Once the vCenter server is upgraded from vCenter 6.7 to vCenter 7.0, the next step is to upgrade ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0. There are two ways we can upgrade ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0. The first one is upgrading ESXi hosts by attaching the ISO image via console (ILO or IDRAC) and perform the upgrade manually.  This is only suitable if you don’t have a vCenter server in your environment or you faced any issues in upgrading the hosts from vCenter server.

The second method is upgrading ESXi hosts managed by vCenter server using the Update Manager. In the Update Manager, we can upload the ISO image of ESXi and created an upgrade baseline. Then apply that upgrade baseline to ESXi hosts in the cluster to perform the upgrade.

In the vSphere 7.0, the Update Manager is replaced with Lifecycle Manager.  Take a look at my article What’s new with vSphere 7.0.  vSphere Lifecycle Manager is the Next-Gen Infrastructure Image Management to Manage infrastructure images to patch, update or upgrade ESXi clusters using the desired state model.

Lifecycle Manager enables you to have all hosts in a cluster inherit the same image. This removing variability between hosts. Using a single image means faster upgrades, improved reliability and easier overall maintenance.

ESXi host firmware management can also be done from within vSphere and works in conjunction with vendor management tools like Dell OpenManage and HPE OneView.

Before Upgrading ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0, ensure the current hardware is supported to run vSphere 7 using VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide. Take a look at my article vSphere 7 Pre-Upgrade Checks to understand the multiple pre-checks which need to be performed before preparing the environment for the vSphere upgrade.

Take a look at the detailed video to talks about a detailed step by step procedure to install and configure ESXi  7.0. Please do subscribe to the VMware Arena’s Youtube Channel

How to Upgrade ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0 using Lifecycle Manager

Import ESXi 7.0 ISO into Lifecycle Manager

Log in to the vCenter Server -> Menu -> Lifecycle Manager.

We need to import the ESXi 7.0 ISO image into the lifecycle manager to create an upgrade baseline. To import the ESXi 7.0 image into lifecycle Manager, Click Imported ISOs -> Click IMPORT ISO

Select the downloaded ESXi 7.0 ISO from the local disk. Click Import. This step will import the ISO image under the imported ISO of  lifecycle Manager

Create Upgrade Baseline

Under the Imported ISOs, we can now see the ISO image of ESXi 7.0. We need to create an Upgrade baseline using the ISO. Click on New Baseline

Specify the name for the Baseline and description. Select the Baseline type as “Upgrade”. Click Next.

Select the ESXi 7.0 ISO image which we have imported in the previous step. Click Next.

Review the summary of the ESXi Upgrade baseline. Click Finish to create the Upgrade baseline.

Attach Upgrade Baseline to Cluster

Once the Upgrade baseline is created, we need to attach the baseline to ESXi hosts or to the Cluster. Here I have a cluster called “MD-VSAN-01” which consists of 6 ESXi hosts. To attach the Baseline, Select Attach under Attached baselines.

Select the ESXi 7.0 Upgrade baseline which we have created using ESXi 7.0 ISO image. Click Attach.

Checking Compliance of ESXi hosts with Baseline

Once the Upgrade baseline is attached to the cluster, click on Check Compliance to check the compliance of attach Upgrade baseline with the hosts.

Once the compliance check is completed, it will show “Non-Complaint” for all the hosts in the cluster. we are now good to upgrade the ESXi hosts using the ESXi 7.0 Upgrade baseline.

Remediate ESXi Hosts

You can remediate the entire cluster or individual ESXi hosts one by one. The Upgrade process will place ESXi hosts into maintenance mode one by one and upgrade the ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0.

To remediate individual ESXi hosts, Place the ESXi host into maintenance mode.  Select the ESXi 7.0 Upgrade baseline and Click Remediate.

Select the ESXi host -> Click Remediate

It will upgrade the ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0. Once the upgrade is completed, The attached Upgrade Baseline will become “Compliant”.

I can the ESXi host is now running with ESXi 7.0 Build 15843807.

Once the Upgrade of ESXi hosts in the cluster is completed, Status of the entire cluster will become “complaint” for the attached Upgrade Baseline.

That’s it. We are done with the Upgrade of ESXi 6.7 to ESXi 7.0 using Lifecycle Manager. I hope this article is informative for you. Thanks for Reading!!!. Be social and share it with social media, if you feel worth sharing it.