
Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script.To upgrade ESXi 6.5 hosts or ESXi 6.7 hosts to ESXi 7.0, you can boot the ESXi installer from a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive. In the ESXi environment, each storage device is identified by several names. You can obtain the software either from an OEM or from the VMware download portal at. The ESXi installer must be accessible to the system on which you are installing ESXi.ĭownload the installer for ESXi. Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer.If your vSphere system includes NSX-T Data Center, before you start an upgrade of your ESXi hosts, you must ensure that the NSX kernel module is part of the desired software specification or baseline that you use for the upgrade. Upgrading ESXi Hosts in an Environment With VMware NSX-T Data Center.When you upgrade an ESXi host to 7.0, all supported custom VIBs are migrated, regardless of whether the VIBs are included in the installer ISO. Upgrading Hosts That Have Third-Party Custom VIBsĪ host can have custom vSphere Installation Bundles (VIBs) installed, for example, third-party drivers or management agents.To install or upgrade ESXi, your system must meet specific hardware and software requirements.įor a successful upgrade of your ESXi hosts, understand and prepare for the changes that are involved. If you do not upgrade your environment in the correct order, you can lose data and lose access to servers. If you use the scripted method to upgrade to ESXi 7.0, you can provide the license key in the kickstart (ks) file.ESXi hosts. See the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation for details. After you have vSphere 7 licenses, you must assign them to all upgraded ESXi 7.0 hosts by using the license management functionality in the vSphere Client. You can acquire vSphere 7 licenses from My VMware. See About ESXi Evaluation and Licensed Modes. When you upgrade ESXi 6.5 or ESXi 6.7 hosts to ESXi 7.0 hosts, the hosts are in a 60-day evaluation mode period until you apply the correct vSphere 7 licenses. For example, if you upgrade an ESXi host from 6.x to 7.0, you need to license the host with a vSphere 7 license.

If you upgrade an ESXi host to a version that starts with a different number, you must apply a new license. For example, if you upgrade a host from ESXi 6.5 to 6.7, you can use the same license for the host. If you upgrade an ESXi host to a version that starts with the same number, you do not need to replace the existing license with a new one. After you upgrade to ESXi 7.0, you must apply a vSphere 7 license.
