Instructions to uninstall third-party VIBs from an ESXi host

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Uninstalling third-party vSphere Installation Bundles (VIBs) from an ESXi host involves several technical steps to ensure host stability and proper remediation during upgrades.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Resolution

1. Place the ESXi host into Maintenance Mode.
   
   
2. Enable the SSH service and connect to the host via SSH as root. Refer: Enable SSH from the vSphere Client
   
   
3. Identify the name of the VIB to be removed:
   
   

   # esxcli software vib list

   # esxcli software vib list | grep -i <vib_name>

Eg: # esxcli software vib list | grep -i vmware-fdm

4. Execute the following command to uninstall the VIB.

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

   Eg: # esxcli software vib remove --vibname=vmware-fdm

   The output is similar to:
   
   
   
   
         Note:
         In case there are multiple VIBs with the same name, the remove task will fail with the below error:
   
         More than one VIB matches '<vib _name>'. Try specifying <vendor>:<name> to narrow down to one VIB.
   id = <vib_name>
   Please refer to the log file for more details.

         Use the below command to specify the version of the vib to be removed:

         # esxcli software vib remove --vibname=<vib_name>:<version>

      Eg: # esxcli software vib remove --vibname=niccli:428.1.025.5

5. Reboot the host if "Reboot Required" is set to True.
   
   
6. 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

• If the removal requires a reboot and the host is part of a vSphere HA cluster, ensure to disable vSphere HA for that host prior to the reboot.
• Assess whether the update necessitates putting the host in maintenance mode or requires a reboot. If needed, place the host in maintenance mode.
• For more information, refer : Remove VIBs from a Host