Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESXi
search cancel

Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESXi

book

Article ID: 319493

calendar_today

Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Note: If you are directed to this article through a VMware Fusion support request, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware Fusion (1003894).

VMware Technical Support routinely requests the diagnostic information from you when a support request is addressed. Data collected in a host support bundle may be considered sensitive. Additionally, as of vSphere 6.5, support bundles can include encrypted information from an ESXi host. For more information on what information is included in the support bundles, see Data collected when gathering diagnostic information from vSphere products (2147388).

This article provides procedures for obtaining diagnostic information for an VMware ESXi host using the vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client. To collect the same information using the command line, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESX/ESXi using the vm-support command (1010705).

The diagnostic information obtained by using this article is uploaded to the Broadcom Support Portal. To uniquely identify your information, use the Support Request (SR) number you receive when you create the new SR.



Environment

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

Resolution

Obtaining Diagnostic Information for ESXi 6.x and 7.x hosts using the vCenter HTML5 vSphere Client


ESXi 6.x and 7.x host diagnostic information can be gathered using the vSphere Client (HTML5) connected to vCenter Server.

To gather diagnostic data using the VMware vSphere Client connected to a vCenter Server:

  1. Open the vSphere Client.
  2. Log in using an account with administrative privileges or with the Global.Diagnostics permission.
  3. Select Hosts and Clusters from the Home tab.
  4. Select an ESXi host or vCenter object in the inventory.
  5. If the selected object is an ESXi you will collect logs for that ESXi only, then:
    • Right click the ESXi object and select Export System Logs.
    • If required, select the Gather performance data option, and specify a duration and interval.
    • If required, select the Password for encrypted core dumps option, and specify a password. Remember to share this password with VMware support if needed.
    • Click in Export Logs button to start the download. If the button is grayed out, then check and then uncheck any option to unlock the button.
  6. If the selected object is a vCenter instance, you could collect logs for multiple ESXis at a time, then:
    • Right click the vCenter object and select Export System Logs.
    • Select All or only the desired ESXis to which you want to collect logs at the same time.
    • If required, select Include vCenter Server and vSphere UI logs.
    • Click Next.
    • Select the Specific logs to export. Normally, the default selection is enough.
    • If required, select the Gather performance data option, and specify a duration and interval.
    • If required, select the Password for encrypted core dumps option, and specify a password. Remember to share this password with VMware support if needed.
    • Click in Export Logs button to start the download.
  7. Upload the logs to the Broadcom Support Portal. For more information, see Uploading files to cases on the Broadcom Support Portal.

Obtaining Diagnostic Information for ESXi 6.x and 7.x hosts using the ESXi vSphere Client


ESXi 6.x and 7.x host diagnostic information can be gathered using the ESXi vSphere Client connected to an ESXi Server.

To gather diagnostic data using the VMware vSphere Client connected to an ESXi Server:

  1. Open the vSphere Client.
  2. Log in using an account with administrative privileges such as root.
  3. Select Actions from the Host tab.
  4. Select Generate support bundle.
  5. Enter the same administrative credentials again to start downloading the log bundle.
  6. Upload the logs to the Broadcom Support Portal. For more information, see Uploading files to cases on the Broadcom Support Portal.

Obtaining Diagnostic Information for ESXi 6.x hosts using the Flash vSphere Web Client


ESXi 6.x host diagnostic information can be gathered using the vSphere Web Client (Flash) connected to vCenter Server.

To gather diagnostic data using the VMware vSphere Web Client:

  1. Open the vSphere Web Client.
  2. Log in using an account with administrative privileges or with the Global.Diagnostics permission.
  3. Select Hosts and Clusters from the Home tab.
  4. Select an ESXi host or vCenter in the inventory.
  5. Click Actions.
  6. Select All vCenter Actions > Export System Logs...
  7. If a group of ESXi hosts are available in the selected context, select the host or group of hosts from the Source list.
  8. Click Next.
  9. In the System Logs pane, select the components for which the diagnostic information must be obtained. To collect diagnostic information for all the components, click Select All.
  10. If required, select the Gather performance data option, and specify a duration and interval.
  11. Click Generate Log Bundle.
  12. Click Download Log Bundle.
  13. Upload the logs to the SFTP/FTP site. For more information, see Uploading files to cases on the Broadcom Support Portal.

Additional Information

VMware Skyline Health Diagnostics for vSphere - FAQ

Additional Information

To simplify and expedite the log upload process, we recommend using the Log Assist feature of VMware Skyline, which (with your permission) automatically uploads log files. Skyline is available to all Production Support and Premier Services customers. To download Skyline, visit the Broadcom Downloads portal.

To collect vCenter Server and ESXi diagnostic support information in the same bundle, visit: Collecting diagnostic information for ESX/ESXi hosts and vCenter Server using the vSphere Web Client.

Powered by Wolken Software