Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article that features an even easier update method here:
Vmware Vsphere Esxi 5.5
Article below as it originally appeared.
VMware ESXi 6.5 Release Notes ESXi 6.5 | 15 NOV 2016 | ISO Build 4564106
Warning - vCenter/VCSA 6.x should be upgraded to 6.5 beforeupgrading your host(s) to ESXi 6.5!
All the background story on how this easy ESXCLI upgrade method came about was covered in my earlier article:
- How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor to ESXi 6.0 Update 2
Mar 16 2016
Benefits
- No new license needed to go from 6.0.x to 6.5!
- Users of the free hypervisor and folks who can't download the GA Offline bundle now have a path forward as well!
Prerequisites
Once you've completed ALL of the following preparation steps:
- upgraded to VCSA 6.5
- ensured your ESXi 6.0.x host has a working internet connection
- reviewed the release notes
- reviewed How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor to ESXi 6.0 Update 2 for the full back story that includes some warnings about potential gotchas/driver issues
- backed up the ESXi 6.0 you've already got, using something like one of the home-lab-friendly techniques such as using USB Image Tools, as detailed by Florian Grehl here
you can now safely continue with this one-liner approach to upgrading your lab environment.
Unsupported, at your own risk, see the full disclaimer at below left.
I personally tested upgrading from 6.0U2 to 6.5 my first time with the GA code in the live and (obviously) unrehearsed video below.
What's nice about this ESXCLI upgrade method is that its super simple and convenient, and you don't have to worry about logging in to My VMware and downloading your ESXi 6.5 ISO:
Name: VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.5.0-4564106.x86_64.iso
Release Date: 2016-11-15
Build Number: 4564106
Upgrade
Download and upgrade to 6.5 using the patch directly from the VMware Online Depot, entire process including reboot is usually well under 15 minutes
- Open an SSH session (eg. PuTTY) to your ESXi 6.0.x server
(if you forgot to enable SSH, here's how) - Turn on maintenance mode, or ensure you've set your ESXi host to automatically gracefully shutdown all VMs upon host reboot, or shutdown all the VMs gracefully that you care about, including VCSA.
- Paste the line below into into your SSH session, then hit enter, waiting somewhere around 3 to 10 minutes for it to finish up, depending mostly on the the speed of the ESXi's connection to the internet, and a little on the speed of the storage media that ESXi is installed on:
- Optional - Depending upon your ESXi firewall configuration, if the above command results in a network related error, the first fix to try is this command:
then repeat step 3 above. More details about the firewall here, including a way to return to your prior state.
- If you turned on maintenance mode earlier, remember to turn maintenance mode off.
- Type reboot and hit return (to restart your ESXi server), or use your favorite ESXi UI to restart the host.
- After the reboot is done, it would be a good idea to test login using ESXi host client, pointing your browser to the IP or hostname of your just-graded server, to be sure everthing seems to be working right.
You're done!
Special thanks to VMware ESXi Patch Tracker by Andreas Peetz at the VMware Front Experience Blog.
That's it! When the reboot is complete, you'll see for yourself that you now have the latest ESXi, Build 4564106, as pictured above. Now you have more spare time to read more TinkerTry articles!
By the way, you could use VMware Update Manager on a Windows system or VM, but for one-off upgrades typical in a small home lab, pasting these 1 or 2 lines of code is pretty darn easy.
Looking ahead, since VUM is now built into VCSA 6.5, this will add another way to do future upgrades and patches, even in a small home lab environment.
Potential SATA and Realtek NIC gotchas
If you find some of your SATA/AHCI datastores disappear from view after this upgrade, worry not, the VMFS datastores are still there, you just can't see them. This article should still save you:
- For ESXi 6.0, those ESXi 5.1 VIBs for ASMedia SATA ports and Realtek NICs still seem to be working (but unsupported)
Mar 04 2015
Video
Original article snippet, as originally published on Nov 20 2016, appears as it was, below.
Coming soon
It's here, see above!The TinkerTry'd easy-upgrade method just isn't ready yet, see why at VMware Front Experience Blog's
- VMware ESXi Patch Tracker
The ESXi 6.5.0 GA Imageprofile is not yet available in the VMware Online Depot. Subscribe here now to get notified at release time!
If VMware does decide to make ESXi 6.5 available up there in this same cloudy depot, it's likely you'll be using this simple one-liner, to get the job done:
but currently, it errors out with this message:
How about querying what bundles are available, just in case I got the bundle name wrong? See what pcrandom suggests:
Nope, no 6.5 versions listed there, at all. You can try for yourself, as this is just a harmless list command.
