Extracting the log file after an ESX or ESXi host fails with a purple screen error

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to extract a log from a vmkernel-zdump file after a purple diagnostic screen error. This log contains similar information to that seen on the purple diagnostic screen and can be used in further troubleshooting.

This article assumes that a vmkernel-zdump file is available. If an ESX or ESXi host has failed with a purple diagnostic screen, but no vmkernel-zdump file is available, see:

• Collecting diagnostic information from an ESX host that experiences a purple screen (1004128)
• Configuring an ESXi/ESX host to capture a VMkernel coredump from a purple diagnostic screen (1000328)
• Extracting a core dump file from the VMKCore diagnostic partition following a purple diagnostic screen error (1002769)

Note: For generating a VMkernel zdump manually from a dump file in ESXi 5.5, see Generating a VMkernel zdump manually from a dump file in ESXi 5.5 (2081902).

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable

Resolution

To resolve this issue, extract the log file from a vmkernel-zdump file using a command line utility on the ESX or ESXi host. This utility differs for different versions of ESX or ESXi.

• For ESX 3.x use the vmkdump utility:
  
  # vmkdump -l vmkernel-zdump-filename

• For ESXi 3.5, ESXi/ESX 4.x and ESXi 5.x, use the esxcfg-dumppart utility:
  
  # esxcfg-dumppart -L vmkernel-zdump-filename

To extract the log file from a vmkernel-zdump file:

1. Find the vmkernel-zdump file in the /root/ or /var/core/ directory:
   
   # ls /root/vmkernel* /var/core/vmkernel*
/var/core/vmkernel-zdump-073108.09.16.1
    
2. Use the vmkdump or esxcfg-dumppart utility to extract the log. For example:
   
   # vmkdump -l /var/core/vmkernel-zdump-073108.09.16.1
created file vmkernel-log.1

# esxcfg-dumppart -L /var/core/vmkernel-zdump-073108.09.16.1
created file vmkernel-log.1
    
3. The vmkernel-log.1 created above is a file in plain text that you can read with a text editor, though may start with null characters. Focus on the end of the log, which is similar to:
   
   VMware ESX Server [Releasebuild-98103]
PCPU 1 locked up. Failed to ack TLB invalidate.
frame=0x3a37d98 ip=0x625e94 cr2=0x0 cr3=0x40c66000 cr4=0x16c
es=0xffffffff ds=0xffffffff fs=0xffffffff gs=0xffffffff
eax=0xffffffff ebx=0xffffffff ecx=0xffffffff edx=0xffffffff
...
    
4. For troubleshooting the cause of the purple diagnostic screen, see Interpreting an ESX host purple diagnostic screen (1004250).

Note: The file name created for the log in this example is vmkernel-log.1. If another file with the same name already exists, the new file is created with the number suffix incremented.

Additional Information

If you require further assistance in diagnosing a purple diagnostic screen error:

• Review the main article in this series, Interpreting an ESX host purple diagnostic screen (1004250).
• Gather diagnostic information from the VMware ESX host. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products (1008524).
• Open a support request. For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request.

Extracting a core dump file from the diagnostic partition following a purple diagnostic screen error
ESX ホストまたは ESXi ホストに障害が発生して紫色の画面でエラーが表示された後のログ ファイルの抽出
Generating a VMkernel zdump manually from a dump file in ESXi host
VMware 製品の診断情報の収集
在 ESX 或 ESXi 主机失败并出现紫色屏幕错误后提取日志文件
ESXi 5.5.x ホストで障害が発生し、紫色の診断画面に次のエラーが表示される：Res3GetSpecificCluster@esx