Planning for VMtools after vSphere 5.5 U3b and 6.0 U1b updates

In September 2015, VMware announced the separation of the VMtools development and release cycles from vSphere releases.

Recently there were two releases, 5.5 U3b & 6.0 U1b which included VMtools v10.0, but a newer version, 10.0.5, is out which does contain some fixes.

As you plan your upgrades to either 5.5 U3b or 6.0 U1b and are looking to upgrade the VMtools package, I would take a close look at v10.0.5 and make it your standard version.

NOTE: This does not apply to Horizon View environments. As noted in a previous post, VMtools v10 are currently not supported on View environments.

Below is a link to the VMtools 10.0.5 download page where to find the latest version of the VMtools: https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=VMTOOLS1005&productId=491 

Here are links to a couple blog posts related to the separation of release cycles for VMtools from vSphere.

VMware Tools 10.0.0 Released

https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2015/09/vmware-tools-10-0-0-released.html

VMware Tools Lifecycle: Why Tools Can Drive You Crazy (and How to Avoid it!)

https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2015/09/vmware-tools-lifecycle-why-tools-can-drive-you-crazy-and-how-to-avoid-it.html