A software depot represents a well-defined file structure used for storing and hosting the ESXi software updates, patches, and upgrades that VMware, partners, and third-party vendors provide. You can use the vSphere Automation APIs to manage the life cycle of the hosts in your environment by applying software updates hosted on different depots.
Software depots are managed by the Depot Manager which is part of the vSphere Lifecycle Manager. Software depots contain the actual payloads and the metadata of the software updates. Depending on the way you access the software updates, the Depot Manager recognizes three types of software depots: online, offline, and UMDS.
The following section of the documentation explains the concept of a software depot in terms of the vSphere Lifecycle Manager feature. You can also find common use cases available through the APIs for working with the different types of depots and their content.
