You can create upgrade baselines for ESXi hosts with ESXi 7.0 images, which you must first import to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

You can use ESXi .iso images to upgrade ESXi 6.5.x hosts and ESXi 6.7.x hosts to ESXi 7.0.

To upgrade hosts, use the ESXi installer image distributed by VMware with the name format VMware-VMvisor-Installer-7.0.0-build_number.x86_64.iso or a custom image created by using vSphere ESXi Image Builder. You can also use ISO images created and distributed by OEMs.

Note: In case of an unsuccessful upgrade from ESXi 6.5 or ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0, you cannot roll back to your previous ESXi 6.5 or ESXi 6.7 instance.

Prerequisites

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. Start the Create Baseline wizard.
    • On the Imported ISOs tab, select an ESXi image from the list and click New Baseline.
    • On the Baselines tab, select New > Baseline.
  3. On the Name and Description page, enter information about the baseline and click Next.
    1. Enter a name and, optionally, a description for the baseline.
    2. Select the Upgrade radio button.
  4. On the Select ISO page, select an ESXi image from the list and click Next.
  5. On the Summary page, review your selections and click Finish.

Results

The new baseline appears in the baselines list on the Baselines tab.You can attach the baseline to a data center, a cluster, or a host.