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How to Patch Free VMware ESXi Standalone Host

By Vladan SEGET | Last Updated: August 18, 2020

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This guide will help folks which are new to virtualization or admins just starting with VMware virtualization, they run ESXi free version without vCenter. How to patch Free VMware ESXi standalone host is a common question I'm getting on regular basis and I though that I document that from the beginning to the end.

If you're an advanced user or already know the process you probably will not find this usefull and the article won't help you.

01. Get the latest patches from VMware Patch Portal.

https://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/download.portal

Note that login to My VMware is required. But even free accounts can download patches. ESXi patches are cumulative so just download the latest one. During the time of writing the latest update  was update-from-esxi5.5-5.5_update02-2068190.zip.

Before starting you might want to backup your configuration (in case something goes wrong) – Backup and Restore ESXi Configuration with PowerCLI

02. Choose the ESXi embedded and installable, and the version you want to patch (5.0, 5.1 or 5.5)

How to patch ESXi Free version

03. Check the box and hit the download button…

How to patch ESXi standalone

04. Shut down gracefully all VMs and put the host into Maintenance mode. 

How to patch ESXi Free version standalone

05. Make sure that you enable SSH via vSphere client via configuration > Security Profile > Properties > SSH

How to patch standalone ESXi version

06. Upload the patch you just downloaded to a datastore visible to your ESXi host (local or shared datastore).

How to patch ESXi free version

07. Connect via SSH (Putty is the best client). Check my Free VMware Tools page for the link.

Type this command for update:

esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/<your_datastore>/update-from-esxi5.5-5.5_update02-2068190.zip

Note that the patch build will vary depending to which version you're updating to. By using the “update” string you'll keep any other custom drivers and vibs.

How to patch free version of ESXi

08. Update shall take few minutes and then you just type reboot or do a reboot via vSphere client (right click > reboot). After reboot check the build number.

how to patch standalone esxi host

You can also verify the build number via the CLI via this command:

esxcli system version get

That's all…

How to update ESXi free version

To document the steps I also recorded a quick video:

Enjoy and share -:).

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4.5/5 - (12 votes)

| Filed Under: Free Stuff, Videos Tagged With: ESXi free how to patch, How to patch VMware ESXi Free standalone, Patch Free VMware ESXi Standalone

About Vladan SEGET

This website is maintained by Vladan SEGET. Vladan is as an Independent consultant, professional blogger, vExpert x16, Veeam Vanguard x9, VCAP-DCA/DCD, ESX Virtualization site has started as a simple bookmarking site, but quickly found a large following of readers and subscribers.

Connect on: Facebook. Feel free to network via Twitter @vladan.

Comments

  1. NRJ says

    July 28, 2015 at 11:15 am

    Thanks mate! Nice one…

  2. vinay says

    September 5, 2015 at 5:17 am

    Thanks friend really its very info…

  3. Janette says

    October 7, 2015 at 6:40 pm

    Thank you. Great directions with photos!

  4. DP says

    October 29, 2015 at 5:13 am

    Thank you, great guide.

  5. Stephen says

    May 17, 2016 at 5:53 pm

    Trying this now. Updating from CLI is always a daunting task without the proper know-how.

    Cheers m8

  6. Rick Dessens says

    October 3, 2016 at 5:11 pm

    Keep up the good work. It would be nice if we could use ESXCLi on ESXi free.

  7. John says

    November 21, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    HI,
    I am running ESXi 5.5.0 with a Realtek 8168 nic (installed using a vib).
    Now I was wondering do I need to reinstall this vib again after update to 6.0 using this update method?
    This nic Is being used as management interface so won’t I loose the SSH connectivity after updating to 6.0?
    Also how about license?Do I need a new license for 6.0?
    Thanks,
    John,
    VM ware Certified Professional

  8. JensK says

    May 3, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    This is how to make a guide. Short and to the point. Just what I was looking for.
    Thank you.

  9. Jeroen says

    August 6, 2017 at 10:00 pm

    Thx for the great explanation. I am gonna follow this site.

  10. MK says

    March 21, 2018 at 4:27 pm

    I tried multiple times before I realized the patches sometimes fail when you point to the patch file in a relative path. (like ./ESXi-…) but out work fine when you specify the full path to the patch. you might want to put Note 😉

  11. Saul Dagenham says

    August 1, 2018 at 6:22 pm

    Nice one. Real good guide. Many thanks

  12. Benny says

    August 8, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    Hi,
    When there are several updates available, can I run the latest one only and it will include everything in between or should I go one by one?

    • Vladan SEGET says

      August 9, 2018 at 7:17 am

      Absolutely. Pick the latest one. It’s cumulative.

      • Benny says

        August 9, 2018 at 4:26 pm

        Thanks!

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