VMware vSphere SDKs and Tools 8.0

8.0 7.0 6.7 6.5

Options for Managing the
ESXi
 Life Cycle
Last Updated December 16, 2024

Based on your needs and environment setup, you can choose from several methods for managing the life cycle of the
ESXi
 hosts. The
vSphere Lifecycle Manager
 provides means for updating all hosts in a cluster or a standalone host with a desired software state.
To manage the life cycle of the hosts in your environment, you can use the
vSphere Lifecycle Manager
 through the
vSphere Client
. See Managing Host and Cluster Lifecycle.
This chapter of the
vSphere Automation
REST API
 Programming Guide discusses how you can access and use the functionality provided by the
vSphere Lifecycle Manager
 Automation API.

vSphere Lifecycle Manager
 Features

You can use the
vSphere Automation
 API to manage the life cycle of all hosts in a cluster or of standalone hosts by using a
vSphere Lifecycle Manager
 image. You can access and use the following
vSphere Lifecycle Manager
 functionality:
  • Depot management. You can add, remove, explore the contents of different types of depots. See Software Depots. The content of the depots is provided by VMware and VMware partners. Partners can use the
    ESXi
     Packaging Kit (EPK) to assemble a custom bootable
    ESXi
     image. The custom image can then be shared to other third-party customers and used through the Depot Manager service. For more information about how to create custom
    ESXi
     images, see
    ESXi Packaging Kit (EPK) Development Guide
    .
  • Desired software state. You can create, edit, and delete a desired software state for a cluster or a standalone host on which the
    vSphere Lifecycle Manager
     is enabled. A desired software state must contain at least a single
    ESXi
     image provided by VMware. You can also set an add-on provided by OEMs, and one or more components by different software vendors. Furthermore, during the process of creating the desired software state, you can check the validity of the specification and compare the current state of the hosts in the cluster or the standalone host with the desired software state.
  • Cluster remediation. You can apply the desired state on each of the hosts in a cluster which current state is different from the desired specification. Applying a desired state on a cluster level has the following prerequisites:
    • The cluster must have the
      vSphere Lifecycle Manager
       enabled.
    • All hosts in the cluster must store their data on a local or remote disk, or on a USB drive.
    • All hosts in the cluster must be of version 7.0 or higher.
    • All hosts must contain only components that the
      vSphere Lifecycle Manager
       can recognize and maintain. If a host contains some old content that the
      vSphere Lifecycle Manager
       does not recognize, the content is removed from the host during remediation.
  • Standalone host remediation. You can apply the desired software state on a standalone host that is managed with baselines or on a standalone host that is managed with images but its current state differs from the desired state.

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