How to patch an ESXi host through a USB flash drive

For ESXi shell to be able to detect the USB flash drive it must first be formatted in Fat16 and not exceed 2 gigabytes.

• First format the flash drive in FAT16. If the flash drive is 8 gigabytes or below the format can be done from the Windows user interface.

 

 

If the flash drive is above 8 gigabytes then follow the below instructions to format the drive in a command prompt.

• Enter Diskpart in a command prompt and follow the below example.

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Windows\System32>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 6.1.7601
Copyright (C) 1999-2008 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: PC503934

DISKPART> list disk

Disk ### Status         Size     Free     Dyn Gpt
——– ————- ——- ——- — —
Disk 0   Online         119 GB     0 B
Disk 1   Online           14 GB     0 B

DISKPART> select disk 1

Disk 1 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> clean

DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk.

DISKPART> create part primary size=2000

DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition.

DISKPART> active

DiskPart marked the current partition as active.

DISKPART> format fs=fat quick

100 percent completed

DiskPart successfully formatted the volume.

DISKPART> assign

DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.

DISKPART>

 

• Use PuTTY to connect and login to the ESXi host as root.

Before starting the patch ensure that the new patch files have been copied to the USB flash drive.

• Type: /etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop

This stops usbarbitrator so it is possible to access the USB flash drive.

• Plug the USB flash drive into the ESXi host.

It is important that usbarbitrator has been stopped before you plug in the USB drive.

• Type: vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter

This sets the EXSi host into maintenance mode so changes made wont trigger alarms.

• Type: esxcli storage filesystem list

This will show a list of available volumes, and you need to verify what name the USB have been given.

“mpx.vmhba35:C0:T0:L0:1” will be used as an example.

• Type: esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/”Name of USB Drive”/”name of Patch file”

Example: esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/mpx.vmhba35:C0:T0:L0:1/ESXi550-2014.zip

This will apply the patch file, and if you have more than 1 patch file simply type in the same command again with the name of the second patch file.

• Type: vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit

When the patch is done being loaded then exit maintenance mode.

• Type: reboot

This will reboot the ESXi host, and when it has started again the new patch will be active. When the ESXi host is done booting log back in with Putty, and you can verify the new patch by using the vmware -v command.

• Type: vmware –v

 

 

 

How to firmware update an HP server

In this specific demonstration I have firmware updated an HP DL380 G8 server with the HP Service Pack for Proliant (SPP). The service pack provided by HP is a collection of all recently available firmware updates for the Proliant model. The service pack can be downloaded from HP’s website, and an account with a valid linked warranty has to be used. It is possible to use the serial number and the part number of a server to link a valid warranty to an HP Passport account.

The SPP comes in the ISO format and can be written to a bootable flash drive. HP USB key utility software can be used to create the bootable flash drive.

• Once the SPP image has been downloaded mount it to a virtual drive on a local computer. Virtual CloneDrive can be used to mount it.

 

• Launch the HP USB key utility.

 

• Agree to the license agreement and press Next.

 

• Select Create a bootable USB key from CD/DVD and hit Next.

• Insert a flash drive and hit Next.

• Select the CD/DVD drive which has the SPP image mounted, and then select the USB key drive letter where the flash drive is plugged into and hit Next.

 

• The HP USB key utility will start copying data and make the flash drive bootable.

 

• Insert the bootable flash drive with the SPP image into the server and boot on it.

• Press 3 on the keyboard to boot into the USB flash drive.

 

• Choose Interactive Firmware Update.

 

• Accept the license agreement and hit Next.

• Select Firmware Update.

 

• SPP will start an inventory baseline of the server, so wait for this to finish and hit Next once it is done.

 

• Set the desired firmware update to forced and hit Deploy.

 

• When the deployment has finished check the deployment status to make sure everything was updated successfully, and then hit Reboot.