Collecting diagnostic information for VMware Infrastructure SDK

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

VMware Technical Support routinely requests diagnostic information from you when a support request is handled. This diagnostic information contains product-specific logs and configuration files from the host on which the product is run. The information is gathered using a specific script or tool for each product.

This article provides procedures for obtaining diagnostic information for VMware vSphere SDKs.

The diagnostic information collected can then be uploaded to VMware Technical Support. To uniquely identify your information, use the case number you received when you opened your issue.

For more information, see:

Environment

VMware Infrastructure SDK 1.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware Infrastructure SDK 2.0.x
VMware Infrastructure SDK version 2.5.
vSphere Web Services SDK 4.0 and later.
vSphere PowerCLI 4.0 and later.
VMware Infrastructure Perl Toolkit version 1.0 or later.
vSphere SDK for Perl 4.0 and later.
vSphere vCLI 4.0 and later.
CIM SDK SMASH and SMI-S and Guest SDK

Resolution

If you have critical production-related issues, call the VMware support hotline.
All nonproduction support requests are handled through email. Allow up to 48 hours for a response. Submit one support request per issue.
For additional information, see the VMware SDK Support Policy: VMware By Broadcom SDK or API Developer Support - Supported Product Matrix

Ensure that the error was captured in the log files.
Note the approximate time of the error.
Collect the required diagnostic files and information.

Three sets of data are needed to properly diagnose your VMware Infrastructure SDK issue:
- SDK related information: Complete the SDK support form. See 1001457_VMware_SDK_Support_Form.zip, attached to this article.
- ESX Server related information: Collect ESX Server files. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products
- VirtualCenter related information: Collect the VirtualCenter files. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESXi using vSphere Client
Upload the diagnostic files to the VMware SFTP/FTP site. For more information, see Uploading files to cases on the Broadcom Support Portal

All the SDK-related information needed to evaluate your support request and help diagnose your problem is listed in the VMware SDK Support Form.

Download and save the VMware SDK Support Form. See 1001457_VMware_SDK_Support_Form.zip, attached to this article.
Complete the form, providing as much detail about your computing environment as possible. Attach a complete code example that demonstrates the problem, with exact errors and screenshots if possible.
Upload the completed form with your support request.

Collecting ESX Server Related Data

For information about obtaining diagnostic information for ESX Server, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESXi using vSphere Client

Collecting VirtualCenter Related Data

For information about obtaining diagnostic information for VirtualCenter, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESXi using vSphere Client

Set the logging option to Trivial to ensure that all information is collected and includes time stamps.
Send the script-collected files with your support request.

Enhancing the Logs that are Captured

Some issues require that you submit log files by using an enhanced capture level.

Set logs to Trivial for hostd when collecting files in ESX Server:
1. On each host, open the hostd configuration file for editing:
  
  /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml
2. Set the <level> tag to trivia mode. For example:
  
  <log> <level>trivia</level> </log>
3. Restart management services with the first command on ESX, or the second command on ESXi:
  
  service mgmt-vmware restart /sbin/services.sh restart
Set logs to Trivial for vpxa when collecting files in ESX Server:
1. On each host, open the vpxa configuration file for editing.
  
  Note: This file is /etc/opt/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg, or /etc/vmware/vpxa.cfg before ESX 3.5.
2. Set the <level> tag to trivia mode. For example:
  
  <log> <level>trivia</level> </log>
3. Restart the vpxa management agent with the first command on ESX, or the second command on ESXi:
  
  service vmware-vpxa restart /sbin/services.sh restart
Set logs to Trivial when collecting files in VirtualCenter. For Virtual Center, you can use the VI Client to configure the amount of detail that VirtualCenter collects in log files:
1. Connect the VI Client to the VirtualCenter Server. Go to Administration > Server Settings and select Logging Options.
2. Configure the level of detail for log files. From the VirtualCenter Logging list, choose Trivia (Extended verbose) and click OK.
Set all the clocks in the systems (VI Client, VirtualCenter, ESX Server, and so on), to the same time. If you cannot synchronize all of the system clocks, note any difference between the clocks of the different systems.
Reproduce the error.
Record the time the error occurs.
Capture the logs.

Debugging Tips

These are some best practices for debugging code when using VMware Infrastructure APIs:

Generate complete logs with as much detail as possible including tim stamps. Provide case samples of successful completions and failures with time stamps.
Submit code samples that are as self-contained as possible and reproduce the problems.
Use the VMware Infrastructure Perl Toolkit to reproduce problems found when you use VM Perl.

Attachments

1001487_VMware_SDK_Support_Form.zip get_app