Updating configuration setting of ESXi service esxtokend with default values in vSphere ESXi 8.0 GA and later

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Issue/Introduction

 Some of the esxtokend properties' default values got updated in the ESXi 8.0 GA release. In certain cases, the current configuration of the esxtokend service may not reflect new system-defined default values on the host upgraded to ESXi 8.0 GA and later versions.

If you prefer to use the system-defined default values for the upgraded ESXi version, please follow the resolution provided below to set the current configuration. 

These are the esxtokend properties that are identified to have the default values updated in ESXi 8.0 GA.

• • • /log/max_file_num
    • /log/max_file_size

          

Default values across various ESXi versions:

	7.x	8.0 GA	8.0U1	8.0U2	8.0U3	9.0
/log/max_file_num	8	12	12	12	12	12
/log/max_file_size	524288	10485760	10485760	10485760	10485760	10485760

           The two properties take effect only when the logging is configured not to use syslog and the application is using its file logging.

            Note: To get all the default values, run the command

                    $ configstorecli config default get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0 GA and later

Cause

This issue occurs during the ESXi upgrade process, when certain default values of esxtokend are either added, removed, or updated in the upgraded version, and the upgrade does not restore the new default values. This results in certain properties containing outdated default values in the current esxtokend configuration.

Resolution

Follow the steps mentioned if you want to use the default values for the esxtokend configuration.

Steps to restore the default settings for the esxtokend service: 

           To set default values in ESXi Version 8.0 GA

                      a. Get the current configuration and check the /log/max_file_num and  /log/max_file_size value

                             $ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend

                      b. If the "/log/max_file_num" value is 8 and/or "/log/max_file_size" value is 524288, then perform the following steps to use the default value.

           1. Create a temporary JSON file:

           $ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -outfile esxtokend.json

          2. Create a backup of the file containing the current configuration:
         $ cp esxtokend.json esxtokend.json.bak

          3. Edit the exported file:

            $ vi esxtokend.json

          4. Find the /log/max_file_num property and change its value to contain the new value:

• • • •  Property: "/log/max_file_num". Existing value: 8, New Value: 12
      •  Property: "/log/max_file_size". Existing value: 524288, New Value: 10485760

              /log setting should look like:

            log": {

                     ----

           "max_file_num": 12, 

                     "max_file_size": 10485760,

                     ----

         }

       5. Apply the changed configuration file to the database:

              $ configstorecli config current set -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -infile esxtokend.json

       6. Restart esxtokend service:

    $ /etc/init.d/esxTokenCPS restart

       7. Verify the new values set

    $ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend

           To set default values in ESXi Version 8.0 Update 1 and 8.0 Update 2

                     a. Get the /log/max_file_num and  /log/max_file_size current configuration value

                             $ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_num

                             $ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_size

                      b. If the "/log/max_file_num" value is 8 and/or "/log/max_file_size" value is 524288, then perform the below steps to use the default value.

          1. Set the following properties

$ configstorecli config current set -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_num -v 12

$ configstorecli config current set -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_size -v 10485760

          2. Restart esxtokend service:

$ /etc/init.d/esxTokenCPS restart

          3. Verify the values set:

$ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_num

    12

          $ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_size

    10485760

          To set default values in ESXi Version 8.0 Update 3 and later

         1. Get the /log/max_file_num property from the current configuration and set it to the default value

$ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_num

                            If the value returned is 8, then run the below command to fall back to default value.

                     $ configstorecli config current delete -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_num

         2. Get the /log/max_file_size property from current configuration and set it to default value

$ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_size

              If the value returned is 524288, then run the below command to fallback to default value.

$ configstorecli config current delete -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend -p /log/max_file_num

          3. Restart esxtokend service:

$ /etc/init.d/esxTokenCPS restart

          4. Get the current configuration and verify  /log/max_file_size and /log/max_file_num are removed.

$ configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k esx_tokend