What to do? How to upgrade to 6.5 right now? No problem, just read this article for the somewhat more involved ISO download/mount method:
- How to Upgrade ESXi 6.0 to 6.5 via ISO
Nov 20 2016 by Vladan Seget at vladan.fr
Nov 24 2016 Update
The correct file now showed up on VMware's Respository, as seen in VMware ESXi Patch Tracker, which allowed me to get this all working, and make the edits to the article above.
See also at TinkerTry
How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance to VCSA 6.5
Nov 20 2016Mar 14 2016
VMware ESXi 6.5 first look at install/config featuring vSphere Host Client HTML5 Web UI
Nov 15 2016In VMware vSphere 6.5, missing functions in speedy HTML5 Web UI leaves us saddled with vSphere Web Client (Flash), C# Client still connects to hosts, but not to vSphere
Nov 16 2016
See also
ESXi 6.5 Release Notes for free license and white box users
Nov 24 2016 by Andreas Peetz at VMware Front ExperienceVMware ESXi Patch Tracker
Nov 24 2016 by Andreas Peetz at VMware Front Experience- VMware vSphere 6.5 Documentation Center - Upgrade or Update a Host with Image Profiles
VMware
Mastering virtualization takes practice, and the free edition of VMware's vSphere Hypervisor 5.5 can provide an effective training ground. A fully functional virtualization platform, vSphere Hypervisor 5.5 supports an unlimited number of physical CPUs with 8 vCPUs per virtual machine and includes management via the VMware vSphere Client application.
While not suitable for production environments thanks to the lack of high availability, update manager, vCenter management APIs, and other add-ons and features that come with the purchase of a license, the free version of vSphere is an ideal platform for experimentation, testing and learning about bare metal hypervisors. What’s more, the free version proves suitable for running the occasional virtual appliance or testing new operating systems. Get started with these tips.
Prepare your vSphere test environment
VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.5, which is built upon VMware’s ESXi 5.5 virtual server software, is a bare metal hypervisor that includes support for a variety of hardware combinations and includes management via the VMware vSphere Client application, which can be installed on most any Windows-based system. Nevertheless, there are some pre-requisites that must be met before an administrator can experience all that VMware’s free bare metal hypervisor can offer.
- Choose your hardware carefully. Although ESXi supports a wide array of hardware, that hardware still needs to be sized for the task at hand. The more processing power and memory you can put through at a virtual machine, the better the VM's performance and capability. Also, administrators need to make sure that the resources available meet the needed resources for the virtual server or virtual appliance that will be running on the bare metal hypervisor. It is always a good idea to check VMware’s knowledge base for hardware compatibility.
- Identify software to be tested. Having an inkling of what operating systems, virtual appliances and the level of integration needed is critical to devising a test environment. Not only is it necessary to make sure that the software will run under the hypervisor, it is also necessary to determine whether the virtual hardware provided offers the performance and capabilities needed by the software to be tested.
- Create a robust network backbone. It almost goes without saying that gigabit Ethernet connectivity is a must, especially for situations where a client system running the vSphere Client will be used to create virtual machines on the host.
- Always download the latest version of VMware vSphere and associated software before creating a new virtual host. Download the software as ISO images so bootable DVDs can be created, easing the installation process.
- Update hardware BIOS. Odds are, older systems that are being removed from service will become the hardware platform for hypervisor experimentation. Reduce the occurrence of problems, or bugs by upgrading the BIOS to the latest available version to ensure compatibility.
- Plan the network infrastructure. Select IP addresses to be assigned and know DNS, DHCP, Subnet Masks and other pertinent information to deploy the system. Prepare notes for keeping track of assignments, accounts and passwords.
Get vSphere up and running and bring a virtual Windows server online
Following the above guidelines should help reduce the occurrence of problems and speed the creation of a bare metal hypervisor for experimentation and validation purposes. Setting up a vSphere platform is not a plug-and-play procedure. There are some specific steps that must be taken to garner a successful, operational deployment of vSphere. VMware does offer quick start guides and other documentation, however that documentation proves to be overly comprehensive and can be difficult to navigate. Most administrators would prefer to start off with a simple set of steps to get started. Outlined below are the steps to get vSphere up and running and to bring a virtual Windows Server online.
ESXi 5.5:
- Create a bootable DVD from the downloaded ESXi image file (.ISO) that was downloaded. Windows 8 and above provide the capability to burn a bootable ISO disk natively. Older versions of Windows may require getting a hold of a utility, such as Bootable Windows 7 ISO Maker.
- Make sure the system that will serve as the host system has an empty hard drive, connected monitor and keyboard, and a network connection. Set the BIOS to boot from optical media.
