Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
remediate vSphere objects. When applying updates to VMs, VUM can apply snapshots to
them to enable rollback in the event of problems. It can identify when hardware upgrades and
VMware Tools are needed and combine them into a single, actionable task.
To help keep your vSphere environment patched and up-to-date, VUM utilizes your com-
pany's Internet connection to download information about available updates, the products to
which those updates apply, and the actual updates themselves. Based on rules and policies
dei ned and applied by the VMware administrator using the vSphere Client, VUM will then
apply updates to hosts and VMs. You can schedule update installations and even apply auto-
mated updates to VMs that are powered off or suspended.
Upgrading, Patching, and Updating without Discombobulation
Several common terms sometimes lead to confusion.
Upgrading
refers to the process of bringing
the object to a new version, which often includes new features and capabilities. For example, for
hosts, this can mean moving from 4.1 to 5.0 or, when the next minor version is available, from
5.1 to 5.5. VM hardware, virtual appliances, and host extensions all tend to be associated with
upgrades because they are usually rip-and-replace-type software changes.
h e term
patching
is usually reserved for applying remedial software changes to individual host
components. h is will normally change the host's build number but not its version number. Often
these are rolled up into host
updates
, so expect ESXi 5.5 to receive 5.5 Update 1 before you see
another 5.
x
version change. However, and certainly somewhat confusingly, the term
updates
is
often used to explain the generic process of both patching and upgrading. So applying updates
might include host patches (some of which might be rolled into a host update) and various upgrades.
Regardless of the terminology used, it is useful to think about updating in terms of how routine
it is—in fact, this is the way this chapter splits it up. Routine updates would include host patches,
host updates, and upgrading a VM's VMware Tools. h ese are the sort of remediation tasks you
could expect to perform on, say, a monthly basis because many guest OS patches are, and should
be, more trivial to test and apply. Nonroutine updates are the upgrades to hosts and VM hardware.
h ese updates will often change the functionality of the object, so they need to be tested in your
environment to make sure they are fully “sociable” and to understand how best to take advantage
of the new capabilities that the upgrades are likely to bring.
h e one gray area is upgrading host extensions and virtual appliances, because they need to be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Some of their upgrades w ill be simple improvements; others can
bring signifi cant changes to the way they work. You need to evaluate each extension and appliance
upgrade and decide for yourself how much testing is required before you deploy it.
Putting VUM to work in your vSphere deployment involves installing and coni guring VUM,
setting up baselines, scanning hosts and VMs, and applying patches.
Installing vSphere Update Manager
VUM installs from the vCenter Server DVD installation media and requires that a vCenter
Server instance be already installed. You will i nd that installing VUM is much like installing
vCenter Server, which you saw in the previous chapter.
