Starting with vSphere 8.0, you can use an image to manage the lifecycle of any standalone ESXi host that is part of your vCenter Server inventory. In vSphere 8.0 Update 1, you can use both, the vSphere Client and the vSphere Automation API, to manage the lifecycle of a standalone host.

A standalone host is a host that is connected to a vCenter Server instance but is not part of any cluster. In your inventory, standalone hosts are the hosts directly under a data center object or in a host folder.

The permissions and privileges that you need to manage a standalone host with an image are the same as the vSphere Lifecycle Manager permissions and privileges that you need for the respective operations at a cluster level.

No limits exist for the number of standalone hosts that you can manage with vSphere Lifecycle Manager images. The real limit is the number of hosts that vCenter Server can support.

By using the vSphere Client and the vSphere Automation API commands, you can start using images on a standalone host that you already manage with baselines. When you take a host out of a cluster that you manage with vSphere Lifecycle Manager image, the host does not retain the image. The host becomes managed by baselines. The reverse action, moving a standalone host that you manage with an image to a cluster that you manage with a single image is not supported.

In vSphere 8.0 Update 1, you can perform on standalone hosts all vSphere Lifecycle Manager operations that you can perform at a cluster level by using the vSphere Client or the respective API commands.

When you add a standalone host to a data center or a folder, the option to use a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image for the host is selected by default. You must keep it selected unless you want to manage the lifecycle of that standalone host with baselines. During the addition of the standalone host, you can either set up an image manually, use the existing image on the host, or import an image from a reference host in the vCenter Server inventory. For information, see Set Up a New Image to a Host When Adding the Host to a Data Center or Folder, Import an Image from a Reference Host When Adding a Host to a Data Center or Folder, and Use the Current Image of a Host When Adding the Host to a Data Center or Folder.

After the standalone host is added to the data center or folder, you can further customize the image. For more information, see Edit a vSphere Lifecycle Manager Image.

For information about how to convert an existing standalone host to a host that is managed with a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image and all available workflows for managing a standalone host with images, see How to Use vSphere Lifecycle Manager Images.

Use the Current Image of a Host When Adding the Host to a Data Center or Folder

When you add a standalone host to a data center or folder in vCenter Server, you can use the current image on the host to manage its lifecycle.

During the addition of a standalone host to a data center or a folder, you can choose to import an image from a host in the inventory and use this image to manage the lifecycle of the host. After the standalone host is added to the data center or folder, you can further customize the image. For example, you can customize the additional components or configure a hardware support manager and add firmware and drivers add-ons to the image. For information about editing an image, see Edit a vSphere Lifecycle Manager Image.

Prerequisites

  • Review the requirements for using a single image in What Are the Requirements for Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager.
  • Verify that a data center or a folder exists in the inventory.
  • Verify that the vCenter Server instance is version 8.0 Update 3 or later.
  • Verify that the host is of ESXi version 7.0 or later.
  • Obtain the user name and password of the root user account for the host.
  • Verify that you have an ESXi image available in the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.
  • Verify that you have the proper privileges. For more information, see vSphere Lifecycle Manager Privileges For Using Images.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to a data center or folder within a data center.
  2. Right-click the data center or folder and select Add Host.
    The Add Host wizard opens.
  3. On the Name and location page, enter the IP address or the name of the host and click Next.
  4. On the Connection settings page, enter administrator credentials and click Next.
  5. On the Host summary page, review the host summary and click Next.
  6. On the Host lifecycle page, leave the Manage host with an image check box selected.
    This option is selected by default.
  7. Select the Import image from an existing host in the vCenter inventory radio button and click Next.
  8. On the Select image page, select the reference host which you want to extract the image from and click Next.
    After you select the reference host, detailed information about the image appears at the bottom of the page. You can view the ESXi version and all additional components.
  9. On the Assign license page, add a license to the host and click Next.
  10. (Optional) On the Lockdown mode page, select a lock-down mode option to deactivate the remote access for the administrator account after vCenter Server takes control of this host and click Next.
  11. On the VM location page, select a location for the virtual machines that reside on the host and click Next.
  12. On the Ready to complete page, review your selections and the image setup and click Finish.

