Knowledge Base

These instructions apply to VMware Infrastructure VDDK version 1.x or later.

Creating a VDDK Support Request

Here is a summary of the steps to file a VDDK Support Request:

1. Ensure that the error was captured in the log files.
2. Note the approximate time of the error.
3. Collect the required diagnostic files and information.
   
   Three sets of data are needed to properly diagnose your VMware Infrastructure VDDK issue:
   
   
   • VDDK related information – Complete the VDDK support form. See 1006186_VMware_VDDK_Support_Form.zip, attached to this article.
   • ESX related information – Collect ESX files. See Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products (1008524).
   • VirtualCenter/vCenter Server related information – Collect the vCenter Server files. See Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products (1008524).
     
     
4. Create and submit a Support Request. For more information, see  Filing a Support Request in My VMware (2006985) 
5. Submit the Support Request with its associated information.
6. FTP the diagnostic files to VMware.

Collecting VDDK related data

All the VDDK related information needed to evaluate your Support Request and to help diagnose your problem is listed in the VMware VDDK Support Form.

1. Download and save the VMware VDDK Support Form. See 1006186_VMware_VDDK_Support_Form.zip, attached to this article.
2. Complete the form, providing as much detail about your computing environment as possible. Include any log files and code snippets you feel might be helpful.
   
   Note: To collect VDDK logs from a Windows proxy server, collect the latest vixdisklib log files:
   
   
   • Windows XP, Server 2003: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp\vmware-<username>\
   • Windows Vista, 7, Server 2008: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\2\vmware-<username>
   • Linux: /tmp/vmware-root/.
     
     
3. Upload the completed form with your Support Request.

Collecting ESX related data

1. For information about collecting ESX related data, see:
   • Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESX/ESXi using the vSphere Client (653)
   • Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESX/ESXi using the vm-support command (1010705)
   • Collecting diagnostic information for VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi using the vSphere PowerCLI (1027932).
     
     
2. Send the script-generated log files with your Support Request.

Collecting vCenter Server related data

vCenter Server provides an option that collects log information useful to VMware Technical Support.

1. See the appropriate KB article for your version of vCenter Server . For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products (1008524).
2. Set the logging option to Trivial to ensure that all information is collected and that it includes time stamps.
3. 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.

1. Set logs to Trivia level for hostd when collecting files in ESX:
   
   
   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:
      
      
      • ESX: service mgmt-vmware restart
      • ESXi: /sbin/services.sh restart
        
        
2. Set logs to Trivia level for vpxa when collecting files in ESX.
   
   
   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:
      
      
      • ESX: service vmware-vpxa restart
      • ESXi: /sbin/services.sh restart
        
        
3. Set logs to Trivia level when collecting files in vCenter Server. For vCenter Server, you can use the VMware Infrastructure/vSphere Client to configure the amount of detail that vCenter Servercollects in log files.
   
   
   1. Connect the vSphere Client to the vCenter Server. Go to Administration > Server Settings and select Logging Options.
   2. Configure the level of detail for log files. From the vCenter Server Logging list, choose Trivia (Extended verbose) and click OK.
      
      
4. Set all the clocks in the systems (vSphere Client, vCenter Server, ESX, 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.
5. Reproduce the error.
6. Record the time the error occurs.
7. Capture the logs.
8. FTP the files to VMware.

Uploading files to the FTP server

Debugging tips

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

• Generate complete logs with as much detail as possible including time 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.

Additional information

For details on support offerings, see http://www.vmware.com/support/services/sdk.html.

Note: The SDK Support Policy applies to VDDK.