Installation guide
Update an ESX/ESXi Host Using Offline Bundles with the vihostupdate Utility
You can use the vihostupdate utility in conjunction with offline bundles or with a depot. This topic describes
the procedure using offline bundles.
Prerequisites
Before you can update or patch an ESX/ESXi host from the command line, you must have access to a machine
on which you can run the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface (vSphere CLI). You can install the
vSphere CLI on your Microsoft Windows or Linux system or import the VMware vSphere Management
Assistant (vMA) virtual appliance onto your ESX/ESXi host. For information about importing or installing the
vSphere CLI, see the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide.
Procedure
1 Power off any virtual machines that are running on the host and place the host into maintenance mode.
2 Find out which bulletins are applicable to the ESX/ESXi host.
n
Search an offline HTTP server:
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--scan --bundle http://
<webserver>
/rollup.zip
n
Search the local machine:
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--scan --bundle
<local_path>
/rollup.zip
The --server argument is the ESX/ESXi host name or IP address.
Do not specify more than one bundle ZIP file at the command line each time you run the command. If you
specify --bundle more than once, the command processes only the last file that was specified.
3 (Optional) List all the bulletins that are available in the bundle.
n
Search an offline HTTP server:
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--list --bundle http://
<webserver>
/rollup.zip
n
Search the local machine:
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--list --bundle
<local_path>
/rollup.zip
This command lists all the bulletins contained in the bundle, even those that do not apply to the host.
4 Install bulletins from the bundle on the ESX/ESXi host.
n
Install from an offline HTTP server:
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--install --bundle http://
<webserver>
/rollup.zip --
bulletin bulletin1,bulletin2
n
Install from the local machine:
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--install --bundle
<local_path>
/rollup.zip --bulletin
bulletin1,bulletin2
If you omit the --bulletin argument, this command installs all the bulletins in the bundle.
5 Verify that the bulletins are installed on your ESX/ESXi host.
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--query
6 (Optional) Remove individual bulletins.
vihostupdate.pl --server
<server>
--remove --bulletin bulletin1
Use this option only for removing bulletins that are third-party or VMware extensions. Do not remove
bulletins that are VMware patches or updates. vihostupdate can remove only one bulletin at a time.
Chapter 14 About Host Updates and Patches
VMware, Inc. 103