Virtualization: Quick Notes for myself

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ESXI Server: ‘SEL Fullness’ message

Recently after upgrading ESXI from 6.5 to 6.7u3 on Lenovo (IBM) x3650 M5 machine, I received following error on vsphere web client

System Management Software 1 SEL Fullness: Log almost full

In vSphere 6.7 , Navigate to following and reset event log

Monitor > Tasks and Events > Hardware Health > SYSTEM EVENT LOG > RESET EVENT LOG

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Updating ESXI 6.5 to 6.7u3 from the CLI

Recently I did some major updates in our virtual infrastructure including ESXi (ver 6.5.0, 10719125) ,  Vcenter & Veeam (9.5.4.2866) . Things were updated in following order

• Veeam B&R upgraded to ver 9.5.4.2866
• Vcenter upgraded to ver 6.7.0.40000
• ESXI hosts upgraded to ver 6.5.0, 10719125

For ESXI update from 6.5 to 6.7u3. In the past I always use Installer CD/USB to upgrade from older esxi to new version, but for this approach, I have to compromise on my holidays or sit very late in office. This time time I took another approach and upgraded all the esxi hosts one by one on sundays remotely from the home using offline bundle installer & esxi CLI method. This is how I accomplished it.

I first downloaded the 6.7 update offline bundle from the Lenovo site (since we have all the IBM/Lenovo brand servers therefore I selected this option to avoid any hardware driver issue).

https://vmware.lenovo.com/content/custom_iso/6.7/6.7u3/

Afterwards I uploaded this offline bundle zip file to Esxi datastore, then logged in to esxi host via SSH, and issued

esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/5d0cf64f-a83e7c86-6a4d-40f2e922c64a/Lenovo_Offline_Bundle_VMware_ESXi_6.7.0.update03_14320388_LNV_20190920.zip

Note: make sure to change datastore and filename as required.

It took few minutes, once I saw SUCCESS message, I completed the process by simply rebooted the ESXI host by cmd

reboot

Better approach is to update rather than install

esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/5d0cf64f-a83e7c86-6a4d-40f2e922c64a/Lenovo_Offline_Bundle_VMware_ESXi_6.7.0.update03_14320388_LNV_20190920.zip

Difference between VIB update and VIB install

Excerpt from “https://communities.vmware.com/thread/435959”

To install or update a .zip file, use the -d option. To install or update a .vib file use the -v option.

Using the update command is the recommended method for patch application. Using this command applies all of the newer contents in a patch, including all security fixes. Contents of the patch that are a lower revision than the existing packages on the system are not applied.

Using the install command overwrites the existing packages in the system with contents of the patch you are installing, including installing new packages and removing old packages. The install command may downgrade packages on the system and should be used with caution. If required, the install command can be used to downgrade a system (only for image profiles) when the –allow-downgrade flag is set.

The install method has the possibility of overwriting existing drivers. If you are using 3rd party ESXi images, VMware recommends using the update method to prevent an unbootable state.

Check esxi version from CLI

esxcli system version get
Product : VMware ESXi
Version : 6.7.0
Build : Releasebuild-14320388
Update : 3
Patch : 73<span style="color:var(--color-text);">

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Will update more

Regards
Syed Jahanzaib