Patching vCenter Server Appliance via CLI

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides instruction on how to patch the vCenter Server through the Appliance Shell.

Resolution

You can either use a Full Patch ISO or an online repository to patch the vCenter Server Appliance to a desired target version using Appliance Shell. 

Before you start:

If using ISO based patching,

1. Download the full patch ISO (FP.ISO) from the Broadcom Support Portal. (Reference: Download vCenter Server patches and ISOs for latest releases)
   
   
2. Upload the patch to an existing datastore and attach the iso to the vCenter Server VM.

If using online repository make sure you have generated download token for your site/account and have it handy (Reference:  VCF authenticated downloads configuration update instructions)

Steps to patch using software-packages command.

1. SSH to the vCenter Server using FQDN or IP Address and login with root credentials
   
   
2. Access the Appliance shell (appliancesh) and not Bash Shell to perform the patch
   • When in the appliance shell, the prompt will begin with: command>
   • For more information, refer to KB Toggling the vCenter Server Appliance default shell.
     
     
3. Stage the patch
   • If using ISO
     
software-packages stage --iso --acceptEulas
     
     
   • If using Online Repository method, stage the packages using custom URL
     
software-packages stage --url https://dl.broadcom.com/<downloadToken>/PROD/COMP/VCENTER/vmw/8d167796-34d5-4899-be0a-6daade4005a3/PATCH_VERSION/ --acceptEulas
     
     • Replace the <downloadToken> with the download token for your site/account and the PATCH_VERSION with the desired target version (Ex: 8.0.3.00700)
       
       
4. After the staging completes, list or install the staged packages:
   
   • To verify the version of the mounted ISO:
     
     software-packages list --staged
     
     
   • To install the staged packages:
     
     software-packages install --staged
     
     
5. Once completed, an output will state: "Packages upgraded successfully, Reboot is required to complete the installation”.
   
   
6. If the patch installation requires a reboot of the appliance, run the following command to restart the appliance:
   
   shutdown reboot -r "patch reboot"

Additional Information

Install vCenter Server Patches