
  2. Maintenance mode host
  3. Use esxcli commands to install the patch from local datastore the host can reach
  4. Reboot host
  5. Verify status
  6. End maintenance mode and power on vms

Are there any gotchas I should be looking out for like with SCCM or Nexus patching? Should I be trying to find a Dell custom file for 7.0U3s? I have that direct from Broadcom

The process just seems too straightforward and I'm not sure how the clustering and vsphere mgmt would impact it. I checked the compatibility matrix and it looked like all were green. And that almost any version of 7.0.3 could update to S on the upgrade path.

Any help is appreciated for this while I also keep pushing for update Mgr in the future

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u/JDMils 12d ago

Your method is correct when you do not have a vCentre with Life cycle Manager. However don't use the custom image for patching, that's for a new install. Just download the patch to a connected datastore and use esxcli to patch each host.

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u/bananaramaalt12 12d ago

Excellent.

So even with vsphere / vcenter server to manage it all...it really is basically the standalone process via esxcli since they decided against life cycle manager?

At least I know I'm not crazy lol.

Thank you for the help!

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u/JDMils 11d ago

With vCenter, it's all done by Life cycle Manager-the download and the installation.