Running the vmware-vimdump command interactively within the ESXi Shell or an SSH session fails with the error: Failed to format object: [Error 12] Cannot allocate memory

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Running the vmware-vimdump command fails when run interactively within the ESXi Shell or an SSH session
• You see the error:
  
  Failed to format object: [Error 12] Cannot allocate memory

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

When the vmware-vimdump command is run interactively, the output is sent to the console or SSH TTY. This command usually produces thousands of lines of output and is not intended for interactive use.

The vmware-vimdump command is usually run as part of vm-support log collection, during which the output is captured in a file.

Resolution

To use the vmware-vimdump command from the ESXi Shell or an SSH session, redirect the output to a file and review that file.

To use the vmware-vimdump command from the ESXi Shell or an SSH session:

1. Redirect the output of vmware-vimdump to a file. For example:
   
   vmware-vimdump > /tmp/vimdump
   
   
2. Run this command to review the contents of the file:
   
   less /tmp/vimdump
   
   Note: After reviewing the file, you may delete the temporary file using this command:
   
   rm /tmp/vimdump