Interactive/Scripted ISO upgrade to 7.0 U3 failed with message about live VIB installation

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article is to clarify and provide update about this blocked upgrade path.

Symptoms:
When performing an interactive/scripted upgrade to 7.0 U3 using the installer ISO, the upgrade process may fail with message "Live VIB installation, upgrade or removal may cause subsequent ESXi upgrade to fail when using the ISO installer".

 

 

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.3
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.0

Cause

In 7.0U3 release, if ESXi upgrade with ISO installer is attempted after live VIB transaction, some configuration might not be kept properly after an upgrade. As a result, ESXi host may become unresponsive post-upgrade. This check is introduced to block such upgrade path.

Resolution

Please see the workaround detailed below.

Workaround:
This issue applies to an upgrade using the "ISO Installer/Interactive Upgrade" as documented here.

To proceed with an upgrade of the ESXi hosts while continuing to use an ISO file, VMware recommend using vSphere Lifecycle manager.

Upgrading ESXi using an ISO Upgrade Baseline

1. Download the ISO image via the VMware Downloads Portal in Customer Connect.
2. Upload the ISO into the Lifecycle Manager Depot.
   • See Import an ISO Image to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager Depot
3. Create a baseline that uses the imported ISO image.
   • See Create a Host Upgrade Baseline
4. Upgrade the host using the ISO baseline.

The ESXi hosts can also be upgraded using esxcli as documented here.
Before beginning any upgrade via esxcli, please see KB86447 and KB87258 for important information relating to VMware ESXi 7.0U3c and an potential issue with the Intel i40en and i40enu drivers.