If you use the Internet as a download source for updates, you can add URL addresses to third-party online depots. vSphere Lifecycle Manager downloads software updates from all the online depots that you configured it to use. Update metadata are downloaded from the online depots to the local vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

The default download source for vSphere Lifecycle Manager is the official VMware depot.

Starting with vSphere 7.0, the official VMware online depot also hosts vendor add-ons and VMware-certified device drivers. Unlike previous releases, all software that you need to install, update, or customize the ESXi version of your hosts is available in the official VMware online depot.

Downloading updates takes place at configurable regular intervals. To initiate the downloading of updates regardless of the download schedule, see Synchronize the vSphere Lifecycle Manager Depot.

Prerequisites

Required privileges: VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager.Configure

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager home view.
    1. In the vSphere Client, select Menu > Lifecycle Manager.
    2. Select a vCenter Server system from the Lifecycle Manager drop-down menu.
      The drop-down menu is available only when multiple vCenter Server systems are connected by a common vCenter Single Sign-On domain. By selecting a vCenter Server system, you specify which vSphere Lifecycle Manager instance you want to administer.
  2. On the Settings tab, select Administration > Patch Setup.
  3. In the Patches downloaded from the Internet pane, click New.
    The New Download Source dialog box opens.
  4. Enter a URL address to a new download source.
    vSphere Lifecycle Manager supports both HTTP and HTTPS URL addresses. Use HTTPS URL addresses to download data securely. The URL addresses that you add must be complete and contain an index.xml file, which lists the vendor and the vendor index.
    Note: The proxy settings that vSphere Lifecycle Manager uses are also applicable to third-party URL addresses.
  5. (Optional) Enter a short description for the download source.
  6. Click Save.

Results

The new location is added to the list of download sources and downloading from it is enabled by default.