VCP-DCV vSphere Architecture, Products and Solutions Practice Question
A company has a vSphere cluster of eight ESXi hosts managed by a single vCenter Server. They need to apply a critical security patch to the ESXi hosts with minimal downtime. Which method should the administrator use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to think manual vMotion and CLI patching (Option B) is acceptable, but they overlook that Update Manager provides automated, cluster-aware patching with minimal downtime, which is the standard best practice in vSphere environments.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Put each host in maintenance mode and apply the patch via Update Manager.
VSphere Update Manager (VUM) automates the patching process by placing each host into maintenance mode, migrating VMs via vMotion to other hosts, applying the patch, and then bringing the host back online—all with minimal downtime. This is the recommended method for applying critical security patches to multiple ESXi hosts in a cluster managed by a single vCenter Server.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use vMotion to migrate all VMs to one host, apply patch, then move back.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Migrating all VMs to a single host would overload it.
- ✗
Use vSphere vMotion to migrate VMs, then apply patch using CLI on each host.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: CLI patching is not efficient or automated.
- ✓
Put each host in maintenance mode and apply the patch via Update Manager.
Why this is correct
Correct: Update Manager automates patching with minimal downtime.
- ✗
Schedule a host reboot during maintenance window and apply patch via ISO boot.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: This causes full downtime and is not standard.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VCP-DCV practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VCP-DCV exam.