Installation guide

Procedure
1 Download an ESX 4.0 ISO file and save it on the same Windows computer on which vSphere Host Update
Utility is installed.
2 Use the vSphere Client to put the host into maintenance mode.
3 Select Start > Programs > VMware > vSphere Host Update Utility 4.0.
4 Select a host from the list and click Upgrade.
If a host is not in the list, you can add it by selecting Host > Add Host.
5 Type the location of the ESX 4.0 installation file to use or click Browse to select the location from a file
browser and click Next.
For ESX 4.0, the installation file is an ISO image.
6 Select I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next.
7 Type the administrative account information for the selected host and click Next.
The software performs a host compatibility check.
8 Select the datastore and size of the service console virtual disk (VMDK).
VMware recommends that you select a datastore that is local to the ESX host. The service console VMDK
requires at least 8.4GB of available space.
NFS and software iSCSI datastores are not supported as the destination for the ESX 4.0 service console
VMDK.
The service console must be installed on a VMFS datastore that is resident on a host's local disk or on a
SAN disk that is masked and zoned to that particular host only. The datastore cannot be shared between
hosts.
9 (Optional) To disable automatic rollback, deselect the Attempt to reboot host and roll back upgrade in
case of failure check box.
By default, if upgrade errors occur, the host reboots and rolls back the upgrade. If you disable this behavior,
you can troubleshoot the errors manually.
10 (Optional) To automate post-upgrade configuration, select Run a post-upgrade script and type the
location of a custom post-upgrade script, or click Browse to select the location from a file browser.
The upgrade installer supports the Bash (.sh) and Python (.py) interpreters.
11 (Optional) Select Roll back the upgrade if the post-upgrade script fails and select the number of seconds
(0 to 180 seconds) for the installer to wait before it rolls back the upgrade if the post-upgrade script fails.
By default, if the post-upgrade script fails, the host upgrade remains in effect.
12 Click Next.
13 Confirm your upgrade configuration and click Finish.
The host upgrade begins. You can view the upgrade progress in the Host Details pane.
The host is upgraded to ESX 4.0. If the upgrade fails, restart the vSphere Host Update Utility before you retry
the upgrade.
The vSphere Host Update Utility might appear to stop working. If this happens, wait several minutes to see
if the utility starts working again. VMware recommends that you do not cancel the upgrade at any point during
the upgrade process. The host might appear to successfully boot into ESX 4.0. If this happens, continue to wait
until the utility displays the message: Upgrade Succeeded before you close the utility.
vSphere Upgrade Guide
74 VMware, Inc.