Collecting diagnostic information for VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi using the vSphere PowerCLI

Products

VMware 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, configuration files, and data appropriate to the situation. The information is gathered using a specific script or tool for each product and can include a host support bundle from the ESXi host and vCenter Server support bundle. 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 the procedures for obtaining this diagnostic information for VMware vSphere vCenter Server and/or ESX/ESXi hosts using VMware vSphere PowerCLI.
For other methods of collecting the same information, see

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

For instructions for opening a support request, see How to File a Support Request.
For instructions for uploading your support files, see Uploading diagnostic information to VMware (1008525).
For instructions for obtaining diagnostic information for other VMware products, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products (1008524).

Note: 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)

Environment

VMware VirtualCenter 2.5.x
VI Toolkit (for Windows) 1.0
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.5
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 4.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.0
VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VI Toolkit (for Windows) 1.5
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 4.1
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0

Resolution

VMware vSphere PowerCLI can be used to download a vc-support or vm-support log bundle from VMware vSphere vCenter Server and/or ESX/ESXi hosts, or to view or search the individual log files stored on the host. For more information on VMware PowerCLI, see the VMware vSphere PowerCLI Documentation.

Connecting to vCenter Server or an ESX/ESXi host with PowerCLI

To run specific vSphere PowerCLI cmdlets and perform administration or monitoring tasks, you must connect to vCenter Server or an ESX/ESXi host.

Launch the vSphere PowerCLI.
In the vSphere PowerCLI console window, establish a connection to an ESX/ESXi host or a vCenter Server using the command:

Connect-VIServer -Server HostnameOrIPAddress

You see output similar to:

Name Port User
---- ---- ----
HostnameOrIPAddress 443 Username

Note: If the certificate is not trusted, a warnings displays. Depending on your security policy, these warnings can be ignored.

Downloading a diagnostic log bundle from vCenter Server

To download a vc-support diagnostic log bundle from vCenter Server:

Enter the command:

Get-Log -Bundle -DestinationPath c:\Storage\Location\

You see output similar to:

Data
----
C:\Storage\Location\vc-support-nnnnnnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnnnnnnnnnn.tgz
No progress bar is provided for the command. When completed, upload the logs to the FTP site. For more information, see Uploading diagnostic information to VMware (1008525).

Download a diagnostic log bundle from an ESX/ESXi host

To download a vm-support diagnostic log bundle from an ESX/ESXi host managed by vCenter Server:

Enter the command:

Get-VMHost HostNameOrIP | Get-Log -Bundle -DestinationPath c:\Storage\Location\

You see output similar to:

Data ---- C:\Storage\Location\vm-support-nnnnnnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnnnnnnnnnn.tgz
No progress bar is provided for the command. When completed, upload the logs to the FTP Site. For more information, see Uploading diagnostic information to VMware (1008525).

Displaying the content of specific log files on an ESX/ESXi host

To review a specific log file on an ESX/ESXi host, use the Get-LogType and Get-Log commandlets:

Determine what log files are exposed by a given vCenter Server or ESX/ESXi host using the Get-LogType commandlet. Logs are identified by a Key name.
- For the connected vCenter Server: Get-LogType
- For a specific ESX/ESXi host: Get-VMHost HostNameOrIP | Get-LogType
You see output similar to:

Key Summary
---- -------
hostd Server log in 'plain' format
messages Server log in 'plain' format
vmkernel Server log in 'plain' format
vmksummary Server log in 'plain' format
vmkwarning Server log in 'plain' format
vpxa vCenter agent log in 'plain' format
View a specific log on the the given vCenter Server or ESX/ESXi host, specifying a Key from Get-LogType:
- For the connected vCenter Server: Get-Log VCLogKey | Select -expand Entries | More
- For a specific ESX/ESXi host: Get-VMHost HostNameOrIP | Get-Log HostLogKey | Select -expand Entries | More
For example:

Get-VMHost 10.11.12.13 | Get-Log hostd | Select -expand Entries | More

Section for VMware ESXi, pid 4993, version=4.1.0, build=build-260247, option=Release
[2009-09-17 10:41:07.886 2EB82B90 verbose 'Cimsvc'] Ticket issued for CIMOM version 1.0, user root
[2009-09-17 10:41:09.340 2EB82B90 verbose 'DvsManager'] PersistAllDvsInfo called
[2009-09-17 10:41:09.340 2E1F2B90 verbose 'DvsTracker'] FetchSwitches: added 1 items

Note: In this example, you are reviewing the hostd management agent logs. The output is displayed one page at a time. The same command can be used for other log files (for example, hostd, vpxa, vmkernel, vmksummary, and vmkwarning). The logs available may differ between versions of vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi.
To search the logs for a specific string, use the Select-String commandlet:

Get-VMHost HostNameOrIP | Get-Log LogName | Select -expand Entries | Select-String SearchTerm | More

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 get started with Skyline, visit: http://vmware.com/go/skyline/download.

For information about collecting and exporting logs, see:

For Translated Versions of this Article, see: