If you’re remotely logging in to a server to apply the latest patch but can’t remember whether you’re running 4, 4.1, 5.0 or 5.1 – and it can certainly happen when you’re managing quite a few of them remotely – there is a handy command to see which version and build number you’re actually using. After you’ve SSH’d in, run:
vmware -v
This will display output along the lines of the following:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 build-469512
You can also use:
vmware -l
which doesn’t display the build number:
VMware ESXi 5.0.0 GA
Straightforward but very handy if you haven’t got the proper notes with you.