Update Manager checks for virtual appliance upgrades, host patches, and extensions at regular intervals. Generally, the default schedule settings are sufficient, but you can change the schedule if your environment requires more or less frequent checks.

In some cases you might want to decrease the duration between checks for updates. If you are not concerned about the latest updates and want to reduce network traffic, or if you cannot access the update servers, you can increase the duration between checks for updates.

By default the task to download update metadata and binaries is enabled and is called VMware vSphere  Update Manager Update Download task. By modifying this task, you can configure checking for updates.You can modify the VMware vSphere  Update Manager Check Notification task in one of the following ways:
  • The Configure tab of the Update Manager Administration view.
  • In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to Monitor tab, select the Tasks & Events tab, and select Scheduled Tasks.

Prerequisites

Required privileges: VMware vSphere Update Manager.Configure

To download update data, the machine on which Update Manager is installed must have Internet access.

Procedure

  1. In the Home view of the vSphere Web Client, select the Update Manager icon.
  2. From the Objects tab, select an Update Manager instance.
    The Objects tab also displays all the vCenter Server system to which an Update Manager instance is connected.
  3. Click the Manage tab.
  4. Click Settings, and select Download Schedule.
  5. Click Edit.
    The Edit Download Schedule wizard opens.
  6. Select Enable scheduled task check box, and click Next.
    If you deselect the check box, the scheduled task that checks for notifications is disabled. However, you can still force a check and download notifications by clicking the Download Now button in Download Settings pane.
  7. Specify a task name and, optionally, a description, or keep the defaults.
  8. Click Change to specify the time when notification checks run, and click OK.
    The Configure Scheduler dialog box opens.
    Option Description
    Run this action now Runs the notification check immediately.
    Schedule this option to run later Runs the notification check at the time that you schedule for the task.
    Setup a recurring schedule for this action Runs the notification check recurrently at the frequency, interval, and start time that you schedule for the task.
  9. (Optional) Specify one or more email addresses where notifications about patch recalls or email alerts are sent, and click Next.
    You must configure mail settings for the vSphere Web Client system to enable this option. For more information, see vCenter Server and Host Management.
  10. Review the Ready to Complete page, and click Finish.

Results

The task runs according to the time you specified.