- Load the bootable DVD/CD and start the system.
- Follow the ESXi installer wizard, which will prompt for where to install ESXi. Once the interactive wizard completes, the system will reboot and load ESXi, which will be ready for configuration.
- Once the system is up and running, press F2 to configure basic information on the ESXi host, such as such as IP address, netmask, gateways, enabled NICs and so forth. Document all of the settings, including IP addresses assigned, as well as account information and passwords.
- Once pertinent information has been inputted, make sure the host is reachable from other systems on the network by using the ping command.
If more than one physical server is being deployed (the free version of vSphere 5.5 includes support for 2 physical servers), repeat steps 2-5. Once completed, ESXi management will take place using a remote computer running a client application.
VMware vSphere Client:
- From a connected Windows system, launch a browser and connect to the ESXi server using the assigned IP address.
- The ESXi server will present a web page with some basic information about the physical host, including a link to download the vSphere Client Application.
- Click on the link, download vSphere Client to the local windows system.
- Launch the installer and follow the wizard-based prompts to install the vSphere Client application.
- Launch vSphere Client and input the IP address of the ESXi server. Authenticate to the host using the account credentials created during setup.
- Navigate to the configuration tab for the selected host, click on license features and follow the prompts to install the license.
Creating a Virtual Machine:
- Create a new virtual machine from the vSphere Client inventory view.
- Right-click on the host and select Create New Virtual Machine.
- A configuration wizard is launched, which offers either a typical configuration or custom configuration.Using the custom configuration provides access to the multitude of options available. It's a better way for setting up assigned memory, virtual hard drives, available processor cores and so forth.
- Give the virtual machine a descriptive name to avoid confusion later on.
- Choose a data store (hard drive) to create the virtual machine on. There can be multiple data stores defined on a host, so picking the correct one to provide enough disk space is critical.
- Choose the type of virtual machine (version 4, 7, or 8). The latest version is usually the best choice.
- Choose the operating system to install from the pull-down menu.
- Choose the number of virtual sockets and virtual cores for the operating system to use. Be careful to not under- or overallocate CPU resources to the virtual machine. Luckily, the setting can be changed at a later date if needed.
- Set the amount of memory required for the VM.
- Choose the number of network cards to assign to the VM and the type of Networking to use.
- Select the SCSI controller type to be used for the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is being imported from a VHD, the controller type must match the original selection.
- Create a Virtual Disk, making sure the size is adequate for the virtual machine.
- Click Finish to create the blank virtual machine.
Installing a Guest OS
- Navigate to Edit Virtual Machine Settings and click on the CD drive setting.
- Map the CD Drive to either a client device or local device, depending upon where the OS install media is located. Be sure to click the Connect at Power On option box.
- Insert the guest OS DVD/CD into the appropriate drive.
- Select Power on the Virtual Machine.
- OS installation should start as soon as the VM boots and starts the boot loader process.
- Configure the guest OS using vSphere Client’s ability to access the host console using the console tab on the interface.
The operating system installation should automatically begin and all configuration options, settings and so forth can be accessed via the console.
While there are many steps involved, getting up and running with VMware vSphere 5.5 isn’t all that difficult. It's a good exercise for those looking to learn about hypervisors and/or test operating systems and software.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
If you have not already heard, vSphere 6.7 has been released, and Update Manager is now available in the HTML5 based vSphere Client. If you want to upgrade ESXi to 6.7, Update Manager is the easiest way to do so. Update Manager, also known as VUM, has been integrated into the vCenter Server Appliance since vSphere 6.5, so if you are using the VCSA you are ready to start using Update Manager.
Using vSphere Update Manager 6.7, you can upgrade ESXi from 6.0 to 6.7 or ESXi from 6.5 to 6.7. If you are trying to upgrade vSphere 5.5 to 6.7 you can still use VUM, but it will be a two step process. You will first need to upgrade ESXi from 5.5 to 6.5 and then ESXi from 6.5 to 6.7. Now, let’s talk about what you need to get started with your ESXi 6.7 upgrade.
Getting Ready to Upgrade to ESXi 6.7 Using vSphere Update Manager
Before you update ESXi to 6.7, there are a couple of things you you need to do first:
- Have a vSphere 6.7 VCSA deployed. You can easily upgrade your existing VCSA or deploy a new one. This is essential to using vSphere Update Manager for your upgrade.
- Have the ESXi 6.7 ISO downloaded. You will need this to upgrade your ESXi hosts from vSphere 6.0 or 6.5.
