Perform a Dry Run of an esxcli Installation or Upgrade

You can use the --dry-run option to preview the results of an installation or upgrade operation. A dry run of the installation or update procedure does not make any changes, but reports the VIB-level operations that will be performed if you run the command without the --dry-run option.

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. Enter the installation or upgrade command, adding the --dry-run option.
   • esxcli --server=server_name software vib install --dry-run
   • esxcli --server=server_name software vib update --dry-run
   • esxcli --server=server_name software profile install --dry-run
   • esxcli --server=server_name software profile update --dry-run
2. Review the output that is returned.
   The output shows which VIBs will be installed or removed and whether the installation or update requires a reboot.