vSphere Lifecycle Manager (LCM) Image Build in an Air-Gapped Infrastructure

Table of Contents

Overview

There are certain situations that call for maintaining an air-gapped infrastructure. Of course when there is no path to the internet, things also get more complicated. Hopefully this short post will demystify and simplify this.

RTFM

How to Use vSphere Lifecycle Manager Images

The vSphere Lifecycle Manager Depot

Broadcom Support – ESXi Depot File

Select My Downloads.

Search for vsphere.

Select VMware vSphere from the list.

Select Solutions at the top.

Select VMware vSphere – Enterprise Plus. (any version should work, here)

Select 8.0.

Search for and select the version you are wanting to upgrade to.

Scroll down until you find the <version>-depot.zip file and download it.

Broadcom Support – Vendor Add-Ons

Select My Downloads.

Search for vsphere.

Select VMware vSphere from the list.

Ensure the Products tab is selected at the top.

Select VMware vSphere – Enterprise Plus. (any version should work, here)

Select 8.0.

Select the OEM Addons tab.

Search for a particular vendor to narrow the options.

When deciding on a vendor addon, select and download the addon for the version that is going to be upgraded to. There may still be further options, based on the model of the virtualization host; be sure to download the appropriate version.

Populating the Image Depot

Once the downloaded files are available, we need to populate the Lifecycle Manager Image Depot.

Use the Actions menu to Import Updates.

Repeat the process to import both the ESXi depot file as well as the vendor add-on. This should be a relatively quick process.

Once the files are uploaded, you can see them populated in their respective locations.

Build a Custom Image

For this step, you can use an existing cluster or create a new empty cluster. I prefer to use an empty cluster.

Navigate to the cluster and select the Updates tab. If this is a new cluster, select the Manage with a Single Image button or select Image from the menu.

Select the Setup Image Manually button.

Select an available ESXi Version and an appropriate Vendor Addon from the available options. Select Save.

This step is faster on an empty cluster as there are no hosts to check, hence why I prefer using an empty cluster.

Select Finish Image Setup when it becomes available.

On the confirmation screen, select Yes, Finish Image Setup.

Notice that after this step, the baselines option goes away.

At this point, the image metadata can be exported for use in other clusters managed by this vCenter.

Select the ellipsis in the Image section and select Export to bring up the Export Image window.

Select Export to download the JSON file.

Now the JSON file can be used in other clusters that contain appropriate hosts.

Conclusion

Hopefully this short post helps you build a custom image with the versions you need. It’s a fairly simple and straightforward process, but using an image to update clusters saves so much time that it’s absolutely worth the effort to learn.

Bits, Bytes, & Radio Waves