Snapshots Automatically Created During 'Upgrade to Match Host' for VMware Tools on VMs

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• An ESXi host or cluster can upgrade the VMware Tools version on its virtual machines, ensuring they match the host's version. When this upgrade is performed using the 'Upgrade to Match Host' option, we may notice that snapshots are automatically created for each VM that undergoes the upgrade.
  
  
• To observe the default behavior, navigate to a host or cluster in vCenter Server, go to the Updates tab, select the VMware Tools row, choose VM(s) and click "Upgrade to Match Host," then in the upgrade dialog, scroll down to Rollback Options to confirm that "Take snapshot of VMs" and "Do not delete snapshots" are selected.

Environment

vSphere 8.x

Cause

By default, when upgrading a VM's VMware Tools to match the host, a snapshot is automatically taken to provide a restore or rollback point in case the upgrade encounters any issues.

Resolution

To prevent snapshots from being taken during VMware Tools upgrades, follow these steps to override the default setting:

• Login to the vCenter server UI
  
  
• Click on the desired ESXi host or cluster in the vCenter Server inventory.
  
  
• Navigate to the Updates tab.
  
  
• Click on the VMware Tools row to view upgrade options.
  
  
• Choose Virtual Machines from the list, then click Upgrade to Match Host.
  
  
• Click on Upgrade VMware Tools to Match Host dialogue, scroll all the way to the bottom and expand the Rollback Options row.
  
  
• Uncheck the "Take snapshot of VMs" option and click "UPGRADE TO MATCH HOST".

Additional Information

The Rollback Options are referenced in Upgrading a virtual machine to the latest hardware version (multiple versions).