- Verified your vSphere environment is compatible with ESXi 6.7. This includes your server hardware, your storage array, and anything else that directly touches your vSphere environment. If you do not check this list, you can find yourself in big trouble when it comes to running a supported configuration after your ESXi 6.7 update. If you are not familiar with the VMware Compatibility Guide, be sure to read this post for step-by-step instructions how to use it.
All of these steps are essential to your ESXi 6.7 upgrade success!
Ready for your ESXi 6.7 upgrade? Great. Here is the step by step guide on how to upgrade ESXi 6.5 to 6.7.
The ESXi Update Process: Getting Used to vCenter 6.7 and the vSphere Client
If you have not used the HTML5 based vSphere Client, it is the client of choice in vSphere 6.7. You will notice things look a little difference once you navigate to your VCSA.
Once you are logged using the first option, the vSphere Client, you will notice things look a little different. Do not worry, if you have not spent much time using the HTML5 based vSphere client, it as easy and intuitive to use as the vSphere Web Client was. I recommend using the HTML5 based vSphere client for you ESXi 6.7 upgrade, since the upgrade process is so simple. These simple tasks will help you become more familiar with the HTML5 client.
Finding Update Manager in vSphere 6.7 for the ESXi 6.7 Upgrade
Vmware Esxi 5.5 Free Cpu Limit
There are many, many ways to get to Update Manager in vSphere 6.7 when you want to upgrade to ESXi 6.7. Personally, I click Shortcuts under Home in the left navigation pane, then Update Manager in the right pane.
You will see that as you browse other vSphere inventory items, there is often a link for vSphere Update Manager Home. This will bring you to the same place. There are many different ways to do things in VMware vSphere.
ESXi Update Process: Preparing Update Manager for ESXi 6.7 Host Upgrade
Now that we have accessed VUM, we need to configure it in order to be able to upgrade ESXi from 6.5 to 6.7. The first thing we are going to do is upload our ESXi 6.7 image. It is important to do this first, as we will need to have it uploaded for later configuration steps. In the vSphere Update Manager screen, we simply need to click ESXi images on the right, then click IMPORT. Preparing vSphere Update Manager is essential when it is time to update ESXi.
I hope you remembered where you downloaded that ESXi 6.7 ISO, since we are performing the ESXi 6.7 update. Just browse to the location, and click Import. The import should go quickly, and you are one step closer to completing your ESXi upgrade.
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Create A New Update Manager Baseline to Upgrade ESXi 6.5 to 6.7
A baseline is just a fancy term for the state you would like Update Manager to bring your vSphere environment to. Start by clicking Baselines, and select New Baseline. It is important that you have uploaded your ESXi 6.7 image before performing this step.
There are three types of baselines in vSphere Update Manager. We are going to create an Upgrade baseline to upgrade ESXi. There is also a Patch baseline for installing ESXi patches, and an Extension baseline to add additional software to an ESXi host. Enter a name for your Upgrade Baseline and click Next. It is important to use a name which makes sense, such as vSphere 6.7 Upgrade or vSphere 6.7 Update. That way, in later steps, you will know exactly what the purpose of each baseline is.
Remember that ESXi 6.7 image we imported? Select it, and click next.
Now our vSphere Update Manager baseline is ready to complete. You will see a summary of the host upgrade baseline you have just created. Click Finish to create the baseline. This baseline is for your vSphere 6.7 upgrade to ESXi 6.7.
Attaching a Baseline to ESXi Hosts for ESXi 6.7
The next step is to attach a Baseline to the ESXi hosts you would like to upgrade. There are many different ways to accomplish this. You can attach baselines to different objects within VMware vCenter Server. I prefer to attach them to vSphere clusters, but you can also attach them at the Datacenter or individual ESXi host level. No matter which way you decide to do this, it is a key step of the ESXi update process.
Click the vSphere cluster in Hosts and Clusters View. In the right pane, click Updates. Remember I said there were many ways to get to Update Manager? You will see you can click GO TO UPDATE MANAGER HOME to get to the Update Manager interface we were just using. Click ATTACH to attach to select which baseline to attach to the cluster. We are almost ready to update ESXi!
Now, select the baseline you have previously created, I named mine vSphere 6.7 Upgrade. Click OK.
That is it! We are now ready to upgrade ESXi.
Upgrading ESXi to from 6.5 to 6.7 or Upgrade ESXi 6.0 to 6.7
Fist and foremost, let’s take a look at one of the ESXi hosts we will be upgrading to ESXi 6.7 from ESXi 6.5. You could also upgrade ESXi 6.0 to 6.7 using this method. To do this, you would follow the same steps in your vSphere 6.0 environment. The method is identical other than your starting point.
