Tag Archives: VUM

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

VMware Update Manager (VUM) Repositories – HP, Dell, IBM, Lenovo

VMware’s Update Manager is a pretty convenient tool that allows you to patch your ESXi hosts with the latest security, feature, drivers and bug patches. By default, VMware Update Manager downloads these patches from its own repository, but sometimes (usually) doesn’t have the latest drivers and patches for host servers from their actual manufactures (Dell, HP, Cisco, IBM). Most these vendors offer a repository that VUM can use to download drivers from those manufactures. Here is how you do it.

Assuming you have Update Manager installed, in the Windows vSphere Client (Web Client can’t use VUM yet)
1. Go to the “Home” screen.
2. Toward the bottom of the screen, click “Update Manager”

3. Then click on “Configuration” on the Top Tab
4. “Download Settings” on the left side,
5. And finally, click “Add Download Source” above the repository window.

Here you can add URL’s that the manufactures have provided to download the latest drivers and patches. VMware Update Manager will periodically check for new updates from these URLs, and download them automatically. Not every manufacture provides this feature, but here are the ones I could find.

HPE Repository 1
HPE Repository 2
HP Management Tools
Dell
Brocade 1
Brocade 2
Lenovo

Patch an VMware ESXi Host without vCenter

Here is an easy step by step guide, how you can update this ESXi 5 host to the latest version…

1: Start your VMware Hypervisor EXSi 5 like you normal do, and connect to this host with your vSphere Client.

2: Switch the host to maintenance mode.

3: Install the needed patches (they can be found here: http://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/download.portal ) on one of you datastore’s in a folder called patch (in my case the Datastore is called Backup

4: goto the Configuration tab of your host, select Security Profile (under Software in the left) and select the Services Properties in the upper right of your screen

5: Select ESXi Shell and SSH and start these Services with the Start Service command button under Options…
make sure (just as on the screen both services are running(!)

6: Start PuTTY (you can find it here: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html)

and login as the root to this host…

ow run the command:

esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/[Datastorename]/[patchfilename].zip

: be patient(!) this can take some minutes(!) and repeat this for all the patch zip files (make sure you do this in the released order…

8 close puTTY, delete the patch directory from the datastore,  reboot the host. When the host is back, exit the maintenance mode and you are done!

your host is running the latest patches

 

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