How to Update VMware Tools at Scale

VMware Tools is a set of services and modules that enable several features in VMware products for better management of guests' operating systems and seamless user interactions with them. As a VMware Technical Account Manager, I partner with my customers to provide guidance and recommendations for updates, upgrades, optimizations, and more.

When it comes to updating VMware Tools at scale, there are various options available. In this article, we will explore these options and provide a description of how to set them up.

Understanding the Different Files

There are four different files for downloading VMware Tools: Baseline, GuestStore, Update, and Repository. Each file serves a specific purpose:

* Baseline is used to update VMware Tools on hosts.

* GuestStore is not primarily for VMware Tools update, but it can be used for this.

* Update is used to update VMware Tools as separate software.

* Repository is used to create a shared repository for the VMware Tools version.

Checking the Version

Before updating VMware Tools, it's essential to check which version is currently installed on your host. You can do this by running the following code:

$ToolsVersion = ($.Invoke() | Where-Object).Version

Alternatively, you can use vSphere PowerCLI to run the following command:

esxcli software component get | grep VMware-VM-Tools -B 1 -A 14

This version may be used to check against VM's version of Tools.

Recent Changes

Starting with VMware Tools version 10.2.0, Perl script-based installation for FreeBSD has been discontinued. Instead, you should install open-vm-tools.

Additionally, Tools version 10.3.5 freezes feature support for Linux, and the list of supported operating systems has changed over time. There were and are also versions for FreeBSD, Solaris, and MacOS.

Updating VMware Tools at scale requires careful planning and execution. By understanding the different files available for downloading and how to check the version currently installed on your host, you can ensure a smooth update process. In this article, we have explored the options available for updating VMware Tools and provided a description of how to set them up.

References

* VMware vSphere Product Interoperability Matrix

* VMware ESXi 5.5 documentation

* VMware Technical Account Manager resources

Vmware tools macos