One Image: VMware vLCM’s One-Stop-Shop for Server Updates

Introduced in vSphere 7, VMware’s vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) boasts expanded features and applications over its predecessor, Update Manager, that make it easier to create reliable and high-performance platforms at scale. One of the most interesting of these new capabilities is the One Image upgrade feature.

With vLCM, updates are not for the operating system only; instead, using the One Image upgrade, we can both connect the underlying host and identify specific drivers on it, and we can determine the firmware of the server/host. Thanks to this level of specificity, it is possible to execute upgrades in one click for the parameters we need without needing a compatibility matrix. To support this functionality, vLCM needs a connection to the hardware. This is usually done on the vendor system, where vSphere pulls both what is there and what is missing, like a one-stop shop for server updates.

This solves a major pain point for companies that need to update. Without vLCM, companies were spending time and resources to identify what hardware they have and check compatibility matrices, interface versions, tags and features, and more. By matching the appliance of the same vendor, not much more is needed: as soon as we connect, we can determine which patch or image to use, vLCM does the rest.

Finally, vLCM is a function of the VC, and it works at the host level, making it possible to see all of the managed hosts from the save VC and eliminating the need to go from cluster to cluster.

vLCM makes it so much easier for companies to create consistency across ESXi hosts and ensure their systems are consistent and up-to-date.

Written by: Roman Kogan, Infrastructure and Virtualization Engineer