Results

A standalone host that uses a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image appears in the vCenter Server inventory.

What to do next

View and customize the host image on the Updates tab for the standalone host.

Import an Image from a Reference Host When Adding a Host to a Data Center or Folder

When you add a standalone host to a data center or folder, you can import an image from another host in vCenter Server to manage the host lifecycle.

When you add a standalone host to a data center or a folder, you can use the image that is currently present on the host. After the standalone host is added to the data center or folder, you can further customize this image. For example, you can add additional components or configure a hardware support manager and add firmware and drivers add-ons to the image. For information about editing an image, see Edit a vSphere Lifecycle Manager Image.

Prerequisites

  • Review the requirements for using a single image in What Are the Requirements for Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager.
  • Verify that a data center or a folder exists in the inventory.
  • Verify that the vCenter Server instance is version 8.0 Update 3 or later.
  • Verify that the host is of ESXi version 7.0 or later.
  • Obtain the user name and password of the root user account for the host.
  • Verify that you have an ESXi image available in the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.
  • Verify that you have the proper privileges. For more information, see vSphere Lifecycle Manager Privileges For Using Images.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to a data center or folder within a data center.
  2. Right-click the data center or folder and select Add Host.
    The Add Host wizard opens.
  3. On the Name and location page, enter the IP address or the name of the host and click Next.
  4. On the Connection settings page, enter administrator credentials and click Next.
  5. On the Host summary page, review the host summary and click Next.
  6. On the Host lifecycle page, leave the Manage host with an image check box selected.
    This option is selected by default.
  7. Select the Use the current image on host radio button and click Next
    After you select this option, detailed information about the image on the host appears on this page. You can view the ESXi version and all additional components.
  8. On the Assign license page, add a license to the host and click Next.
  9. (Optional) On the Lockdown mode page, select a lock-down mode option to deactivate the remote access for the administrator account after vCenter Server takes control of this host and click Next.
  10. On the VM location page, select a location for the virtual machines that reside on the host and click Next.
  11. On the Ready to complete page, review your selections and the image setup and click Finish.

Results

A standalone host that uses a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image appears in the vCenter Server inventory.

What to do next

View and customize the host image on the Updates tab for the standalone host.

Set Up a New Image to a Host When Adding the Host to a Data Center or Folder

You can add a standalone host to a data center or folder and set up a new vSphere Lifecycle Manager image to manage the lifecycle of the host.

When you add a standalone host to a data center or a folder, you must specify the ESXi version for the image and, optionally, a vendor add-on. After the standalone host is added to the data center or folder, you can further customize the image. For example, you can add components to the image. You can also configure a hardware support manager and add a firmware and drivers add-on to the image. For information about editing an image, see Edit a vSphere Lifecycle Manager Image.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to a data center or folder within a data center.
  2. Right-click the data center or folder and select Add Host.
    The Add Host wizard opens.
  3. On the Name and location page, enter the IP address or the name of the host and click Next.
  4. On the Connection settings page, enter administrator credentials and click Next.
  5. On the Host summary page, review the host summary and click Next.
  6. On the Host lifecycle page, leave the Manage host with an image check box and the Compose a new image radio button selected.
    These options are selected by default.
  7. Click Next.
  8. On the Image page, set up the desired image and click Next.
    1. Select an ESXi version.
    2. (Optional) Select a vendor add-on and the version of the add-on.
  9. On the Assign license page, add a license to the host and click Next.
  10. (Optional) On the Lockdown mode page, select a lock-down mode option to deactivate the remote access for the administrator account after vCenter Server takes control of this host and click Next.
  11. On the VM location page, select a location for the virtual machines that reside on the host and click Next.
  12. On the Ready to complete page, review your selections and the image setup and click Finish.

Results

A standalone host that uses a single image appears in the vCenter Server inventory. You can view and customize the host image on the Updates tab for the standalone host.