Tag Archives: patch

While attempting to upgrade a ESXi host from 6.0.0.3073146 to the latest 6.x build (6.0.0.update02-4192238) via CLI (see my post here about pathcing via CLI)

I got the following error:

[DependencyError]
VIB VMware_bootbank_esx-base_6.0.0-2.43.4192238 requires vsan >= 6.0.0-2.43, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB VMware_bootbank_esx-base_6.0.0-2.43.4192238 requires vsan << 6.0.0-2.44, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
Please refer to the log file for more details.

The exact build on the error may be different on yours, but the issue is the same. I found this KB from VMware and decided to make a post that gets right to the point: VMware KB

This error occurs because the newest version of VSAN (which is built into ESXi) is looking for a specific base hypervisor build (esx-base). In order to run the update successfully, you’ll need to define the update profile for the VIB you are using. Its actually a lot easier than it may sound.

First, lets find the software profile the VIB you will be using contains. Run the following command, pointing the destination to the .zip VIB you uploaded to a datastore on the host.

esxcli software sources profile list -d <location_of_the_esxi_zip_bundle_on_the_datastore>

It will output something similiar to this:

That Name is the Profile you will need to add to your update command.
So in my case, the update command would look like this (highlighting added for emphasis):

esxcli software profile update -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/VMware-ESXi-6.0.0.update02-4192238.x86_64-Dell_Customized-offline-bundle-A04.zip -p Dell-ESXi-6.0U2-4192238-A04

It should update and finish with no errors:

The final step is to issue a reboot command, and you are done.

No image profile is found on the host or image profile is empty. An image profile is required to install or remove VIBs. To install an image profile, use the esxcli image profile install command

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While upgrade an ESXi 6 host for a customer last night, I ran into the following error when trying to patch via Update Manager:
“No image profile is found on the host or image profile is empty. An image profile is required to install or remove VIBs. To install an image profile, use the esxcli image profile install command.”

I tried various things such as rebooting the host, and manually patching via esxcli. (See my previous post on patching via CLI) but nothing seemed to work.

The server was a Dell R620, and after some searching, I found that it had a corrupt profile image. This can be fixed by replacing the corrupt image file and replacing with a known good one from another host. (The hosts dont have to be the same server version, but I would try to keep to same CPU families (Intel vs AMD). Here is how to do it.

  1. On the working ESXi host, copy the following image file: imgdb.tgz
    cp /bootbank/imgdb.tgz /vmfs/volumes/<An Accessible LUN>

  2.  On the corrupt host, copy the file imgdb.tgz from the working host to /tmp:
    cp /vmfs/volumes/<An Accessible LUN>/imgdb.tgz /tmp

  3. Change Directories to /tmp
    cd /tmp

  4. Extract file you just copied
    tar -xzf imgdb.tgz

  5. Copy the working profile files to the profile directory
    cp /tmp/var/db/esximg/profiles/* /var/db/esximg/profiles/

  6. Copy the working VIBs to the VIB repository
    cp /tmp/var/db/esximg/vibs/* /var/db/esximg/vibs/

  7. Remove the corrupt imgdb.tgz from the bootbank
    rm /bootbank/imgdb.tgz

  8. Move the working copy of imgdb.tgz into the bootbank
    cp /tmp/imgdb.tgz /bootbank/

  9. Make Config Backup
    /sbin/auto-backup.sh

  10. Reboot the host
    reboot
  11. Update host using Update Manager again

Patch and Update VMware ESXi via SSH CLI

Most clients using VMware patch and update their vSphere Hosts using VMware Update Manager or VUM. This provides an easy GUI to find needed updates and apply them to your ESXi Hosts. Once in awhile, VUM has issues patching hosts. And to use VUM, you need a valid licensed vCenter. So those of you using the Free ESXi or need to patch hosts not registered to your vCenter, the easiest way to patch your hosts is through the SSH Command Line (CLI). I will run this process down, step by step.

– Login to your free MyVmware.com account and download the latest patches
http://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/download.portal

– In the portal, select the ESXi (embedded and installable), and select your version of ESXi you need to patch. Then download the latest update. The patches are cumulative, so the latest update will include all previous patches as well.

– Shutdown your VMs using the Windows vSphere Client and put the host into maintenance mode.

– Enable SSH on the host by selecting the host in the vSphere Client, clicking on Configuration, Security Profile, and click Properties in the top right hand corner. Open SSH and click the Start button.

– Using the vSphere Client, browse to a local Datastore and upload the downloaded patch to the root of the Datastore, (or a folder of your choosing).

– Using Putty or some other SSH tool, type in the IP address of your host, and login with the “root” user.

– Now on to patching the host. Type the following command, replacing this example path with the patch of where you uploaded the patch (in zip format).

esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/<your_datastore>/<name_of_the_patch_you_uploaded.zip

– Wait a few minutes, after which you should see a bunch of text showing the status of the update.

– Finally, type “reboot” and you should be all updated after the reboot!