1) Download ESXi patch from VMware site:
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch#search
2) Put your ESXi patch in your datastore (ex: datastore02)
3) SSH to ESXi and list profiles in our patch
~ # esxcli software sources profile list -d=[datastore02]/00-isos/ESXi550-201312001.zip Name               Vendor    Acceptance Level -------------------------------- ------------ ---------------- ESXi-5.5.0-20131204001-no-tools  VMware, Inc. PartnerSupported ESXi-5.5.0-20131204001-standard  VMware, Inc. PartnerSupported ESXi-5.5.0-20131201001s-standard VMware, Inc. PartnerSupported ESXi-5.5.0-20131201001s-no-tools VMware, Inc. PartnerSupported
4) Install your new profile
~ # esxcli software profile install -d=[datastore02]/00-isos/ESXi550-201312001.zip -p "ESXi-5.5.0-20131204001-standard" --ok-to-remove
5) Set your acceptance level to CommunitySupported
~ # esxcli software acceptance set --level=CommunitySupported
6) Install custom vib driver for our Intel NIC 82579V
~ # esxcli software vib install -v http://files.v-front.de/net-e1001e-1.0.0.x86_64.vib Installation Result Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective. Reboot Required: true VIBs Installed: Chilly_bootbank_net-e1001e_1.0.0 VIBs Removed: VIBs Skipped:
7) Reboot and cross your fingers
~ # reboot
8) Check if our build number has been upgraded!
~ # uname -a VMkernel xxxx 5.5.0 #1 SMP Release build-1331820 Sep 18 2013 23:08:31 x86_64 GNU/Linux
~ # uname -a VMkernel xxxx 5.5.0 #1 SMP Release build-1474528 Dec 11 2013 03:54:09 x86_64 GNU/Linux