You can configure either Apache or Internet Information Services (IIS) as a third-party patch source for VMware vCenter Update Manager.

To create a third-party patch source for use by the Update Manager server, perform the following steps:

1. Install and set up the Web server software on a machine that the Update Manager server can access.
   For information about setting up an IIS Web server, see the Microsoft IIS Web site. For information about setting up an Apache Web server, see the Apache HTTP Server Project Web site.
2. Create a folder for the patch data under the document root of the Web server, and copy the patches in the folder.
   For example, C:\inetpub\patch_data, or C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\htdocs\patch_data.
3. For IIS only, add .vib, .sig, and .xml as allowed MIME types for the Web server.
   For Apache, you can use the default settings and continue with step 6 from the procedure.
   1. Click Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
   2. In the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager window, select IIS Manager Information > computer_name (local computer) > Web Sites > Default Web Site.
   3. Right-click the the patch data folder and select Properties.
   4. Click HTTP Headers > MIME Types.
   5. Click New to add the MIME Types.
   6. In the Extension text field, enter .vib, .sig, and .xml. Enter one file extension for each MIME type entry.
   7. In the MIME Type field, enter application/octet-stream for .vib and .sig. For .xml, enter text/xml in the MIME Type field.
   8. Save the changes.
4. For IIS only, set appropriate permission for the patch data folder.
   For Apache, you can use the default settings and continue with step 6 from the procedure.
   1. In the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager window, right-click the patch data folder and select Permissions.
   2. In the Advanced Security Settings dialog box, select the Allow inheritable permissions from the parent to propagate to this object and all child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here and Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects check boxes.
5. For IIS only, restart the IIS Admin Service in the Services Control Manager.
6. Optionally, verify that you can access the patch data directory in a Web browser.
7. Using the vSphere Client, connect to a vCenter Server system with which Update Manager is registered and select Home > Solutions and Applications > Update Manager in the navigation bar.
8. Click the Configuration tab in the Update Manager Administration view.
9. Under Patch Download Settings, click Add Patch Source.
10. Enter the URL of the patch data folder on the Web server and, optionally, a description for the new patch source.
    For example, http://ip_address_or_hostname/patch_data/index.xml
11. Click Validate URL to validate that Update Manager can access the patch source.
12. Click OK.

This useful tip was taken from The VMware Guy