How to update to VMware ESXi 8.0 Update 2b build 23305546

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to update my current ESXi 8 environment (ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479) to ESXi 8.0 Update 2b build 23305546.

Release notes for ESXi 8.0 Update 2b build 23305546 can be found here. Below is a screenshot of my current environment (ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479) prior to update 1a build 21813344. Previous build numbers can be found here.

ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479

** Please keep in mind, this guides applies to my personal home lab environment so please proceed with caution and take the appropriate steps including documentation to ensure you have a successful update. **

I decided to use the ESXCLI command method to proceed with the ESXI Host update and there is no better resource to act as a guide than Paul Braren‘s blog post found here.

In order to use the command provided by Paul, the first step is to enable SSH on the host. Log into your ESXi host interface, right-click the ESXi Host, followed by Services, and then select Enable Secure Shell (SSH):

Enable Secure Shell (SSH)

Next, SSH into the ESXi Host (I use Putty) and then log in using your Root credentials:

Putty

Putty

I included the command found in the screenshot below and since my Dell PowerEdge R720 server is not found on the VMware Compatibility List, you’ll need to append –no-hardware-warning.

Command:

esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-8.0U2b-23305546-standard -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml –no-hardware-warning

No Hardware Warning

Thanks to William Lam and this post, I was able to apply the workaround he suggested for the Memory Error found below:

Memory Error

I found that applying each of the lines (8 total) below one at a time applied the workaround successfully:

esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /VisorFS/VisorFSPristineTardisk -i 0

cp /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software.bak

sed -i ‘s/mem=300/mem=500/g’ /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software.bak

mv /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software.bak /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software -f

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /VisorFS/VisorFSPristineTardisk -i 1

esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-8.0U2b-23305546-standard -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml –no-hardware-warning

esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e false -r httpClient

Once the commands were successfully applied, the update process begins and you’ll then be prompted to reboot your ESXi host. I was able to keep track of the reboot process using my idrac session:

idrac

If I have missed anything or if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

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