Install VMware vSphere (ESXi) Update Via Command Line
Downloading the Update
- Open a web browser and navigate to https://customerconnect.vmware.com/
- Register or login with an existing account
- Search for vmware vsphere
- Filter the results to Downloads
- Select the result for the target version of VMware vSphere
- Use the Select Version dropdown to set the target update version
- Scroll down and download the VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) Offline Bundle
Applying the Update
- Log into the VMware vSphere ESXi web UI
- Enable the SSH service if it is not already enabled by selecting Actions > Services > Enable Secure Shell (SSH)
- Select Storage from the left navigation menu
- Click Datastore browser in the main content area > Select a target Data store > Click Upload > Browse to and select the downloaded Offline Bundle .zip file
- After the upload completes, connect to the ESXi host via SSH
- Run the following commands
# put the host into maintenance mode
vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter
# list datastores
ls /vmfs/volumes
# run the update, replacing the datastore name and update file name
esxcli software vib install -d "/vmfs/volumes/datastore1/ESXi670-201912001.zip"
# after the update completes, reboot the host
reboot
# once the host is back up, log back in
# take the host out of maintenance mode
vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit
- Log back into the VMware vSphere ESXi web UI
- Verify the updated version is displayed