As you can see, my host is running ESXi 6.5, and yes, it is virtual ESXi host. Now we are going to get this host running the latest and greatest version of VMware vSphere! I wish I was going to click a cool UPGRADE NOW button, but I will select REMEDIATE from the Update pane of our cluster.
Remediate is a nice way of saying make sure our host is compliant with its attached baseline. In this case, clicking the button is what will actually update ESXi. After we click REMEDIATE, we will be prompted to accept the VMware EULA. After we click accept the EULA, we will see exactly what is about to get upgrade in our environment.
Now, we simply click OK and off our hosts go! They will now be updated to ESXi 6.7. vCenter will cycle through the cluster, putting the hosts into maintenance mode and upgrading them as you can see here:
Now is a good time to step away and get a nice beverage while your ESXi environment upgrades itself. As you can see, our upgrade has been successful and we are now running ESXi 6.7! You will also see it is complaint with the attached baseline. This is another way of showing it is now running ESXi 6.7 since that is what the baseline was configured to do.
Congratulations! You are now running the latest version of VMware vSphere. I hope you are reading this article before you perform your upgrade, because there are a number of things to think about before hand. As I mentioned, it is important to make sure your environment is compatible with vSphere 6.7 before you perform your upgrade. Just because everything “works”, that does not mean it is supported!
In addition, a vSphere upgrade can also be an opportunity to fix some things in your environment that may not be optimal. Rebecca Fitzhugh and I presented a session at VMworld 2017 entitled Upgrading to vSphere 6.5 the VCDX Way. This methodology is still valid when upgrading to vSphere 6.7.
Vmware Esxi 5.5 Free License Key Crack
VMware vSphere Upgrade Paths to ESXi 6.7
Now that we have shown how to perform an ESXi update to 6.7, we will review your upgrade path options. Remember, before you start your upgrade you should ensure all components (both software and hardware) are compatible on the VMware Compatibility Guide.
Upgrade ESXi 6.5 to 6.7
You are in the right place! Simply follow the steps in this article.
Upgrade ESXi 6.0 to 6.7
Again, you have come to the right place! Simply follow the steps in this article.
Upgrade ESXi 5.5 to 6.5
If you are still running vSphere 5.5, remember, end of general support is coming on September 19, 2018! It will be a two step upgrade from vSphere 5.5 to vSphere 6.7, so the time is now to start planning. You can find instructions for upgrading from ESXi 5.5 to 6.5 using Update Manager here.
After you have finished your upgrade to vSphere 6.5, simply follow this article you are reading now to update ESXi to 6.7.
VMware makes it very easy to perform an ESXi upgrade. Upgrading to ESXi 6.7 is not much different than the previous versions, other than the addition of the HTML5 based vSphere client. If you are just not yet comfortable with new client for your ESXi 6.7 upgrade, you can still use the former vSphere Web Client. You can follow these instructions on upgrading from ESXi 5.5 to 6.5, and simply use the ESXi 6.7 ISO file.
Why Should I Upgrade to ESXi 6.7?
Great question! As much as we all want to upgrade to ESXi 6.7 since it is the latest and greatest version of ESXi, the fact of the matter is we are going to need a good reason to do our ESXi 6.7 upgrade. The Change Management practices in organizations generally do not like to see someone upgrading an environment just to get to the latest version. Generally, you will have much more success in getting your ESXi 6.7 upgrade approved if you have good business reasons behind it.
Some examples are:
- To remain on a supported version of ESXi (we always want to make sure we can call VMware support if we need to!)
- To take advantage of new features and functionality (check out this blog from VMware on what is new in vSphere 6.7)
- To enhance the security of our environment
- To make the environment easier to use for operations team, such as allowing them to take advantage of the new and improved HTML5 vSphere Client
These are just a couple of ideas to get you started on your upgrade path. Good luck, and enjoy ESXi 6.7
Going Beyond ESXi 6.7?
Are you going beyond ESXi 6.7? Be sure to check out these resources:
Remember, before you update your production environment to vSphere 6.7, it is always nice to get a feel for the upgrade in a development or test environment. After all, each VMware release is full of new features, like in the case of VMware vSphere 6.7 U2 – What You Need to Know. After testing the new version of vSphere in development or test, you can update your operational documentation before your production environment and be ready to hit the ground running after your VMware vSphere upgrade.
August 26, 2015VMWare has launched the new VSphere 6.0. The base ESXi hypervisor license with limited features remains free. Here’s how to get your free license key.
- Visit the site https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi6
- Login using your Vmware user account or register yourself to get a new account.
- Select the “License & Download” and your key for VMWare vSphere Hypervisor 6 will appear under “License information” as shown in the screenshot below
- Copy your key and save it somewhere and proceed to download the iso if you have not already done so.