How To Patch vSphere 5 ESXi Without Update Manager
Since vSphere ESXi 5.0 uses the new VIB model the commands and process have changed slightly but the basic concepts are the same.
- Download the patch file you want directly from the VMware Patch Portal
- Ensure that you enable SSH for remote support on the ESXi Host
- Make sure your host is in Maintenance Mode, this is a requirement since you will need to reboot
- Transfer the update file over to the host using FileZilla or SCP to a MOUNTED DATASTORE of some kind. NOTE: There is not enough space to transfer this to a location on the local ESXi Image. It took me a bit to realize this was failing to copy.
- Once you have uploaded the file to a datastore, this is considered a “Local Depot Repository” as opposed to one on FTP or HTTP.