Unable to install the async driver using command line in ESXi 5.x and 6.x

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Cannot install async driver on the ESXi 5.x/6.x host using the command line (CLI)
• Running the esxcli software vib install -d command fails
• You see errors similar to:
  
  [MetadataDownloadError]
  
  Could not download from depot at zip:/var/log/vmware/update-from-esxi5.0-5.0_update01_new.zip?index.xml, skipping (('zip:/var/log/vmware/update-from-esxi5.0-5.0_update01_new.zip?index.xml', '', "Error extracting index.xml from /var/log/vmware/update-from-esxi5.0-5.0_update01_new.zip: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/var/log/vmware/update-from-esxi5.0-5.0_update01_new.zip'"))
  url = zip:/var/log/vmware/update-from-esxi5.0-5.0_update01_new.zip?index.xml
  
  Please refer to the log file for more details
  
  Note: This sample error is specific to an ESXi 5.0 Update 1 offline software bundle. The error varies depending on the product you are installing.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7

Cause

This issue occurs if:

• The full path of the specific driver and/or bundle is not specified.
• The esxcli command syntax is incorrect.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, ensure to use the full path to the zip bundle.

For example, use a command similar to:

esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volume/datastoreUUID/FILENAME.zip

Note : To determine the Datastore UUID using the vSphere Client:

1. Navigate to Configuration > Storage.
2. Select the datastore.
3. View Location under Datastore Details.
   
   The Datastore UUID appears similar to /vmfs/volumes/51dda02d-fade5016-8a08-005056171889 where 51dda02d-fade5016-8a08-005056171889 is the UUID.

For detailed instructions on how to install drivers and offline bundles in ESXi 5.x and 6.x, see Downloading and installing async drivers in VMware ESXi 5.x and ESXi 6.0.x (2005205).

Note: For more information on installing drivers, see the vendor documentation.

Additional Information

How to download and install async drivers in ESXi 5.x/6.x
ESXi 5.0 および 5.1 で、コマンド ラインを使用して async ドライバをインストールできない
在 ESXi 5.x 和 6.x 上无法使用命令行安装异步驱动程序