Could there be a problem with the ESXi patch?

Question

linux

Good afternoon.
I'm planning to roll an ESXi patch onto a heavily-production server.
https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/searc... Have
n't done this before. I want to ask if there are any problems?
I know that you need to use esxcli software vib update, not install, then third-party drivers will not be rewritten (for example, to RAID)
I also know that, in theory, if there is a problem, you can roll back to the previous version from an alternative bootbank.

And another question - esxi is installed on an array with vmfs partitions, can it be backed up somehow? For example, just copying some partitions, and will it work if you just overwrite them later?

Answer 1

I want to ask if there are any problems?

They can. Itself was updated not so long ago and a question arose that is not so easy to google. Here I described the essence of the problem and its solution, be sure to read it before updating.
Of course, you know better, but I would recommend putting ESXi itself on a memory card or flash drive to separate the hypervisor from the data (some servers have SD connectors on the motherboard). This allows you not to think about the possibility of incorrect markup during reinstallation. Well, if something happens, I formatted it and rolled it over again, since it takes literally half an hour along with adding virtual machines and setting up the network.

Answer 2

First backup the partition table via gdisk, and then the partition with ESX (like VFAT there) and vmfs via partclone. You can download static binaries here , not all distributions include partclone.vmfs in the partclone package