This article provides information on the live vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB) installation feature in ESX 5.0.

VIB installation is a new feature in ESXi 5.0 that allows you to modify the host without rebooting. This provides the capability to install, remove, and upgrade ESXi VIBs without any downtime.

In the stateful host behaviour, the image is cached in /altbootbank. In a stateless host behaviour, VIBs do not persist at reboot and the image profile must be updated with the new VIB.

• CIM providers
• Cisco Nexus
• vShield Plugins
• Lab Manager
• HA agents

These VIBs require a reboot:

• Base ESXi patches
• Drivers
• esxcli extensions

Installing Live VIBs on a stateless ESXi host using VMware Update Manager

1. Log in to vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
2. Click Home.
3. Click Update Manager under Solutions and Applications.
4. Click the Configuration tab.
5. Under Settings, click ESX Host/Cluster Settings.
6. Select the Allow installation of additional software on PXE booted ESXi 5.x hosts option.

1. Log in to vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
2. Select the ESX host and click the Update Manager tab.
3. Click Remediate.
4. Navigate to the Host Remediation Options page.
5. Select the Enable patch remediation of powered on PXE booted ESXi hosts option.

VMware recommends that you update the image profile of a stateless ESXi host after applying a live VIB installation. If you do not update the image profile, the VIB is not installed after the ESX host reboot.