[Update] ESXi Community Packaging Tools updated to version 2.3

After almost two years I decided to touch my ESXi Community Packaging Tools again and give them an important update. These tools consists of two scripts that enable Community Developers to create software packages for ESXi 5.x/6.x in the VMware proprietary formats VIB (VMware Installation Bundle) and ZIP (VMware Offline Bundle).

Read on to learn what's new and to not miss an exciting sneak peak of what's to come next.

The new version 2.3 of the Tools implements full ESXi 6.0 compatibility, fixes some minor bugs and introduces an important new feature. Here are the changes in detail:

• Renamed "ESXi5 Community Packaging Tools" (ESXi5-CPT) to "ESXi Community Packaging Tools" (ESXi-CPT), added full ESXi 6.0 support
• Updated TGZ2VIB5.cmd to version 2.3:
• fixed acceptance level setting "certified" (falsely set to "vmware" before)
• added presets for "ESXi 6.0+ driver" and "VMware Tools" (tools-light.vib)
• added support for vibType "locker"
• Updated VIB2ZIP.cmd to version 1.3:
• Added ESXi 6.0 to compatibility setting choices

Those of you that have the necessary familiarity with the ESXi internals know that today there is only one VIB package that is of type "locker", and that is the tools-light VIB which includes the VMware Tools that are embedded into ESXi for easy Guest OS installation. Please note: I'm not referring to the VMware Tools for Nested ESXi here, but to the package that enables you to install VMware Tools into your VMs' Guest OS! That means: With tgz2vib5.cmd version 2.3 we are now able to create our own version of the ESXi embedded VMware Tools package!

In my next post I will explain why you want to do that and how. So stay tuned!

In the meantime I want to take this opportunity and give a big thanks to Alex Lopez who has created two Video Tutorials for my tools: One explaining the steps to create an Offline Bundle from a VIB file using vib2zip.cmd (the older version 2.2.1, but it doesn't make much of a difference) and - earlier - another one about creating a customized ESXi installation image using the ESXi-Customizer-PS script.
I appreciate this a lot, because I know that there are a lot of people who don't like reading long manuals before using a tool, but prefer watching a short video to get started quickly.

Now go, download the new version of the ESXi Community Packaging Tools, and give them a try. The first five people reporting bugs will get free lifetime upgrades!! (Just kidding ;-)

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This post first appeared on the VMware Front Experience Blog and was written by Andreas Peetz. Follow him on Twitter to keep up to date with what he posts.

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