For clusters in workload domains with vLCM baselines, you can apply the stock ESXi upgrade bundle with specified async drivers.

Prerequisites

Download the appropriate async drivers for your hardware on a computer with internet access.

Procedure

  1. Download the VMware Cloud Foundation ESXi upgrade bundle. See Download Bundles from SDDC Manager.
  2. Using SSH, log in to the SDDC Manager appliance.
  3. Create a directory for the vendor provided async drivers under the /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount directory. For example, /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-upgrade-partner-drivers/drivers.
  4. Copy the async drivers to the directory you created on the SDDC Manager appliance. For example, you can copy the drivers to the /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-upgrade-partner-drivers/drivers directory.
  5. Change permissions on the directory where you copied the drivers. For example,
    chmod -R 775 /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-upgrade-partner-drivers/drivers
  6. Change owner to vcf.
    chown -R vcf_lcm:vcf /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-upgrade-partner-drivers/drivers
  7. Create an ESX custom image JSON using the following template. 
    {
"esxCustomImageSpecList": [{
"bundleId": "bundle ID of the ESXI bundle you downloaded",
"targetEsxVersion": "ESXi version for the target VMware Cloud Foundation version",
"useVcfBundle": true,
"esxPatchesAbsolutePaths": ["Path_to_Drivers"]
}]
}
    where
    Parameter Description and Example Value
    bundleId ID of the ESXi upgrade bundle you downloaded. You can retrieve the bundle ID by navigating to the Lifecycle Management > Bundle Management page and clicking View Details to view the bundle ID.

    For example, 8c0de63d-b522-4db8-be6c-f1e0ab7ef554.

    targetEsxVersion Version of the ESXi upgrade bundle you downloaded. You can retrieve the ESXi target version by navigating to the Lifecycle Management > Bundle Management page and clicking View Details to view the "Update to Version".
    useVcfBundle Specifies whether the ESXi bundle is to be used for the upgrade. Set this to true.
    esxPatchesAbsolutePaths Path to the async drivers on the SDDC Manager appliance. For example, /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-upgrade-partner-drivers/drivers/VMW-ESX-6.7.0-smartpqi-1.0.2.1038-offline_bundle-8984687.zip

    Here is an example of a completed JSON template. 

    {
"esxCustomImageSpecList": [{
"bundleId": "8c0de63d-b522-4db8-be6c-f1e0ab7ef554",
"targetEsxVersion": "6.7.0-10302608",
"useVcfBundle": true,
"esxPatchesAbsolutePaths": ["/nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-upgrade-partner-drivers/drivers/VMW-ESX-6.7.0-smartpqi-1.0.2.1038-offline_bundle-8984687.zip"]
}]
}
  8. Save the JSON file as esx-custom-image-upgrade-spec.json in the /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount.
    Note: If the JSON file is not saved in the correct directory, the stock VMware Cloud Foundation ISO is used for the upgrade and the custom VIBs are overwritten.
  9. Set the correct permissions on the /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-custom-image-upgrade-spec.json file:

    chmod -R 775 /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-custom-image-upgrade-spec.json

    chown -R vcf_lcm:vcf /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-custom-image-upgrade-spec.json

  10. Open the /opt/vmware/vcf/lcm/lcm-app/conf/application-prod.properties file.
  11. In the lcm.esx.upgrade.custom.image.spec= parameter, add the path to the JSON file.
    For example, lcm.esx.upgrade.custom.image.spec=/nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/esx-custom-image-upgrade-spec.json
  12. In the navigation pane, click Inventory > Workload Domains.
  13. On the Workload Domain page, click the management domain.
  14. On the Domain Summary page, click the Updates/Patches tab.
  15. In the Avilable Updates section, click Update Now or Schedule Update next to the VMware Software Update bundle for VMware ESXi.
  16. Monitor the upgrade progress. See Monitor Updates.
  17. After the upgrade is complete, confirm the ESXi version by clicking Current Versions. The ESXi hosts table displays the current ESXi version.