How to roll back an upgraded VMware Tools offline VIB bundle to a previous version

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides instructions about how to roll back a previously upgraded VMware Tools offline VIB bundle on an ESXi host.

Note: The VMware Tools offline VIB bundle in ESXi is typically upgraded using the esxcli software vib update command. This article provides the steps to revert such an upgrade and roll back the VIB to a previous version. You can verify the version of the installed VMware Tools VIB bundle on the ESXi host by running this command:

esxcli software vib get -n tools-light | grep Version: 

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Resolution

To downgrade the VMware Tools VIB Bundle:

1. Download the desired version of VMware Tools Offline VIB Bundle from the Broadcom Support Portal, and upload it to an ESXi datastore.
2. Verify that no virtual machines on the target ESXi host mount the VMware Tools ISO image.

   To check the mount status, right-click the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory and click Guest OS. Ensure that Unmount VMware Tools Installer is grayed out.
   If it is not grayed out, either complete the VMware Tools installation or click Unmount VMware Tools Installer to remove ISO image.

3. Run the following command to downgrade the Offline VIB Bundle:

   esxcli software vib install -d FULL_PATH_TO_OFFLINE_VIB_BUNDLE

   Important: Use the esxcli software vib install command instead of esxcli software vib update. The update command skips the installation if the VIB version is older than the one currently installed. To perform a downgrade, you must use the install command.

   If the installation completes successfully, the output will be as follows:

   Installation Result
      Message: Operation finished successfully.
      VIBs Installed: VMware_locker_tools-light_###DOWNGRADED_VERSION###
      VIBs Removed: VMware_locker_tools-light_###PREVIOUSLY_INSTALLED_VERSION###
      VIBs Skipped: 
      Reboot Required: false
      DPU Results: 

4. Verify that the intended version of VMware Tools has been installed by running the following command:

   esxcli software vib get -n tools-light | grep Version: 

Note: Typically, a reboot of the ESXi host is not required after upgrading or downgrading VMware Tools. However, verify that the Reboot Required field in the installation output is set to false.