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

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

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
   
   In case there are multiple same name VIB available and you get an error
   
   More than one VIB matches 'niccli'. Please try specifying <vendor>:<name> to narrow down to one VIB.
            id = niccli
    Please refer to the log file for more details.
   
   Use the below format:
   
   # esxcli software vib remove --vibname=<name>:<version>
   
   # esxcli softwar vib remove --vibname=niccli:428.1.025.5

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.