Increasing the Syslog.global.defaultSize value on ESXi Host fails with "Invalid configuration" or "Invalid input"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to modify the Syslog.global.defaultSize value on ESXi host to a higher value (e.g., 4000000 KB), an error is encountered with the message "Invalid configuration" or "Invalid input"

Cause

The error is due to the maximum limit enforced by ESXi hosts on the Syslog.global.defaultSize configuration setting. By design, ESXi hosts enforce a maximum log file size of 10,240 KB for the syslog setting. This ensure system stability and prevents uncontrolled log file growth.

Resolution

• The Syslog.global.defaultSize value should be set to a maximum of 10240 KB.
• Additionally, if larger log file retention is required, it is recommended to configure dedicated syslog servers for centralized log management. 

Additional Information

The configuration files referenced in article are applicable to only have the hostd, vpxa and vpxd logging levels and is not be relevant to the overall logs being generated on the ESXi host or vCenter.

For the Syslog.global.defaultRotate setting, note that the maximum number of log files to retain locally on the ESXi host is 100.