Determine Whether an Update Requires the Host to Be in Maintenance Mode or to Be Rebooted

VIBs that you can install with live install do not require the host to be rebooted, but might require the host to be placed in maintenance mode. Other VIBs and profiles might require the host to be rebooted after the installation or update.

When you specify a target server by using --server=server_name, the server prompts you for a user name and password. Other connection options, such as a configuration file or session file, are supported. For a list of connection options, see Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces, or run esxcli --help at the vCLI command prompt.

Prerequisites

Install vCLI or deploy the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) virtual machine. See Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces. For troubleshooting, run esxcli commands in the ESXi Shell.

Procedure

1. Check whether the VIB or image profile that you want to install requires the host to be placed in maintenance mode or to be rebooted after the installation or update.
   Run one of the following commands.

   Option	Description
   Check the VIB	esxcli --server=server_name software sources vib get -v absolute_path_to_vib
   Check the VIBs in a depot	esxcli --server=server_name software sources vib get --depot=depot_name
   Check the image profile in a depot	esxcli --server=server_name software sources profile get --depot=depot_name

2. Review the return values.
   The return values, which are read from the VIB metadata, indicate whether the host must be in maintenance mode before installing the VIB or image profile, and whether installing the VIB or profile requires the host to be rebooted.

   Note: vSphere Update Manager relies on the esxupdate/ esxcli scan result to determine whether maintenance mode is required or not. When you install a VIB on a live system, if the value for Live-Install-Allowed is set to false, the installation result will instruct Update Manager to reboot the host. When you remove a VIB from a live system, if the value for Live-Remove-Allowed is set to false, the removal result will instruct Update Manager to reboot the host. In either case, during the reboot, Update Manager will automatically put the host into maintenance mode.

What to do next

If necessary, place the host in maintenance mode. See Place a Host in Maintenance Mode. If a reboot is required, and if the host belongs to a VMware HA cluster, remove the host from the cluster or disable HA on the cluster before the installation or update.