Update to ESXi 6.7 Update 3 using ESXCLI

VMware recently released its latest vSphere version 6.7 update 3 and it is generally available. ESXi can be upgraded using multiple ways and one of the easy ways is the command line. Many cases like lab or testing you may not have vCenter server to manage or update from VUM, in that case, the command line is the easiest option.

In this article, we will share the procedure to Upgrade to VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7 Update3 with the command line and see how this is accomplished.

There are two options available install and update

• update command is the recommended method for patch application. This command applies all of the newer contents in a patch, including all security fixes. Contents of the patch that are a lower revision than the existing packages on the system are not applied
• install command overwrites the existing packages in the system with the contents of the patch you are installing, including installing new packages and removing old packages. The install command may downgrade packages on the system and should be used with caution

Note: The install method has the possibility of overwriting existing drivers. If you are using third-party ESXi images or the ESXi host is part of a vSAN cluster, VMware recommends using the update method to prevent an unbootable state or a vSAN node that no longer contributes storage to the cluster.

To Install or Update you need ESXi offline bundle, which you can download from VMware site and upload to the datastore which is accessible for ESXi hosts.