Starting with vSphere 7.0 U2, vSphere Lifecycle Manager introduced a feature where a cluster can be managed by a single, which helps create consistency across hosts in a cluster and simplify ESXi remediation.
VMware Tools we all knows is a critical component to have running on Guest VMs as its the software that allows the OS to interact with hardware and other solutions, essentially “drivers”.
VMware Tools versions do come shipped as a component of ESXi and also released outside of an ESXi Release.
The following steps demonstrate how to upgrade only the VMTools package on hosts without going to a newer version of ESXi. This is also running vCenter Server 8.0 U2
From the ‘Hosts & Clusters’ view in vSphere, navigate to the following section so that you can ‘Edit’ an Image
Under ‘Components’ Click ‘Show Details’ and it will display Components, toggle the Show to ‘All Components’
You can then filter by the name tool and the package should appear
If vCenter has connectivity to the internet, vSphere Lifecycle Manager should be going out and syncing updates from VMware-hosted repositories, you should then see newer versions of Tools to select.
Once selected, you may click ‘Validate’ and then click ‘Save’
Notice a component now appears and there is a message warning regarding the override as well as what version will be removed and what will now be included.
The Image Compliance will also report what is existing and what is on the image.
Next step would be to begin Remediation of your hosts in the cluster, VMware Tools package installations generally do not require any reboots for changes, however please always communicate with your teams and follow change control procedures.
Click ‘State Remediation’
The hosts completed succesfully and the Image is fully compliant. Sometimes VMs may not reflect a new version of Tools available on the hosts.
From the Cluster level, you can go to Updates >> VMware Tools and click ‘Check Status’
We now have a VM available and ready for update 🙂
Learn more by visiting VMware documentation and reading up on ‘Creating and Managing vSphere Lifecycle Manager Clusters‘
I hope you found this helpful and video to come soon running through this process.
