VMware Update Manager

Simplify management of your virtual infrastructure by automating patches and updates with the new VMware Update Manager. This essential component of VMware Infrastructure makes it easy to manage tracking and patching of ESX Server Hosts, as well as select Windows and Linux virtual machines, giving you the ability to:

• Secure your data center against vulnerabilities
• Reduce risks associated with patching of virtual machines
• Reduce or eliminate downtime related to host patching

Update Manager Overview:

As an automated patch management solution for VMware ESX Server hosts and select Microsoft and Linux virtual machines, VMware Update Manager addresses one of the most significant pain points for every IT department: tracking patch levels and applying security/bug fixes.

Secure your Datacenter Against Vulnerabilities:

With VMware Update Manager, you can automate patch management and eliminate manual tracking and patching of VMware ESX Server hosts and virtual machines. VMware Update Manager scans the state of the physical VMware ESX Server hosts, as well as select guest operating systems, compares them with baselines set by the administrator and then applies updates and patches to enforce compliance to mandated patch standards. This capability dramatically simplifies the patch management process while helping you protect your data center against bugs and security vulnerabilities.

Reduce the Risks Associated with Patching of Virtual Machines:

VMware Update Manager reduces the risk associated with virtual machine patching failures by providing the option to snapshot virtual machines prior to patch application and allowing storage of the snapshots for a user-defined period so that administrators can rollback the virtual machine to a known state if application of the patch has unknown side-effects on the virtual machine’s workload.

VMware Update Manager securely patches offline virtual machines without exposing them to the network, reducing the risk of non-compliant virtual machines creating security issues in the production environment. Patching offline virtual machines is unique to virtual environments and enforces higher levels of compliance to patch standards than physical environments.

Eliminate Downtime Related to ESX Server Host Patching:

VMware Update Manager works in conjunction with VMware DRS to provide non-disruptive host patching when remediating a cluster. VMware Update Manager works with DRS to put hosts in maintenance mode one by one and migrates virtual machines live to other hosts while patching. On completion of host patching, the virtual machines are migrated back and VMware Update Manager then moves on to patch the next host in the cluster.

VMware Update Manager is available in VMware Infrastructure Foundation, Standard and Enterprise editions.

VMware Upgrade Manager Feature:

• Automated patching for VMware ESX Server hosts, select online and offline Microsoft Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, as well as for applications from third-party vendors such as Adobe and Mozilla.
• Automated scanning of servers in the data center for compliance to static or dynamic baselines.
• Automated remediation for VMware ESX Server and ESX Server 3i hosts, select Microsoft virtual machines and applications.
• Automated snapshots prior to patching to enable rollback in case of patching failures
• Secure offline virtual machine patching to reduce the risks associated with non-compliant systems joining the corporate network.
• Integration with VMware DRS for non-disruptive patching of VMware ESX Server hosts.

VMware Documentation
	Download the VMware Update Manager Data Sheet (PDF).