Upgrading ESXi Hosts in an Environment With VMware NSX

In a VMware NSX setup, before an upgrade to ESXi 8.0 and later, make sure that the NSX kernel module is part of the image or upgrade baseline.

If your vSphere system includes VMware NSX, before you start an upgrade of your ESXi hosts, you must ensure that the NSX kernel module is part of the desired software specification or baseline that you use for the upgrade. When you upgrade an ESXi host to 8.0 or later, all supported custom VIBs are migrated, regardless of whether the VIBs are included in the installer ISO. However, the NSX kernel module is not automatically migrated to the installer ISO image. Before you proceed to the upgrade operation, you must take one of the following actions:

• Create an extension baseline with a newly uploaded NSX kernel module. For more information, see Managing Host and Cluster Lifecycle.
• Create a custom image profile with the NSX kernel module. For more information, see Upgrade ESXi by a Custom Image Profile in a VMware NSX Setup.
• Use PowerCLI to create a new ISO image. For more information, see Upgrade ESXi in a VMware NSX Setup with a New ISO Image.
• Use ESXCLI. For more information, see Use ESXCLI to Upgrade ESXi Hosts in a VMware NSX Setup.