In some environments, the vCenter Server and vSphere Update Manager server might not have direct access to the Internet to download patches directly from vmware.com. For these use cases, the architecture could include the use of the vSphere Update Manager Download Service (UMDS), in order to download patches and updates first to a staging location on a perimeter network.

To implement the UMDS, first create the shared repository using UMDS and host it on a web server or a local disk. The UMDS must be running a version compatible with vSphere Update Manager, but cannot co-exist on the same server as vSphere Update Manager. For further details, see VMware vSphere Update Manager Documentation at https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vum_pubs.html.

The following figure provides a logical overview of vSphere Update Manager Download Service and how this component meets specific security design requirements. The UMDS is a shared repository that can be accessed by multiple vSphere Update Manager instances.