The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to update my current ESXi 8 environment (ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479) to ESXi 8.0 Update 2b build 23305546.
Release notes for ESXi 8.0 Update 2b build 23305546 can be found here. Below is a screenshot of my current environment (ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479) prior to update 1a build 21813344. Previous build numbers can be found here.
** Please keep in mind, this guides applies to my personal home lab environment so please proceed with caution and take the appropriate steps including documentation to ensure you have a successful update. **
I decided to use the ESXCLI command method to proceed with the ESXI Host update and there is no better resource to act as a guide than Paul Braren‘s blog post found here.
In order to use the command provided by Paul, the first step is to enable SSH on the host. Log into your ESXi host interface, right-click the ESXi Host, followed by Services, and then select Enable Secure Shell (SSH):
Next, SSH into the ESXi Host (I use Putty) and then log in using your Root credentials:
I included the command found in the screenshot below and since my Dell PowerEdge R720 server is not found on the VMware Compatibility List, you’ll need to append –no-hardware-warning.
Command:
esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-8.0U2b-23305546-standard -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml –no-hardware-warning
Thanks to William Lam and this post, I was able to apply the workaround he suggested for the Memory Error found below:
I found that applying each of the lines (8 total) below one at a time applied the workaround successfully:
esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient
esxcli system settings advanced set -o /VisorFS/VisorFSPristineTardisk -i 0
cp /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software.bak
sed -i ‘s/mem=300/mem=500/g’ /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software.bak
mv /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software.bak /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software -f
esxcli system settings advanced set -o /VisorFS/VisorFSPristineTardisk -i 1
esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-8.0U2b-23305546-standard -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml –no-hardware-warning
esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e false -r httpClient
Once the commands were successfully applied, the update process begins and you’ll then be prompted to reboot your ESXi host. I was able to keep track of the reboot process using my idrac session:
If I have missed anything or if you have any suggestions, please let me know.
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