VMware vSphere 4 Installation Guide download pdf (Page 102)

For example, suppose the current boot build is 52252 and the current standby build is 51605. When you update

the host to build 52386, the update process replaces build 51605 with build 52386 and makes build 52252 the

standby build. If the update is successful, you continue to boot from build 52386 until the next update.

If an update fails and the ESXi 4.0 host cannot boot from the new build, the host reverts to booting from the

original boot build.

Roll Back an ESXi Update, Patch, or Upgrade

For purposes of rollback, the term update refers to all ESXi patches, updates, and upgrades. Each time you

update an ESXi host, a copy of the ESXi build is saved on your host. If you think an ESXi patch might be making

your host not work as expected in your environment, you can roll back the update.

ESXi permits only one level of rollback. Only one previous build can be saved at a time. In effect, each ESXi 4.0

host stores up to two builds, one boot build and one standby build.

When you manually boot into the standby build instead of the current boot build, an irreversible rollback

occurs. The standby build becomes the new boot build and remains the boot build until you perform another

update.

Procedure

1 Reboot the ESXi 4.0 host.

2 When the page that displays the current boot build appears, press Shift+r to select the standby build.

3 Press Shift+y to confirm the selection and press Enter.

The previous update rolls back. The standby build becomes the boot build.

About the vihostupdate Command-Line Utility

The vihostupdate command applies software updates to ESX/ESXi hosts and installs and updates ESX/ESXi

extensions such as VMkernel modules, drivers, and CIM providers.

IMPORTANT Run vihostupdate on ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts. Run vihostupdate35 on ESX 3.5/ESXi 3.5 hosts.

NOTE The esxupdate utility is supported as well. It is for ESX only. See the Patch Management Guide.

The vihostupdate command works with bulletins. Each bulletin consists of one or more vSphere bundles and

addresses one or more issues.

Towards the end of a release, bulletins include a large number of other bulletins. Bulletins are available in

offline bundles and in a depot with associated metadata.zip files.

If you use offline bundles, all patches and corresponding metadata are available as one ZIP file.

If you use a depot, the metadata.zip file points to metadata, which describes the location of the files.

The command supports querying installed software on a host, listing software in a patch, scanning for bulletins

that apply to a host, and installing all or some bulletins in the patch. You can specify a patch by using a bundle

ZIP file or a depot’s metadata ZIP file.

vihostupdate supports https://, http://, and ftp:// downloads. You can specify the protocols in the

download URL for the bundle or metadata file. vihostupdate also supports local paths. See “Update an

ESX/ESXi Host Using Offline Bundles with the vihostupdate Utility,” on page 103. To search a local depot

where the vSphere CLI is installed, use /local/depot/metadata.zip without of the file:/// parameter.

vSphere Upgrade Guide

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VMware vSphere 4 Installation Guide Page 102