How to patch free VMware ESXi Standalone Host

Get the latest patch from VMware here:

http://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/download.portal

Look for something like

update-from-esxi5.1-5.1_update03

I think you want embeddable and installable

Upload the patch to a datastore visible from the host.

Shut down the VMs.

Put the host into maintenance mode.

Enable SSH:

Configuration | Security Profile | Properties | SSH

Connect via Putty to the host.

Run this command:

esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/<your_datastore>/update-from-esxi5.1-5.1_update03.zip


It will take a few minutes.  Afterward, the screen will spit out a bunch of text.

Reboot the host.

Check the version number with vSphere or use the command line:

esxcli system version get

Exit maintenance mode.