VMware Update Fail: Missing Dependency

Jul 29, 2024

Here’s one we’ve run into a few times when taking over an older or neglected VMware environment.  On a recent client takeover, we were performing a multi-step upgrade to vSphere.  The goal was to get this new client from ESXo 5.5 (yeah, we know) to a supportable 7.0.

We got this one going from 6.0 to 6.5, then again, going to 7.0, but ran into a missing dependency with the “Dell Bootbank Open Manage.”  We’ll demonstrate how we resolved this while doing the upgrade, since this is what’s in our lab.

It’s common to see this with a RAID driver. You can safely remove these, especially if you are using a vendor specific image.

Before the upgrade begins, you’ll get this message: 

First you will need to find the dependency and remove it. Here’s how you do it:

 

  • Boot the server back up to whatever version you’re doing now
  • Enable the SSH service on the server and connect.
  • Search for the VIB in question using “esxcli software vib list”.
    • You can also pipe the command into something like  “esxcli software vib list | grep -i OpenManage” if you’re proficient with Linux.  An output will pop up like what is below.
  • Remove the missing dependency using esxcli
    • esxcli software vib remove -n “vib name”
  • Wait for the removal to finish, it can take a few minutes.  Once complete, you will get an output like the screenshot below.
  • After one final reboot, you can upgrade to your desired VMware version.

Did you find this useful? Check out some of our other blog posts for more handy information and tutorials.