Offline patching Virtual Machines with VMware Update Manager
Use VMware Update Manager for patching of your Virtual Infrastructure.
This is done by using a special patching network for suspended or offline systems. Yes the VMs which are stopped are scanned and patched as well! That’s simply amazing. I thought that VMware Update Manager was just some kind of better WSUS like direcly integrated into Virtual Center. (Windows Server Update Service).
The technology behind used for offline patching of your VMs uses Shavlik patch management technology. It works together with Update Manager and the virtual machine . It’s possible to patch correctly Windows virtual machines for Microsoft, Adobe, and Mozilla updates and a scanning only capability Linux.
It acts as a plugin for vCenter Server or VI client.
This following matrix commes from VMware website and lists the compatibility of Update Manager versions against VirtualCenter Server and VI Client:
|
Compatibility Matrix
|
||||||||||
|
VirtualCenter Server
|
VI Client
|
|||||||||
|
2.5
|
2.5
Update 1 |
2.5
Update 2 |
2.5
Update 3 |
2.5
Update 4 |
2.5
|
2.5
Update 1 |
2.5
Update 2 |
2.5
Update 3 |
2.5
Update 4 |
|
|
Update Manager 1.0
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
|
Update Manager 1.0 Update 1
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
Yes*
|
|
Update Manager 1.0 Update 2
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
Yes*
|
|
Update Manager 1.0 Update 3
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes*
|
|
Update Manager 1.0 Update 4
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
You can have a look at VMware website to learn more about patch manager here.
Microsoft has a similar tool too, which you can freely download here, but you must have SCVMM 2007 or 2008 to be able to use it.
Source: Itknowledgexchange.com
Related Posts :
Change the default path for updates and patches. For the updates: It can be useful many times ...
How-to change the default location for the patches ? I thought that it's possible to do it in G ...
Vmware Re-released the Update 1 of ESX 4. After the troubles with the latest update - the Updat ...
Update your VMware tools in multiple Virtual Machines. If you looking to find a way to update y ...
VMware View 4 announced together with new design of VMware Website. Together with a launch of n ...
Other posts from Server Virtualization
- Adding second service console via CLI
- Disable web access on VMware vCenter
- VMware ESX - Configuration of Service console via CLI
- Basic VMware ESX CLI networking commands
- How to change the default location of updates in vCenter
- Did you know that ESX 3.5 general support will end in less than 90 days?
- Starwind iSCSI HA Connection to ESX Server
- See a list of Storage Array Type Plugins on ESX Server
- New whitepaper released on PVSCSI
- Enable Jumbo Frames in ESXi 4
- How-to troubleshoot iSCSI connection to your SAN
- Starwind with ISCSI SAN Software can do High Availability for you...
- Overview Video from the new vSphere Pro video training from Train Signal
- New upgrade webpage for ESXi 4 pushes us to the right direction?
- You know how to collect diag information when your ESXi does PSOD?
- Use PVSCSI or not for lower intensive workloads
- Hardening guides for vSphere 4
- NTLDR missing - silly but can happend
- How To Shrink VMware Virtual Disk Files and disable shrinking
- vSphere Quick Start guide bonus download..
- ESXi - the past, the present and the future
- Farm commander - management tool for VI and TS or Citrix Farms
- How to collect log information from vCenter Server 4
- How to know where is my VM if vCenter is down?
- New patches for ESX 4 and ESXi 4
- Use VMware Converter to import 3rd party VMs, for example Virtual Iron's VMs
- Windows XP installation as a VM - trouble to see the disk or not?
- Vmware HCL for ESXi 4
- Time keeping for Windows VM's best practices
- Virtu-Al releasing 3rd update of PowerPack
Hi,
It’s not a comment but some queries. I am new to virtualization. I have recently seen this important information regarding the offline patch management by VMWare in your site. But I have two queries-
1. How VMWare is doing the patching of offline VM. Does it directly injects the patch files into vmdk image or it injects it by mounting the virtual partition or any other way.
2. Does the patch get installed when the updated VM makes up or it gets installed at the time of patch deployment.
I will be very grateful if you could spare some time to put some light on that.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Deepak