Download or Upgrade - VMware VCSA/ESXi 6.0 Update 1b

Posted by Paul Braren on Jan 7 2016 (updated on Feb 26 2016) in
  • ESXi
  • Virtualization
  • HomeLab
  • HomeServer

    • Yay, it's download day! Just in time for my planned home lab rebuild. Some minor features are new, some stuff is just fixed, so be sure to start with kicking off those big downloads then reading the release notes. Oh, yeah, back up all your stuff, before you consider updating. And you are supposed to update your vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) before you update your ESXi hosts, as VMware explains how here, and William Lam here.

    Feb 03 2016 update - there's now a much easier approach to downloading and install that I've documented:

    Upgrades

    Upgrade VCSA First

    If all you're trying to do is upgrade VCSA to 6.0 Update 1b (aka 6.0.0.10200), here's just the article for you:

    Upgrade ESXi Next

    If all you're trying to do is upgrade ESXi to 6.0 Update 1b (aka Build 3380124), here's just the article for you:

    Fresh Installs - download both ISOs

    1) Download VCSA and ESXi 6.0 Update 1b - commercial license holder

    1a) Registered commercial license key users can download the 6.0 Update 1b ISO

    If you do want:

    • the ESXi 6.0 Update 1b ISO
    • the full vSphere 6.0 U1b with vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) for the FUN and useful stuff like vMotion

    and you have:

    • you have a commercial license of vSphere

    then here's the link for all that good stuff, and here's the specific links:

    ESXi ISO image (Includes VMware Tools 10.0.0)

    VMware vCenter Server 6.0 Update 1b Appliance

    1b) Download ESXi 6.0 Update b - non-commercial license holder

    EVALExperience/trial/free hypervisor owners doing a new install

    What is you don't have a commercial license of vSphere?

    Read all about EVAL Experience here:

    Once you get signed up for your EVALExperience and make payment (it comes free with VMUG Advantage) membership, you'll get license keys and instructions for downloading. You have 60 days to "play" with ALL features working during this trial period. To keep things easy, you should apply the license key before the 60 day trial ends, and it will then restrict you to only EVAL Experience features. Note, there is no VMware support included with EVAL Experience.

    The ESXi 6.0 Update 1a ISO readily available for anybody who registers for a My VMWare account, or has EVAL Experience. Not U1b. That's right, you'll only be able to get the latest release after about 60 days have elapsed. This is annoying. An alternative would be to buy vSphere 6.0, detailed below.

    Once you get the ISO, you'll want a way to make it into a bootable USB drive for your install, or using Supermicro gear, just use the web based IPMI/iKVM Console Redirect, to mount the ISO, and install to your USB flash drive from there.

    I don't have instructions for proper ISO injection of 3rd party drivers like AHCI or Realtek into this ESXi 6.0 Update 1b. Stay tuned to VMware Front Experience for more info. Luckily, the SuperServer Bundles don't require any VIB injections for a basic install, and the optional easy activation of the Intel X552 10GbE interfaces can be done later. The VIB for NVMe that ESXi 6.0 Update 1b includes works fine with the Samsung 950 PRO M.2 NVMe SSD, for example.

    1c) Download VCSA vCenter Server Appliance

    These files are available to all license types (commercial, EVALExperience, trial, free).

    Here's the download link:

    • VMware-VCSA-all-6.0.0-3343019.iso (VMware vCenter Server 6.0 Update 1b Appliance)

      File size: 2.814 GB
      File type: iso
      Name: VMware-VCSA-all-6.0.0-3343019.iso
      Release Date: 2016-01-07
      Build Number: 3343019

    1d) Download and install VMware vSphere Client 6.0 Update 1b

    Finally, you'll want to grab the client code and install it first, to install it on your Windows system that's doing the vSphere administration:

    vSphereClient

    2) Read the Release notes here

    3) Read the EULA here

    4) A variety of issues may strike, you will (probably) prevail!

    For non-corporate license holders, such as home lab EVALExperience licenses, you may get the following warning when you try to download VCSA from the above download site:

    You either are not entitled or do not have permissions to download this product.
    Check with your My VMware Super User, Procurement Contact or Administrator.

    If you recently purchased this product through VMware Store or through a third-party, try downloading later.
    Download Trial

    You-are-not-worthy

    You can also get your VCSA and install. Later on, you apply your EVALExperience license that's suited for home lab users. I know, it's a mess, I apologize for VMware, even though I have absolutely no authority to do so ;-)

    Drop us a comment below to let us know how your download is going!

    Happy Tinkering!

    Jan 07 2016 Update 17:05

    I've gotten tired of having to wait up to 60 days with every single point release of ESXi, to be able to have permission to get to the latest download. I don't see EVALExperience showing any way to help you get to the latest bits either, unfortunately. The suite of products you have access to with EVALExperience is amazing, but note that there is no support. And you can't buy per-incident for it either. That's right, it's considered trial code.

    So, tonight, I am fed up with having to wait around to get the latest code, and I'm about to rebuild my lab and want my new videos to feature the very latest procedure. It's a huge investment of my time and effort, and I'd rather it not require updates or addendums within days of its arrival.

    Within a month or two, anybody with any sort of My VMware account will be able to get 6.0 Update 1b anyway, even if they never bought a license, and are just using the 60 day trials, or extended to the free edition.

    VMwareStoreAcademic

    I'm glad to report that yes, buying the Academic discounted vSphere Essentials seems gets me the conduit for support I've longed for, for over a decade now, having access to no licenses of my own.

    I went here for academic discounted version, US only (I'm a parent of a college student):

    Choose 1 Year or 3 Year coverage including for updates and new releases. I chose 3 years, paying $399 USD, and received the following 2 license key (descriptions), on the spot:

    VMwareStoreEssentialsKit

    • Academic VMware vCenter Server 6 Essentials for vSphere
    • Academic VMware vSphere 6 Essentials for 1 processor

    If you are not affiliated with a university and found this article useful, please consider purchasing your VMware license(s) from here, as a small token of your support for TinkerTry, without any cost to you (an affiliate link):

    See also Terms & Conditions.

    Update Jan 13 2016

    I've cleaned up the sections above considerably since this article was first published, and refer to my new articles about upgrades.

    There's now a much easier approach to downloading and install that I've documented, see:

    See also at TinkerTry

    See also

    TinkerTry - PCs, EVs, home tech, efficiency and more, including virtualization. My opinions here, not my employer's.

    Paul Braren, MCSE in 1998, VCP #2681 in 2005, vExpert 2014 to 2024, Veeam Vanguard Emeritus, 2015 to 2019.

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