ESX 4.1 Upgrade with vCenter Update Manager

Note: We are going to be upgrading our ESX 4 Update 2 Host to ESX 4.1 using vCenter Update Manager. You must already have Update Manager installed before continuing, it is also essential to download the host upgrade file upgrade-from-ESX4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip from vmware’s website by clicking here

1. Our first step is to log into vCenter.

2. Click on the Update Manager Tab.

3. Click on Admin View at the top right corner of the page.

4. Click on the last tab entitled Host Upgrade Releases.

5. Click Import Upgrade Release at the top right corner.

6. Click Browse and select the upgrade-from-ESX4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip file that you downloaded at the beginning. Click Next.

7. The file is uploaded.

8. Once the file is uploaded you will see a notification of Upload Successful. Click Finish.

9. Click on the Baselines and Groups Tab.

10. We are going to create a new Baseline. Click Create at the top right hand corner. Enter in a name for the baseline, I’ve entered in ESX Host Upgrade. Under Baseline Type – Host Baselines, select Host Upgrade and click Next.

11. The Host Upgrade Release that we uploaded in step 6 will be available to select. Select the VMware ESX / ESXi release 4.1.0 upgrade release and click Next.

12. As we are upgrading from ESX 4 we will leave the setting on (Recommended) and click Next.

13. You can leave the “Try to reboot the host and roll …….” option selected and you don’t need to use a post-upgrade script when you use Update Manager so you can leave this unselected.

14. You are presented with a summary. Click Finish.

15. You can now see the ESX Host upgrade that you created in the previous step under Baselines.

16. Now we are going to apply our baseline to our ESX host. Click on Compliance View.

17. Select your ESX host by left clicking it, then click on Attach at the top right hand corner and the following window will pop-up.

18. Select the ESX Host Upgrade baseline situated under Upgrade Baselines and click Attach.

19. The baseline is now attached to this specific ESX host. Click Scan at the top right hand corner, this will scan the ESX host to see if the baseline has already been applied. Select Upgrades and click Scan.

20. The report in the right hand window shows that our baseline has not been installed.

21. With host patches you would normally stage them first then remediate. However with a host upgrade we can skip staging and go straight to remediate. Under Individual Baselines by Type select UpdateBaselines and on the right hand side under Baselines select ESX Host Upgrade. The host that you have attached the baseline to appears in the lower window. In this case my host is vmcluster1.vmlab.local Click Next.

22. Click I accept for the End User License Agreement and click Next.

23. This is basically a summary screen with the option to make changes, similar to the summary we screen we saw in step 14. Click Next.

24. This window will allow you to install the upgrade immediately or schedule it for a later time. There are also Maintenance Mode options you can set in case the host has difficulty entering into Maintenance Mode. I will leave the default settings and click Next.

25. This window presents some options for clustered hosts. In our lab cluster we are not using DPM, HA admission control or FT so we will just leave the defaults and click Next.

26. This is the last summary screen before installing the update. Check everything is correct, if not go back and make the necessary changes. If you are happy with the summary click Finish.

27. The ESX 4.1 Upgrade has been completed successfully. In the right hand window under Attached Baselines you can now see the ESX Host Upgrade has the green tick. You can also see the VMware ESX version number 4.1.0 build 260247 just above the Getting Started and Summary tabs.

Disclaimer:
All the tutorials included on this site are performed in a lab environment to simulate a real world production scenario. As everything is done to provide the most accurate steps to date, we take no responsibility if you implement any of these steps in a production environment.