Methods to Upgrade
- vSphere Update Manager
- Upgrade or migrate interactively using an ESXi installer ISO image on CD/DVD or USB flash drive
- Scripted upgrade
- vSphere Auto Deploy
- esxcli (Command-line interface)
1. vSphere Update Manager
vSphere Update Manager is software for upgrading, migrating, updating, and patching clustered hosts, virtual machines, and guest operating systems. Update Manager orchestrates host and virtual machine upgrades. If your site uses vCenter Server, VMware recommends that you use Update Manager.For instructions about conducting an orchestrated host upgrade, see Using vSphere Update Manager to Perform Orchestrated Host Upgrades in the vSphere Upgrade Guide. For instructions about conducting an orchestrated virtual machine upgrade, see Perform an Orchestrated Upgrade of Virtual Machines with vSphere Update Manager in the vSphere Upgrade Guide. For complete documentation about Update Manager, see Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager.
Note: Update Manager 5.x does not support upgrading ESX hosts to a later version of ESX (ESX 4.0 to ESX 4.1). It only supports upgrading from ESX/ESXi 4.x to ESXi 5.0.
Update Manager 5.0 and 5.1 can upgrade hosts to their respective versions. Update Manager 5.0 is capable of upgrading ESX/ESXi 4.0 and 4.1 hosts to ESXi 5.0. Update Manager is not capable of upgrading an ESX 4.0 host to ESX 4.1. Update Manager 5.1 can upgrade ESX 4.0, 4.1 and 5.0 hosts to ESXi 5.1
2. Upgrade or migrate interactively using an ESXi installer ISO image on CD/DVD or USB flash drive
You can run the ESXi 5.1 installer from a CD/DVD or USB flash drive to do an interactive upgrade or migration. 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 ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0.x installation, the installer upgrades the host to 5.1, and gives you the option to migrate some existing host settings and configuration files and preserve the existing VMFS datastore.
See Upgrade or Migrate Hosts Interactively in the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
3. Using a scripted upgrade
You can upgrade or migrate hosts from ESX/ESXi 4.x and ESXi 5.0.x to ESXi 5.1 by invoking an update script for an 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 PXE-booting the installer. You can also call a script from an interactive installation.
See Installing, Upgrading, or Migrating Hosts Using a Script in the in the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
4. vSphere Auto Deploy
Auto Deploy is a new feature in vSphere 5.x. After an ESXi 5.x host is deployed with Auto Deploy, you can use Auto Deploy to reprovision the host and reboot it with a new image profile that contains an ESXi upgrade or patch, a host configuration profile, and, optionally, third-party drivers or management agents provided by VMware partners. You can build custom images by using ESXi Image Builder CLI.
See Using vSphere Auto Deploy to Reprovision Hosts in the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
5. esxcli (Command-line interface)
You can use the esxcli command-line utility for ESXi to update or patch ESXi 5.1 hosts to ESXi 5.1 x. You cannot use esxcli to upgrade ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts or ESXi 5.0.x hosts to ESXi 5.1.x. The esxcli command-line utility requires the vSphere CLI.
See Update a Host with Image Profiles in the in the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
Note: The esxupdate and vihostupdate utilities are not supported for ESXi 5.x upgrades.
Summary of ESXi 5.x upgrade methods
This table summarizes the supported ESXi 5.x upgrade methods:
| Upgrade Methods | Upgrade from ESX/ESXi 4.x to ESXi 5.x | Upgrade from ESXi 5.0 to ESXi 5.x | Patch from ESXi 5.0 to ESXi 5.x |
| vSphere Update Manager | Yes | Yes (Using ISO Only) | Yes |
| Interactive upgrade from CD, DVD, or USB drive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scripted upgrade | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| vSphere Auto Deploy | No | Yes | Yes |
| esxcli | No | No | Yes |