How to Upgrade ESXi 6.5 to ESXi 6.7

I wrote a post recently about upgrading a VCSA to version 6.7 – this article will look at the next step, which is how to upgrade ESXi 6.5 to ESXi 6.7. There are still several different ways to update an ESXi host, I’ll start by looking at using vSphere Update Manager.

Upgrade ESXi 6.5 to ESXi 6.7 Using Update Manager

To do this I’m going to stick to using the HTML5 client. After logging in, you can find Update Manager on the main menu page:

As always, before upgrading your ESXi hosts in a production environment, ensure that you check your hardware compatibility with the new ESXi version. You should also read the upgrade guide and release notes for the version you are about to upgrade to.

Uploading the ESXi 6.7 ISO

The first thing we need to do is upload the ESXi 6.7 image. On the vSphere Update Manager page, click ESXi images on the right, then click Import.

Once imported successfully, it should show up in the image list:

With that done, we can now move on to creating an upgrade baseline.

Creating the Upgrade Baseline

The baseline defines what level we want to patch/update ESXi to. This often includes a list of patches that we wish to apply, which is known as a patch baseline. In this case, we will be creating an upgrade baseline. The only thing that needs to be included in an upgrade baseline is the ESXi image just uploaded.

On the Baselines page, click new and then, New Baseline:

On the Baseline Definition page, enter a name and a description for the new baseline, then select the Upgrade baseline type.

On the next page, select the ESXi 6.7 image that was uploaded earlier, then click ok. We now have a baseline ready to apply to an ESXi host or cluster.

Attaching the new Baseline to ESXi Hosts

The next step is to attach a Baseline to the ESXi host (or cluster) you would like to upgrade. In this example I’m just going to upgrade a single ESXi host, so will attach the new baseline directly to the host. It is possible however, to attach a baseline to a cluster (or datacenter!). vCenter will then handle putting the hosts in maintenance mode in turn, and vmotion the virtual machines to allow the hosts to be patched without incurring downtime to the VMs.

To attach the baseline, select the host object then go to the Updates page. Click Attach, to select which baseline to attach to the ESXi host:

Select the upgrade baseline created earlier:

Applying the Upgrade Baseline to the ESXi host

To upgrade the host, select the baseline just attached, then click ‘Remediate’. You’ll first be prompted to accept the EULA, then will be asked for confirmation to proceed:

Click OK to start the upgrade. The process will take a little while, but once it finishes the host should now be running ESXi 6.7:

The Updates page for the host should also now show the host to be compliant against it’s attached baselines, and will display the current release and build versions of the host:

All done!  Be sure to do any post upgrade checks at this point to ensure the host is working as expected. Overall I think VMware have done a great job at integrating Update Manager with vCenter, and with making it available through the HTML5 UI.