Generated Core dump file gets deleted after experiencing the purple diagnostic screen on the ESXi host after 11 days

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
Core dump file, located at /var/core directory, gets deleted after experiencing the purple diagnostic screen on the ESXi host after 11 days.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5

Cause

This issue occurs because tmpwatch.py script, located at /sbin, removes files older than X hours/days and listed as a cronjob in /var/spool/cron/crontabs that is shipped with VMware vSphere ESXi.

Resolution

This is an expected behavior and is by design.

Ensure that a diagnostic information is gathered from the ESX or ESXi host after it experiences a purple diagnostic screen.

Additional Information

Interpreting an ESX/ESXi host purple diagnostic screen