VMware just released vSphere Update 3 that includes mainly security fixes and enhancements.

So what’s new with ESXi 6.5 U3

The ESXi 6.5 Update 3 release includes the following list of new features.

• The ixgben driver adds queue pairing to optimize CPU efficiency.
• With ESXi 6.5 Update 3 you can track license usage, refresh switch topology and see improvements in the search and Developer Center in the vSphere Client.
• ESXi 6.5 Update 3 provides legacy support for AMD Zen 2 servers.
• Multiple driver updates: ESXi 6.5 Update 3 provides updates to the lsi-msgpt2, lsi-msgpt35, lsi-mr3, lpfc/brcmfcoe, qlnativefc, smartpqi, nvme, nenic, ixgben, i40en and bnxtnet drivers.
• ESXi 6.5 Update 3 provides support for Windows Server Failover Clustering and Windows Server 2019.
• ESXi 6.5 Update 3 adds the com.vmware.etherswitch.ipfixbehavior property to distributed virtual switches to enable you to choose how to track your inbound and outbound traffic, and utilization. With a value of 1, the com.vmware.etherswitch.ipfixbehavior property enables sampling in both ingress and egress directions. With a value of 0, you enable sampling in egress direction only, which is also the default setting.

To see the full release note it’s here : https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/rn/vsphere-esxi-65u3-release-notes.html

And what’s up with vCenter 6.5 U3

The vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3 release includes the following list of new features.

• With vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3, events related to adding, removing, or modifying user roles display the user that initiates the changes.
• vSphere Auditing Improvements: vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3 improves VMware vCenter Single Sign-On auditing by adding events for the following operations: user management, login, group creation, identity source, and policy updates. The new feature is available only for vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller and not for vCenter Server for Windows or vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services Controller. Supported identity sources are vsphere.local, Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA), and Active Directory over LDAP.
• External database support: vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3 adds support to Microsoft SQL Server 2014 SP3.
• For Photon OS updates, see VMware vCenter Server Appliance Photon OS Security Patches.

The full release note for vCenter is available here : https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/rn/vsphere-vcenter-server-65u3-release-notes.html

But guys be careful! According to the VMware compatibility matrix, it is not possible yet to upgrade from vSphere 6.5 U3 to 6.7. So if you plan to do so, avoid this update.

Conclusion

As you can see VMware continues to improve and provide fixes to vSphere 6.5. This is a good thing as I’m sure that some customers might still be stuck or are planning to migrate to that version. Well this update might be the last for vSphere 6.5 as VMware is mainly focusing on vSphere 6.7 and the upcoming 7.x that should be announced soon.