Instructions for uninstalling third-party VIBs from an ESXi host.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Remove third-party VIBs from the ESXi host.

Note: You can uninstall both third-party VIBs and VMware VIBs from your ESXi host.

Environment

6.0

6.5

6.7

7.0

8.0

Cause

There are times when it's necessary to uninstall a third-party driver from an ESXi host. This process is straightforward, but it may require rebooting the host depending on the VIB being removed.

Resolution

Steps:

 

1. Put the host into Maintenance Mode.
   
   - From the vCenter/ESXi web client interface, right-click on the host and choose "Enter Maintenance Mode."
   - Using ESXCLI

              # vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter / vimsh -n -e /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter Or esxcli <conn_options> system maintenanceMode set --enable true 

2. Enable the SSH service and connect to the host via SSH.
3. Identify the name of the VIB you want to remove. In this example, I used the vmware-fdm VIB.

   # esxcli software vib list
   
   # esxcli software vib list | grep -i fdm

4. Execute the following command to uninstall the VIB.

   # esxcli software vib remove --vibname=<name>
   
   # esxcli software vib remove --vibname=vmware-fdm

5. The output is similar to:
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Reboot the host if "Reboot Required" is set to True.
7. If a reboot is not necessary, simply exit Maintenance Mode.
   - From the vCenter/ESXi web client interface, right-click on the host and choose "Exit Maintenance Mode."
   - Using ESXCLI

               # vim-cmd /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit / vimsh -n -e /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit Or esxcli <conn_options> system maintenanceMode set --enable false

8. Once the host is back online, list the VIB again to confirm that the VIB is no longer loaded.

   esxcli software vib list | grep -i <VIB name>

Additional Information

Impact/Risks:

• If the removal requires a reboot and the host is part of a VMware HA cluster, be sure to disable HA for that host.
• Assess whether the update necessitates putting the host in maintenance mode or requires a reboot. If needed, place the host in maintenance mode.

See Determine Whether an Update Requires the Host to Be in Maintenance Mode or to Be Rebooted. See Place a Host in Maintenance Mode.