Collecting diagnostic information for VMware NSX for vSphere 6.x
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Collecting diagnostic information for VMware NSX for vSphere 6.x

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Article ID: 318901

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Updated On:

Products

VMware NSX for vSphere

Issue/Introduction

This article provides information on obtaining diagnostic information for VMware NSX for vSphere.
 
VMware Technical Support routinely requests diagnostic information from you when a case is handled. This diagnostic information contains product specific logs for analysis.



Environment

VMware NSX for vSphere 6.2.x
VMware NSX for vSphere 6.0.x
VMware NSX for vSphere 6.4.x
VMware NSX for vSphere 6.1.x
VMware NSX for vSphere 6.3.x

Resolution

Collecting diagnostic information for VMware NSX for vSphere

To collect diagnostic information for VMware NSX for vSphere:

  1. Log in to the NSX Manager virtual appliance through a web browser.

    For example, http://NSX_Manager_IP
     
  2. In NSX Manager Virtual Appliance Management, click Download Tech Support Log.
  3. Click Download > Save.

    Note: The vsm.log file is rotated after 200MB. A maximum of 10 files are retained. The log is compressed when stored and has a .gz file extension.
     
  4. In case of NSX Manager appears to have hung and you cannot access the UI, you can try to collect the logs via API.

    To generate the logs:

    Method: POST
    URL: https://<nsxmgr_ip>/api/1.0/appliance-management/techsupportlogs/NSX

    To download the generated tech support bundle

    Method: GET
    URL: https://<nsxmgr-ip>/api/1.0/appliance-management/techsupportlogs/filename

    Where:
    nsxmgr_ip is the IP address of the NSX Manager
    filename is the name of the techsupport bundle generated in post method.
  5. To collect NSX Support bundle using CLI, follow steps from KB 339176

 

Using the export host-tech-support Central CLI command

Starting with NSX 6.2.3, the export host-tech-support Central CLI command is introduced, allowing you to export an ESXi host Support bundle to a specified server. This command collects NSX related outputs and files on specified hosts, such as:

  • vmkernel and vsfwd log files
  • list of filters
  • list of dfw rules
  • list of containers
  • spoofguard details
  • host related information
  • ipdiscovery related info
  • rmq command outputs
  • security group and services profile and instance details
  • esxcli related outputs

To export an ESXi support bundle to a specified server:

  1. Log in to the NSX Manager using the admin credentials.
  2. Run this command:

    export host-tech-support host-id scp uid@ip:/path

    Notes:
    • This command generates the NSX tech-support bundle and copies it to a specified server.
    • This removes any temporary files on the NSX Manager.
    • Run the show cluster all command to get host-id information.

    ESXi Host Command Details

    nsx-support
     
    • Usage: /bin/nsx-support {-h|start|getstatus|cleanup} [datastore_name]
    • Command outputs with different command arguments
    • nsx-support start datastore_name
    • If the command arguments are normal, it returns “In progress”
    • If nsx-support start datastore_name is not proper, such as nsx-support start abc.

      In the output, you see:

      Path does not exist: /vmfs/volumes/abc. Please specify output datastore name.

    nsx-support getstatus
     
    • If there is an available log bundle, it returns the absolute directory of the bundle in the datastore. For example, /vmfs/volumes/”{datastoreName}"/xxxxxxxx.eng.vmware.com-2015-11-17--19.35.tgz.
    • Otherwise, it returns No NSX tech support bundle found.

    nsx-support delete
     
    • It returns Done.

 


Collecting NSX Controller logs
 
To collect NSX Controller logs:
  1. Log in to vCenter Sever using the vSphere Web Client through a web browser.
  2. Click Networking and Security.
  3. Click Installation on the left-hand pane.
  4. Under the Manage tab, select the Controller you want to download logs from.
  5. Click Download Tech support logs.

To collect NSX Controller logs using the Command Line Interface (CLI):

  1. Log in to the NSX Controller for which you want to gather logs from either the console or through SSH.
  2. Run this command:

    save status-report filename

    Note: Running this command show file shows the filename. Log files are rotated after 100MB. A maximum of 5 files are retained. Files are compressed when stored.
     
  3. To transfer the created log file to a remote host, run this command: copy file filename root@remote_host:/tmp
  4. Upload the log file to Broadcom Support. 

To collect Edge and Distributed Logical Router (DLR) logs:

  1. Log in to vCenter Sever using the vSphere Web Client through a web browser.
  2. Click Networking and Security icon.
  3. Click Edges on the left hand pane.
  4. On the right pane, select the Edge you want to download logs from.
  5. Click Actions and select Download Tech support logs.

Note: For the NSX Edge, all logs are stored in /var/log/messages, rotated after 2MB. A maximum of 5 files are retained. VMware recommends to use syslog for long term retention of the logs as all NSX components support it. As the disk on the appliances, such as NSX Manager, NSX Controller, NSX Edge are limited by the virtual machine sizing, the log rotation policy is primarily based on size (and not based on time.).

For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware NSX Edge (343353).

Additional Information

To simplify and expedite the log upload process, is is recommended to use the Log Assist feature of VMware Skyline, which (with permission) automatically uploads log files. Skyline is available to all Production Support and Premier Services customers. 

To collect Topology information, Broadcom requests customers to provide a clear diagram containing hostnames and IP addresses, which shows the network topology including NSX components such as Logical Switches, LDR and ESG.

After collecting the diagnostic information, upload it to Broadcom Technical Support.

To uniquely identify the information, use the Support Request (SR) number received when opening the Support Request.
 

Uploading files to cases on the Broadcom Support Portal

Collecting diagnostic information for VMware vCenter Server 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, 7.x and 8.x

Collecting diagnostic information for VMware NSX Edge

Troubleshooting SSL VPN-Plus for VMware NSX for vSphere 6.x

Troubleshooting the NSX Manager Web Client Plug-In in NSX for vSphere 6.x

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