6.5.1

Table Of Contents
Methods supported for direct upgrade to ESXi 6.5 are:
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Use the interactive graphical user interface (GUI) installer from CD, DVD, or USB drive.
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Scripted upgrade.
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Use the esxcli command line interface (CLI).
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vSphere Auto Deploy. If the ESXi 5.5.x host was deployed by using vSphere Auto Deploy, you can
use vSphere Auto Deploy to reprovision the host with a 6.5 image.
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vSphere Update Manager.
Graphical User
Interface (GUI) Installer
Upgrade interactively by using an ESXi installer ISO image on CD/DVD or
USB flash drive. You can run the ESXi 6.5 installer from a CD/DVD or USB
flash drive to do an interactive upgrade. This method is appropriate for
deployments with a small number of hosts. The installer works the same as
for a fresh installation, but if you select a target disk that already contains
an ESXi 5.0.x,ESXi 5.1.x, or ESXi 5.5.x installation, the installer upgrades
the host to 6.5. The installer also gives you the option to migrate some
existing host settings and configuration files and to preserve the existing
VMFS datastore. See Upgrade Hosts Interactively.
Perform a Scripted
Upgrade
You can upgrade hosts from ESXi 5.5.x and ESXi 6.0.x to ESXi 6.5 by
running an update script for an efficient, unattended upgrade. Scripted
upgrades provide an efficient way to deploy multiple hosts. You can use a
script to upgrade ESXi from a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, or by
specifying a preboot execution environment (PXE) for the installer. You can
also call a script from an interactive installation. See Installing or Upgrading
Hosts by Using a Script.
esxcli Command Line
Interface
You can use the esxcli command-line utility for ESXi to upgrade ESXi
5.5.x hosts or ESXi 6.0.x hosts to ESXi 6.5 hosts. See Upgrading Hosts by
Using esxcli Commands.
vSphere Upgrade
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