tail -f /var/log/esxupdate.log
tail -f /var/log/vmkernel.log

scp user@buildserver:/path/to/vmxbundle_171r18.tgz /tmp/

curl -o /tmp/vmxbundle_171r18.tgz http://your-internal-repo.example.com/drivers/vmxbundle_171r18.tgz

Obtain vmxbundle_171r18.tgz from the official source (e.g., vendor portal, internal repo).

# Example using wget (if hosted on an HTTP server)
wget http://your-internal-repo.example.com/bundles/vmxbundle_171r18.tgz -O /tmp/vmxbundle_171r18.tgz

Or upload via SCP:

scp vmxbundle_171r18.tgz root@<esxi-ip>:/tmp/

reboot

tar -xzf vmxbundle_171r18.tgz

This may produce a .vib file (for ESXi) or an installer script.

Via CLI:

esxcli system maintenanceMode set --enable true

Via vCenter: Right-click host > Maintenance Mode > Enter.