For any cluster that you manage with a single image, you can view the images that vSphere Lifecycle Manager recommends and you can replace the current image for the cluster with a recommended image. Using recommended images saves you the time and effort of identifying valid images that are applicable to all hosts in a cluster.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to a cluster that you manage with a single image.
  2. On the Updates tab, select Hosts > Image.
  3. In the Image card, click the horizontal ellipsis icon and select View recommended images.
    If the View recommended images option is dimmed, no recommended images are available for this cluster.
    Sometimes, even if newer versions of ESXi are available in the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot, they are not included in a recommended image because of hardware compatibility issues.
    The Recommended Images dialog box appears.
  4. In the Recommended Images dialog box, select a recommended image by clicking the respective radio button and click Continue.
    Option Description
    Latest in current series The recommended image is based on the latest ESXi version in the current series of releases. For example, if the ESXi version in your current image is 7.0, this option might include ESXi version 7.0 Update 1 and a related vendor add-on.
    Latest and greatest The recommended image is based on the latest major ESXi version. For example, if the ESXi version in your current image is 7.0, this option might include ESXi version 8.0 and a related vendor addon.
    The selected image is imported to the cluster as a draft. The Edit Image card appears.
  5. (Optional) Edit the image and validate the new image set-up.
  6. Click Save.
    If you do not save the image, it is saved as a draft. The next time you start editing the image for that cluster, you can use the draft as a starting point.

Results

The recommended image is saved for that cluster. If a draft exists for the cluster, the draft is overriden by the recommended image. No software is installed on the hosts in the cluster at this stage.

What to do next

To apply the software specification that the image defines, remediate the cluster against the new image. See Run a Remediation Pre-Check for a Cluster and Remediate a Cluster Against a Single Image.