Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below . You'll find the newer article here:

Article below as it originally appeared.

It's that time of year when IT Pros lucky enough to have a few days off upgrade their home labs. This VMware update arrives just in time for the holidays, and this article gets you ready to start 2018 off right!

Read the Release Notes. The simple update method that this article details means you won't need the VMware-VCSA-all-6.5.0-7312210.iso from the Download Page for:

vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 Update 1d | 19 DEC 2017 | Build 7312210

This upgrade is also known as version 6.5.0.13000 or 6.5U1d, as seen in the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface (VAMI), as pictured above. It's the web UI featured throughout in this article, no command line needed.

Warning:

vCenter / VCSA 6.5 should be upgraded to 6.5 Update 1 (aka 6.5 U1d) before upgrading your host(s) to ESXi 6.5 Patch 02.

See also:

Yep, upgrading via VAMI works as advertised for any 6.5.x release. I began using it when upgrading from 6.5 to 6.5.0a back in February, and to 6.5.0b in March, and to 6.5.0c and 6.5.0d in April, 6.5.0e in June, 6.5 U1 in July, and finally 6.5 U1d here in December. This is an easy upgrade, as shown screen-by-screen walk through below, and in the video below.

VCSA 6.5.x with Internet access/DNS configured

If your VCSA has no internet access, consider downloading this offline update bundle instead:

If your VCSA has no internet access, consider downloading this offline update bundle instead: VMware vCenter Server Appliance Update Bundle

This was one snag that I noticed after the upgrade, but the fix is pretty simple.

Warning:

You need to do your homework before upgrading, if you're wondering why, read this. Do this VCSA 6.5 U1d upgrade in a test environment first! Before attempting, you should be sure to have a full backup, such as the simple native VCSA backup button seen at top-right. You can also use a 3rd party backup solution such as NAKIVO or Veeam. At a minimum, do a snapshot (or backup) of this VCSA VM before upgrading, then make sure everything works alright after the upgrade, then remove the snapshot within a few days, to avoid performance degradation.

If you're looking for how you get from 6.0.x to 6.5.x, that's more of a migration, and the right article for you is over here:

How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance to VCSA 6.5

Nov 20 2016

along the left edge of DCUI, click 'Update', then click on 'Check Updates', then 'Check Repository', then under Available Updates, click on 'Install Updates' then choose 'Install All Updates', accept the EULA, and when it's done downloading and upgrading, you'll be prompted to reboot the VCSA appliance

It looks like you have JavaScript disabled. Click here to view the video above. VCSA upgrade to 6.5.0b using VAMI. Upgrading to 6.5 U1d Build 7312210 is essentially the same.

How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1d [VCSA 6.5 U1d]

Takes about 2 to 5 minutes to upgrade, if you have fast internet, and your VCSA VM is located on an SSD based datastore such as the Samsung 960 EVO 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD I used for my home datacenter, featured in this video.

in your browser, go to your VCSA IP or Name:5480

login with root and your password

along the left edge of DCUI, click 'Update', then click on 'Check Updates', then 'Check Repository', then under Available Updates, click on 'Install Updates' then choose 'Install All Updates'

click on 'I accept' checkbox, then click on 'Install'

wait for a bit, on SSDs, a bit is less than 2 minutes

wow, you're done already

at left, click on 'Summary', then at right, click on 'Reboot'

login with root and your password

along the left edge of DCUI, click 'Update', optionally also clicking on 'Check Updates' then 'Check Repository', with the DCUI showing you confirmation that you're already done, since you're now at 6.5.0.13000 Build Number 7312210.

If you see status "Unknown" in VAMI after this upgrade, copy and paste chrome://settings/clearBrowserData into a new Chrome tab, turn on the Cached images and files checkbox, then click Clear Data.