Upgrade from ESXi 6.7 to 7.0 via command line (ssh)

Posted on 07-Mar-2021 by krylon

This guide is for upgrading ESXi via the command line.

For this guide I upgraded from 6.7.0 Update 3 (Build 16075168) to 7.0.0 (Build 15843807)

Steps:

Set firewall

esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient

Search for the GA release of ESXi 7.0 (to jump to later release see the note at the end)

esxcli software sources profile list -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml | grep ESXi-7.0.0

Verify the build number and try profile update

esxcli software profile update -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml -p ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard

At this point I received the following error:

[HardwareError]
Hardware precheck of profile ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard failed with warnings: <CPU_SUPPORT WARNING: The CPU in this host may not be supported in future ESXi releases. Please plan accordingly.>

<UNSUPPORTED_DEVICES WARNING: This host has unsupported devices [<PciInfo ‘ [1000:0072 1028:1f1c]’>, <PciInfo ‘ [1000:0072 1028:1f1c]’>]>

The ID 1000:0072 1028:1f1c  is related to a Dell HBA which will be set up to passthrough, so it is not important for them to be supported in ESXi. You can ignore this warning:

esxcli software profile update --no-hardware-warning -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml -p ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard

I then received a large list of dependency errors related to having previous versions of ESXi (you may not receive any on a fresh 6.7 install):

[DependencyError]
VIB Virident_bootbank_sas-vgc_5.1.75460.D1B-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Brocade_bootbank_scsi-bfa_3.2.4.0-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB QLogic_bootbank_net-qlge_3.0.0.58-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Chelsio_bootbank_net-cxgb4_1.3.0-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Hitachi_bootbank_scsi-hfcldd_4.40.18.2406-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB ATTO_Technology_Inc_bootbank_scsi-esas4hba_1.01-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Fusion-io_bootbank_scsi-iomemory-vsl_3.2.8.1350-1OEM.550.0.0.1198610 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Fusion-io_bootbank_scsi-iomemory-vsl_3.2.8.1350-1OEM.550.0.0.1198610 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Memblaze_bootbank_block-pblaze3_0.9.0.7-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB QLogic_bootbank_net-qlge_3.0.0.58-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Hitachi_bootbank_scsi-hfcldd_4.40.18.2406-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Virident_bootbank_sas-vgc_5.1.75460.D1B-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB ATTO_Technology_Inc_bootbank_scsi-celerity8fc_1.36-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Adaptec_bootbank_scsi-adp80xx_1.2.0.10624-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB ATTO_Technology_Inc_bootbank_scsi-esas4hba_1.01-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Stec_bootbank_scsi-stec-s1120_2.2.1.0202-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Brocade_bootbank_net-bna_3.2.4.0-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Brocade_bootbank_scsi-bfa_3.2.4.0-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Memblaze_bootbank_block-pblaze3_0.9.0.7-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB LSI_bootbank_scsi-mpt3sas_06.00.00.00.1vmw-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB LSI_bootbank_scsi-megaraid-perc9_6.901.55.00-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB VMware_bootbank_scsi-arcmsr_1.20.00.19-1vmw.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB ATTO_Technology_Inc_bootbank_scsi-celerity8fc_1.36-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB LSI_bootbank_scsi-megaraid-perc9_6.901.55.00-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Chelsio_bootbank_net-cxgb4_1.3.0-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Stec_bootbank_scsi-stec-s1120_2.2.1.0202-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Adaptec_bootbank_scsi-adp80xx_1.2.0.10624-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB ATTO_Technology_Inc_bootbank_scsi-celerity16fc_1.06-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB VMware_bootbank_scsi-arcmsr_1.20.00.19-1vmw.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB Brocade_bootbank_net-bna_3.2.4.0-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB LSI_bootbank_scsi-mpt3sas_06.00.00.00.1vmw-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires com.vmware.driverAPI-9.2.2.0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
VIB ATTO_Technology_Inc_bootbank_scsi-celerity16fc_1.06-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820 requires vmkapi_2_2_0_0, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
Please refer to the log file for more details.

Basically these are depreciated drivers from previous versions of ESXi. One option is to manually uninstall these vibs and then try the profile update again.  However I chose to switch to the profile install command, automatically removing the vibs (if you want to test before committing, add the —dry-run flag):

esxcli software profile install --no-hardware-warning --ok-to-remove -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml -p ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard

After it completes successfully you may receive a message that vibs were skipped during the upgrade. This is typical and the version displayed with depend on your system:

VIBs Skipped: VMware_locker_tools-light_11.1.1.16303738-16850804
VIBs Skipped: VMware_locker_tools-light_11.0.5.15389592-15843807

You can verify the correct version is installed with the below command.

esxcli software vib list | grep tools

Generally the build number of tools should match esx-base

esxcli software vib list | grep esx-base

Set firewall

esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e false -r httpClient

Then finally reboot (gracefully shutting down any VMs)

/sbin/reboot

Notes:

  1. You can jump all the way to Update 1 (or later) if you wish. Search with grep for ESXi-7.0U (instead of 7.0.0) which should present you with a list of all available updates. At the time of this guide, the latest is:
    ESXi-7.0U1d-17551050-standard

    esxcli software profile install -p ESXi-7.0U1d-17551050-standard -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml --ok-to-remove --no-hardware-warning
  2. In one case I received the following error when using the profile update command. Switching to profile install resolved the issue:
    [InstallationError]
    Failed to update bootloader: [Errno 28] No space left on device
    cause = [Errno 28] No space left on device
    vibs = [‘VMware_bootbank_esx-base_7.0.1-0.30.17551050’]
  3. On one system the Intel 10 Gbe network card connection was failing (ixgben driver). In vSphere under Networking -> Physical NICs I noticed Auto-negotiate was showing as Enabled however that mode is not supported with this adapter/driver.  Editing the settings of the NIC, the Speed dropdown was coming up blank. Selecting 10000 Mpbs, full duplex and saving fixed the issue immediately.
  4. On another system I received an error when running the esxcli software profile update command:
    Got no data from process: LANG=en_US.UTF-8 /usr/lib/vmware/esxcli-software profile.update
    This server did not have a USB boot drive or any modifications to the scratch drive. Rebooting the server and retrying the command resolved the issue.
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