Create an ESXi ISO that contains all Patches

VMware does only provide installable ISO files for updates (Bold entries of my ESXi Build List), not for patches. This post explains how you can quickly create an installable that contains all patches.

Download and Prerequisites

Download and Install PowerCLI
My VMware > Downloads > All Products > VMware vSphere > Drivers & Tools > Automation Tools and SDKs > vSphere PowerCLI 5.8 Release 1

Download the latest ESXi Patch
Open VMware Patches Portal
Select ESXi Version 5.5.0 and press Search

Download the latest patch. The latest patch is always the first in the list. All patches are cumulative, each patch bundle contains all the updates from prior patches.

Copy the latest patch to a temp directory (c:\tmp)

Build ESXi Image

Open VMware vSphere PowerCLI

Add the Software Depot

PowerCLI C:\> cd c:\tmp
PowerCLI C:\tmp> Add-EsxSoftwareDepot ESXi550-201412001.zip

Depot Url
---------
zip:C:\tmp\ESXi550-201412001.zip?index.xml

Determine the profile name (ESXi-5.5.0-20141204001-standard in that case)

PowerCLI C:\tmp> Get-EsxImageProfile |ft -AutoSize

Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level
---- ------ ------------- ----------------
ESXi-5.5.0-20141204001-standard VMware, Inc. 21.11.2014 00:14:06 PartnerSupported
ESXi-5.5.0-20141204001-no-tools VMware, Inc. 21.11.2014 00:14:06 PartnerSupported

Create the ISO File

PowerCLI C:\tmp> Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile ESXi-5.5.0-20141204001-standard -ExportToISO -FilePath ESXi-5.5.0-20141204001.iso

The ISO file can be used in the same way as original ISO files.

Command List

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot ESXi550-201412001.zip
Get-EsxImageProfile |ft -AutoSize
Export-EsxImageProfile –ImageProfile ESXi-5.5.0-20141204001-standard –ExportToISO –FilePath ESXi-5.5.0-20141204001.iso