Tag: vSphere Hypervisor 6.5

Upgrade ESXi to 6.5 using the CLI

Here’s an easy three step procedure to update your ESXi to the latest build using the CLI.

Step1- SSH into your ESXi host and modify the firewall:

esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient

Step2- List latest available packages:

esxcli software sources profile list -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml | grep -i ESXi-6.5

Step3- Select latest, install and reboot:

esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-6.5.0-4564106-standard -d http://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

Note I had to run Step3 twice on some hosts.

Upgrade ESXi to 6.5 from a USB Drive

Here’s an easy three step process to update your ESXi host to the latest build using a USB Flash Drive.

Step1- Download latest ISO VMware vSphere Hypervisor(ESXi) 6.5 ISO
https://my.vmware.com/en/group/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi6

Step2- Download and run Rufus
https://rufus.akeo.ie/

Step3- Click the CD icon and point to the ISO you downloaded, leave everything else default and click start
(Note you may get a popup requesting to replace the menu, to avoid issues with the USB key not booting you’ll need to click Yes to download the updated file.)

I have performed this method on versions 5.5 and 6