Get-VMHostVersion and Get-VMHostLatestVersion PowerShell Function

The Get-VMHostVersion and Get-VMHostLatestVersion PowerShell functions are aimed at helping you to identify the version at which your ESXi is currently running, and whether updates are available. Both are using a JSON based ESXi Build database which is also the backend for the ESXi Build Number History provided by virten.net.

The function is part of my Virten.net.VimAutomation module, which is a set of PowerShell function built for managing, troubleshooting and automating VMware based platforms. The module can be easily obtained from the PowerShell Gallery and is available on GitHub.

Install Virten.net.VimAutomation from PowerShell Gallery
The Virten.net PowerCLI Automation Module is available in the PowerShell Gallery.
PS> Install-Module -Name Virten.net.VimAutomation

Install Virten.net.VimAutomation from GitHub (Manual Installation)
The Virten.net PowerCLI Automation Module is also available on GitHub. To manually install this module, copy the Virten.net.VimAutomation folder (Download) into your local module directory. There are various module directories, they can be identified with the $env:PSModulePath environment variable. Activate the module with PS> Import-Module Virten.net.VimAutomation -Force -Verbose.

Get-VMHostVersion

The Get-VMHostVersion function returns more details about the installed ESXi versions. Depending on the Client, you can only see the ESXi Minor Release and a Build number. With this function, you can now determine when the installed version has been released and on which update release the ESXi is running, which might be important for HCL checks.

The function is intended to either take VMHosts through a pipeline (returned by Get-VMHost) or to run without parameters. If no parameter is given, it will return all ESXi Hosts connected to the vCenter Server.

Returned object

Examples
Get detailed ESXi version information from all ESXi hosts connected to the vCenter Server:

PS> Get-VMHostVersion |ft -AutoSize

VMHost           Build   Version           ReleaseDate MinorRelease UpdateRelease
------           -----   -------           ----------- ------------ -------------
esx5.virten.lab  4564106 ESXi 6.5 GA       2016-11-15  ESXi 6.5     ESXi 6.5     
esx4.virten.lab  4887370 ESXi 6.5a         2017-02-02  ESXi 6.5     ESXi 6.5     
esx3.virten.lab  5969303 ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27  ESXi 6.5     ESXi 6.5 U1  
vesx3.virten.lab 5969303 ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27  ESXi 6.5     ESXi 6.5 U1  
vesx2.virten.lab 5969303 ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27  ESXi 6.5     ESXi 6.5 U1  
vesx1.virten.lab 5969303 ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27  ESXi 6.5     ESXi 6.5 U1

Pipe VMHost objects to the function to get the version from a specific Cluster:

PS> Get-Cluster NUCluster |Get-VMHost |Get-VMHostVersion


VMHost        : esx5.virten.lab
Build         : 4564106
Version       : ESXi 6.5 GA
ReleaseDate   : 2016-11-15
MinorRelease  : ESXi 6.5
UpdateRelease : ESXi 6.5

VMHost        : esx4.virten.lab
Build         : 4887370
Version       : ESXi 6.5a
ReleaseDate   : 2017-02-02
MinorRelease  : ESXi 6.5
UpdateRelease : ESXi 6.5

VMHost        : esx3.virten.lab
Build         : 5969303
Version       : ESXi 6.5 Update 1
ReleaseDate   : 2017-07-27
MinorRelease  : ESXi 6.5
UpdateRelease : ESXi 6.5 U1

Get-VMHostLatestVersion

The Get-VMHostLatestVersion function checks whether updates are available. The currently installed and latest version in the corresponding minor release is returned.

• No Minor Releases updates (eg. 5.5 to 6.0) are returned as the latest version.
• Updates (eg. 6.0 U1 to 6.0 U2) are returned as the latest version.
• Patches (eg. 6.0 U1 to 6.0 U1b) are returned as the latest version.

Returned object

Examples
Check a specific ESXi host for Updates. In this case, the ESXi is running on build 4564106 (GA) while an update to build 5969303 (Update 1) is available

PS> Get-VMHost esx5.virten.lab |Get-VMHostLatestVersion


VMHost             : esx5.virten.lab
currentBuild       : 4564106
currentVersion     : ESXi 6.5 GA
currentReleaseDate : 2016-11-15
updateAvailable    : True
latestBuild        : 5969303
latestVersion      : ESXi 6.5 Update 1
latestReleaseDate  : 2017-07-27

When used without parameters or pipes, the function returns all ESXi hosts connected to the vCenter Server.

PS> Get-VMHostLatestVersion |ft -AutoSize

VMHost           currentBuild currentVersion    currentReleaseDate updateAvailable latestBuild latestVersion     latestReleaseDate
------           ------------ --------------    ------------------ --------------- ----------- -------------     -----------------
esx5.virten.lab  4564106      ESXi 6.5 GA       2016-11-15                    True 5969303     ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27       
esx4.virten.lab  4887370      ESXi 6.5a         2017-02-02                    True 5969303     ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27       
esx3.virten.lab  5969303      ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27                   False 5969303     ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27       
vesx3.virten.lab 5969303      ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27                   False 5969303     ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27       
vesx2.virten.lab 5969303      ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27                   False 5969303     ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27       
vesx1.virten.lab 5969303      ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27                   False 5969303     ESXi 6.5 Update 1 2017-07-27

The function also has a -verbose flag, which returns additional information like the Image Profile required to update to the latest version:

PS> Get-VMHostLatestVersion -Verbose 
VERBOSE: ESXi Host esx5.virten.lab (Build: 4564106): Update to ESXi 6.5 Update 1 available! (Image Profile: ESXi-6.5.0-20170702001-standard)
VERBOSE: ESXi Host esx4.virten.lab (Build: 4887370): Update to ESXi 6.5 Update 1 available! (Image Profile: ESXi-6.5.0-20170702001-standard)
VERBOSE: ESXi Host esx3.virten.lab (Build: 5969303): running on latest version...
VERBOSE: ESXi Host vesx3.virten.lab (Build: 5969303): running on latest version...
VERBOSE: ESXi Host vesx2.virten.lab (Build: 5969303): running on latest version...
VERBOSE: ESXi Host vesx1.virten.lab (Build: 5969303): running on latest version...
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