Knowledge

• Determine installation requirements and database sizing
  When installing vCenter you can choose to install the Vmware Update Manager (VUM). The update manager allows you to centrally download, distribute and install updates in a controlled way. The VUM supports the ESX Operating Systems as well as some mainstream guest OSes.
  To distribute these updates VUM downloads and stores the updates locally and the signatures are stored in a Database that can be local or on a central Database server. The size that the update store and database needs can be calculated with the Sizing Estimator VMware distributes here.
  The installation requirements are:
  • Hardware
    • 2 Ghz processor
    • 2 GB RAM. When VUM is installer on the same server as vCente Server (fully supported) a minimum of 4 GB of RAM is needed.
    • Preferable a Gigabit connection, but 10/100 can suffy
  • Software
    • Windows XP SP2, Sever 2003 or Server 2008 (dedicated DB recommended)
    • MS SQL serve or Oracle as a local or remote database.
• Install Update Manager Server and Client components
  To install the update manager. This can be done on the vCenter Server or on a separate machine. Make sure you have sufficient disk space and a database (or no DB if you choose to install the MS SQL Server locally). Recommendations for large environments are to use a separate Update Manager Server and a separate database server. To start the install run the wizard from the vCenter Server install CD.
  Read more here on page 27. http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsp_vum_40_admin_guide.pdf
• Configure update manager settings
  To be able to manage the VUM settings you first need to download, install and enable the VUM plug-in. Read more here on how to. When you have the plug-in enabled in the vSphere Client select “Home” from the navigation pane and then click “Update Manager” from the “Solutions and Applications” section.
  
  From this view you can select and configure multiple option from the VUM like when and how to download what patches, see events and create baselines to attach to ESX hosts for scanning etc.
• Configure patch download options
  Under the tab “Configuration” you can select the “Patch Download Settings” and the “Patch Download Schedule”. Here you can configure the settings like: for wat OS to download patches, use a shared repository, use a proxy server and create download schedules for updates.
• Create baselines
  A baseline holds specific updates or update groups / criteria for OS’s. You can create a baseline for example to hold all ESX(i) updates. When scanning for updates a host will be checked whether those updates defined in the baseline are installed. A base line can be static, containing only specific updates, of dynamic, containing all available updates with certain urgency for a specific OS.
• Attach baselines to vCenter inventory objects
  When you have created a baseline you need to attach this baseline to objects in the vSphere environment. This allows you to select single or multiple entities in one baseline to create a granular update policy. A baseline can be applied to:
  • vCEnter Server environment (the top level)
  • Datacenters
  • Clusters
  • Hosts
  • vApps
  • ESX hosts
  • VMs
• Scan ESX hosts and virtual machines
  To scan ESX hosts you need to:
  • Go to the “Hosts and Clusters” view
  • Select an ESX host
  • Select the tab “Update Manager”
  • Click “Scan” in the upper right corner
  • Click OK on the pop-up screen that appears.
• Remediate ESX hosts and virtual machines
  When the scan completed successfully you can choose to apply those updates to the OS / Applications.
  • Go to the “Hosts and Clusters” view
  • Select an ESX host
  • Select the tab “Update Manager”
  • Select the button “Remediate”  in the lower right corner
    
    
  • Follow the wizard that appears on screen.
• Stage ESX/ESXi Host updates
  • Go to the “Hosts and Clusters” view
  • Select an ESX host
  • Select the tab “Update Manager”
  • Select the button “Stage” in the lower right corner
    
    Followw the wizard to upload (stage) the updates for a OS or application.
• Analyze compliance information from a scan
  When you have performed a scan of a ESX host or VM you can see whether the host has all the latest updates installed or not. When you select a host and the select the tab “Update Manager” you are in the “Compliance View”. This Shows how many updates are not installed on a host. When you click on updates the need to be installed (the red figure) you see the Following window that indicated what applicable updates are installed and that are not.
  
  

Tools

• VMware vCenter Upgrade Manager Administration Guide
• Product Documentation
• Update Manager Database Sizing Tools