Missing dependency software vibs when upgrading from 6.7 to 7.x or from 7.x to 8.x

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

You encounter a similar error from life cycle manager when attempting to patch a host from 7.x to 8.x

• <MISSING_DEPENDENCY_VIBS_ERROR: Found=softwareesxcli software vib list | grep <driver>-vib_versionxx.xx.x-xxx'] These vibs on the host are missing dependency if continue to upgrade. Remove these vibs before upgrade or use Image Builder to resolve this missing dependency issue

Manually Upgrading the Host via Command line you may find error similar to below screenshot

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

The vibs in the upgrade are not present for targeted upgrade. Either they will have to be removed, or manually added to the upgrade plan. In the targeted patch or ISO, the vib no longer exists. 

Resolution

A custom install image may contain the vib in its ISO, where you can use the custom ISO instead (Engage Custom OS Vendor to validate the Dependency VIB's)

Remove the conflicting vib, or manually add the newer version of the vib as part of the upgrade plan in the life cycle manager.  

Identify if the VIB is in use by running the below commands

1. Network List
   

   esxcli network nic list

2. Storage Adaptor List
   

   esxcli storage core adapter list

Note: Please compare and validate the output of the above commands with the corresponding Dependency VIB driver names to determine whether they are currently in use or can be safely removed and before removing any VIB, it's important to consult the OEM vendors to verify if the VIB can be safely removed, especially if a custom ESXi image is being used.

==To remove the VIB===

1: Use the command below on ESXi of a host (SSH/CLI), to list out the vib in question. (This is per host).

esxcli software vib list | grep <driver>

2: If the VIB is not in use, remove the vib from ESXi (SSH/CLI), with the command: 

esxcli software vib remove -n <name of the vib>

 

===Manually add VIB into life cycle manager===

From your desktop, drag and drop the Vib file into the life cycle manager window or create a manual software vib to build with the existing upgrade to use. 

 

Please reference VMware documentation, for more details about that process:

• Managing Host and Cluster Lifecycle