You can automate the process of upgrading VMware Tools for the virtual machines in your inventory.

You can set up Update Manager to check the VMware Tools version when a machine is rebooted. If necessary, Update Manager upgrades VMware Tools to the latest version supported by the host on which the virtual machine runs.

When you perform a VMware Tools upgrade on power cycle, Update Manager does not take a snapshot of the virtual machine and you cannot roll back to the previous version of the virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Menu > Hosts and Clusters.
  2. Select a host or a cluster from the inventory and click the Updates tab.
  3. Select VMware Tools.
    VMware tools version upgrade must be enabled on first use.
    The virtual machines on the host or cluster are listed.
  4. (Optional) To update the Tools Status and Auto Update Setting, click Scan Now.
  5. Select the virtual machines for which you want to enable VMware Tools upgrade on reboot.
  6. Click Set Auto Update and select On.
    The new status is visible in the Auto Update column.

Results

The next time you power on or restart a virtual machine, Update Manager checks the version of VMware Tools installed in the machines and performs an upgrade, if necessary.