VMware

VMware ESX Server 1.5.2 Patch 5


Released 9/23/03

TAR File

Note: This patch only works on ESX Server 1.5.2 (the GA release or any patch version). Patch 5 is a cumulative patch, and includes the changes in Patch 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Fixes Included in ESX Server 1.5.2 Patch 5

  • Added support for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8.0, SuSE Linux 8.1, and SuSE Linux 8.0 as guest operating systems.

    Note: For SuSE Linux 8.0, SuSE Linux 8.1, and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8.0, you must specify a kernel during installation. For SuSE Linux 8.0, select k_i386 kernels during installation. For SuSE Linux 8.1 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8.0, select k_deflt kernels during installation.

  • Increased the maximum number of paths to 16 in the QLogic 6.04 drivers.
  • Improved log file security.
  • Improved memory allocation and added a fix for rare cases where the server could crash when running with the Emulex LP8000 adapter.
  • Fix for disk file size calculation when exporting virtual disks of particular geometries and sizes.
  • Updates to PCI files for improved QLogic and Emulex device support.
  • Fix for duplicate LUNs issue with BusLogic drivers.
  • Patches to OpenSSH version 3.5p1, which addresses a CERT advisory for a buffer management vulnerability in the version of OpenSSH included with ESX Server. Details on this advisory are available at: http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-24.html

OpenSSH Packages for ESX Server 1.5.2

If you plan to install ESX Server 1.5.2 Patch 5, you must reboot your ESX Server for the patch to take effect. If you need to keep the server running and do not want to install ESX Server 1.5.2 Patch 5, you can install the OpenSSH package without having to reboot your server. To install the OpenSSH package, go to the OpenSSH Packages for ESX Server 1.5.2 download page.

Installing the Patch

Before Upgrading to ESX Server 1.5.2 Patch 5
There are a few steps you should take before you install ESX Server 1.5.2 patch 5 to ensure the best possible upgrade experience.

  • Resume and shut down suspended virtual machines
    If you plan to use virtual machines created under a previous version of ESX Server, be sure they have been shut down completely before you upgrade.

    If the virtual machine is suspended, resume it in the earlier release, shut down the guest operating system, then power off the virtual machine.

    If you attempt to resume a virtual machine that was suspended under a different VMware product or a different version of ESX Server, a message gives you the choice of discarding or keeping the file that stores the suspended state. To recover the suspended state, you must click Keep, then resume the virtual machine under the correct VMware product. If you click Discard, you can power on normally, but the suspended state is lost.

  • Commit or discard changes to undoable disks
    If you plan to use existing virtual machines that have undoable disks, commit or discard any changes to the virtual disks before you remove the release you used to create them.

    Resume or power on the virtual machine in the earlier release, shut down the guest operating system, power off the virtual machine and either commit or discard changes to the undoable disk when prompted.

  • Back up virtual machines
    As a precaution, back up the virtual machine files -- including the .dsk and .cfg files -- for any existing virtual machines you plan to migrate to ESX Server 1.5.2 patch 5.

Upgrading From ESX Server 1.5.2 to ESX Server 1.5.2 Patch 5
To upgrade from ESX Server 1.5.2 to ESX Server 1.5.2 patch 5, use the upgrade-only tar archive you downloaded from the VMware site.

Caution: The instructions in this section apply only if you are upgrading from ESX Server 1.5.2 to ESX Server 1.5.2 patch 5. If you are upgrading from ESX Server 1.0, 1.1, 1.5, or 1.5.1, then refer to the ESX Server 1.5.2 release notes.

  1. Log in as root into the ESX Server Console Operating System.
  2. Download the patch, esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz, into a temporary directory, for example /tmp, on your ESX Console Operating System.
  3. Change directories to /tmp:
    cd /tmp
  4. Verify the integrity of the package:
    md5sum esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz
    The output should be:
    1f93617f459e080fe6eeada3d40d9646 esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz
  5. Extract the compressed tar archive:
    tar -xvzf esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz
  6. Change directories to the newly created directory, upgrade152p5.
    cd upgrade152p5
  7. Run the patch installer.
    ./upgrade.pl
  8. The patch is now installed. Reboot your ESX Server machine for the patch to take effect.

After upgrading your system, review the warnings log file. You can view it from the VMware Management Interface. Log in to the management interface as the root user. Click Configure System. Then, in the Server Management section of the page, click Log File Viewer and open the warnings file. If you see any lines that begin with SysAlert, check the VMware Knowledge Base or contact your support representative for information on how to correct the problem.

Manual Steps to Upgrade From ESX Server 1.5.2 to ESX Server 1.5.2 Patch 5
If you experience any problems with the upgrade script, you can upgrade manually by following the steps below.

  1. Log in as root into the ESX Server Console Operating System.

  2. Download the patch, esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz, into a temporary directory, for example /tmp, on your ESX Console Operating System.

  3. Change directories to /tmp:
    cd /tmp

  4. Verify the integrity of the package:
    md5sum esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz

  5. The output should be:
    1f93617f459e080fe6eeada3d40d9646 esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz

  6. Extract the compressed tar archive:
    tar -xvzf esx-1.5.2-patch5.tar.gz

  7. Change directories to the newly created directory, upgrade152p5.
    cd upgrade152p5

  8. Enter the following:

    9. rpm -Uvh VMnix-*.rpm
    rpm -Uvh VMware-esx-*.rpm
    tar xzf VMware-mui-*.tar.gz
    cd vmware-mui-distrib
    ./vmware-install.pl

  9. Reboot the system by typing reboot.
  10. When the system reboots, go to the configuration pages at
    http://<hostname>/vmware/config

    Go to the Configuration Settings page and click Save Options. ESX Server is configured and the VMkernel is loaded. ESX Server is now fully upgraded. You may also want to look at the other settings (NIC, security, and so on) to make sure that they still have appropriate values. The manual upgrade may reset your SCSI controller settings back to the default, so please make sure your SCSI controllers are allocated properly to the virtual machines and the console operating system.

After upgrading your system, review the warnings log file. You can view it from the VMware Management Interface. Log in to the management interface as the root user. Click Configure System. Then, in the Server Management section of the page, click Log File Viewer and open the warnings file. If you see any lines that begin with SysAlert, check the VMware Knowledge Base or contact your support representative for information on how to correct the problem.