The VMware ESXi Dump Collector is packaged with vCenter Server. The configuration method differs for the Windows and Linux versions. The configurable options include:

• Directory for storing received coredumps
• Amount of disk space used for storing received coredumps
• Listening network UDP port number
  

VMware ESXi Dump Collector for Windows

1. Locate the vmconfig-netdump.xml configuration file in the VMware ESXi Dump Collector installation directory. By default, it is located at C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware ESXi Dump Collector\.
   
   Note: For ESXi 6.0.x, it is located in C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\data\netdump\.
   
   
2. Open the vmconfig-netdump.xml configuration file using a text editor.
3. Locate the defaultDataPath tag, which appears similar to:
   
   <defaultDataPath>C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware ESXi Dump Collector\Data\</defaultDataPath>
   
   
4. Change the directory used for storing the coredumps received, as required.
5. Locate the defaultValues tag, which appears similar to:
   
   <defaultValues>
   <port>6500</port>
   <maxSize>2</maxSize>
   </defaultValues>
   
   
6. Change the listening UDP port number to another value, as required.
7. Change the maximum amount of disk space used for storing received coredumps to a different value. The value is specified in gigabytes.
8. Save the vmconfig-netdump.xml configuration file.
9. Restart the VMware ESXi Dump Collector service using these commands:
   
   net stop vmware-network-coredump
   net start vmware-network-coredump
   

VMware ESXi Dump Collector in the vCenter Server Virtual Appliance

The vCenter Server Virtual Appliance has a pre-configured Netdump service available and running. The directory used for storing received core dumps, the amount of disk space used, and the listening port number are all set to defaults, but can be changed later.

Configuring the ESXi Dump Collector using the VMware vCenter Server Virtual Appliance Web interface

1. Open a web browser, and connect to https://vCenterServerVirtualApplianceHostnameOrIP:5480/.
2. Log in using an administrative account.
3. Click the Services tab.
4. Click the NetDump tab.
5. Change the listening UDP port number to the desired value.
6. Change the maximum amount of disk space used for storing received coredumps to a different value. The value is specified in gigabytes.
7. Click Save Settings.
8. Click the Status tab.
9. Click Stop ESXi Services.
10. Click Start ESXi Services.

Configuring the ESXi Dump Collector using the VMware vCenter Server Virtual Appliance command line

1. Open the console of the vCenter Server Virtual Appliance.
2. Log in using an administrative account.
3. Open the /etc/sysconfig/netdumper configuration file using a text editor. The default configuration appears similar to:
   
   NETDUMPER_DIR="/var/core/netdumps"
   NETDUMPER_DIR_MAX_GB=2
   NETDUMPER_PORT=6500
   
   
4. Change the directory used for storing received coredumps.
5. Change the listening UDP port number to the desired value.
6. Change the maximum amount of disk space used for storing received coredumps to a different value, as required. The value is specified in gigabytes.
7. To enable verbose logging, modify the NETDUMPER_OPTIONS line to:
   
   NETDUMPER_OPTIONS="-n -v -d ${NETDUMPER_DIR} -o ${NETDUMPER_PORT}"
   
   
8. Save the /etc/sysconfig/netdumper configuration file.
9. Restart the VMware ESXi Dump Collector service using the command:
   
   service vmware-netdumper restart