Cloud Build Tools

The home of everything Automation and Orchestration

in Useful Documentation

VMware ESX v9 ESXCLI Commands

by Simon Sparks · 20 February 2026

Command Line Description: 

vim-cmd /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter

OR

esxcli system maintenanceMode set --enable true
Bash

Result: 

# NO OUTPUT
Bash

Command Line Description: 

vim-cmd /hostsvc/hostsummary | grep inMaintenanceMode
Bash

Result:

      inMaintenanceMode = true,
Bash

Command Line Description: Find the Offline Depot ZIP File(s) in the Datastores

find /vmfs/ -name *-depot.zip
Bash

Results: The Full Path to the Offline Depot ZIP File(s) in the Datastores.

/vmfs/volumes/ddce4372-7d141f7c/DEPOTs/VMware-ESXi-9.0.2.0.25148076-depot.zip
Bash

Command Line Description: Show the profiles which are contained within the Offline Depot ZIP File.

esxcli software sources profile list 

--depot=/vmfs/volumes/ddce4372-7d141f7c/DEPOTs/VMware-ESXi-9.0.2.0.25148076-depot.zip
Bash

Result:

Name                            Vendor        Acceptance Level  Creation Time        Modification Time
------------------------------  ------------  ----------------  -------------------  -----------------
ESXi-9.0.2.0-25148076-no-tools  VMware, Inc.  PartnerSupported  2026-01-20T00:00:00  2026-01-20T00:00:00
ESXi-9.0.2.0-25148076-standard  VMware, Inc.  PartnerSupported  2026-01-20T00:00:00  2026-01-20T00:00:00
Bash

Command Line Description: 

esxcli software profile get
Bash

Result:

DEL-ESXi_9000.24755229-A01
   Name: DEL-ESXi_9000.24755229-A01
   Vendor: Dell Inc.
   Creation Time: 2025-09-28T11:47:49
   Modification Time: 2026-02-20T12:19:58
   Stateless Ready: True
   Description:

   VIBs: # LOTS OF LINES REMOVED FOR CLARITY
   DPU Profiles:
Bash

Command Line Description: 

esxcli software profile install 

--depot=/vmfs/volumes/ddce4372-7d141f7c/DEPOTs/VMware-ESXi-9.0.2.0.25148076-depot.zip 
--profile=ESXi-9.0.2.0-25148076-standard
Bash

Result:

 [HardwareError]
 Hardware precheck of profile ESXi-9.0.2.0-25148076-standard failed with warnings: 
 <CPU_SUPPORT OVERRIDEWARNING: The CPUs on this host are not supported by ESXi 9.0.2. 
 You can override and force install, but it is not officially supported nor recommended. 
 Please refer to KB 82794 for more details.>
 
 Apply --no-hardware-warning option to ignore the warnings and proceed with the transaction.
 Please refer to the log file for more details.
Bash

Command Line Description: 

esxcli software profile install 

--depot=/vmfs/volumes/ddce4372-7d141f7c/DEPOTs/VMware-ESXi-9.0.2.0.25148076-depot.zip 
--profile=ESXi-9.0.2.0-25148076-standard 
--no-hardware-warning
Bash

Result:

 [ProfileVibRemoval]
 You attempted to install an image profile which would have resulted in the removal of VIBs
 
 {'DEL_bootbank_dellfac_1.0.6-1OEM.802.0.0.22380479', 'INT_bootbank_ixgben-ens_1.19.2.0-1OEM.800.1.0.20613240', 'DEL_bootbank_dellosname_1.0.4-1OEM.800.1.0.20143090', 'DEL_bootbank_dellconfig_5.0.0-1OEM.900.0.24580437', 'DEL_bootbank_dellfistutil_6.0.4-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231'}. 
 
 If this is not what you intended, you may use the esxcli software profile update command to preserve the VIBs above. If this is what you intended, please use the --ok-to-remove option to explicitly allow the removal.
 
    profile = ESXi-9.0.2.0-25148076-standard
    removed = {'DEL_bootbank_dellfac_1.0.6-1OEM.802.0.0.22380479', 'INT_bootbank_ixgben-ens_1.19.2.0-1OEM.800.1.0.20613240', 'DEL_bootbank_dellosname_1.0.4-1OEM.800.1.0.20143090', 'DEL_bootbank_dellconfig_5.0.0-1OEM.900.0.24580437', 'DEL_bootbank_dellfistutil_6.0.4-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231'}
    
 Please refer to the log file for more details.
Bash

Command Line Description: 

esxcli software profile install 

--depot=/vmfs/volumes/ddce4372-7d141f7c/DEPOTs/VMware-ESXi-9.0.2.0.25148076-depot.zip 
--profile=ESXi-9.0.2.0-25148076-standard 
--no-hardware-warning 
--ok-to-remove
Bash

Result:

Installation Result
   Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
   VIBs Installed: # LOTS OF LINES REMOVED FOR CLARITY
   VIBs Removed: # LOTS OF LINES REMOVED FOR CLARITY
   VIBs Skipped: # LOTS OF LINES REMOVED FOR CLARITY
   Reboot Required: true
   DPU Results:
Bash

Command Line Description: 

esxcli system shutdown reboot --reason 'Upgrade to ESX v9.0.2.0'
Bash

Result:

# NO OUTPUT
Bash

Command Line Description: 

vim-cmd /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit

OR

esxcli system maintenanceMode set --enable false
Bash

Result:

# NO OUTPUT
Bash

Command Line Description: 

vim-cmd /hostsvc/hostsummary | grep inMaintenanceMode
Bash

Result:

      inMaintenanceMode = false,
Bash

Discover more from Cloud Build Tools

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like

Browse

Search

Categories