Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESXi
Article ID: 319493
Updated On:
Products
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. For other methods of collecting the same information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESX/ESXi using the vm-support command (1010705) and Collecting diagnostic information for VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi using the vSphere PowerCLI (1027932).
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.
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For information on opening a support request, see How to File a Support Request.
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For information on uploading your support files, see Uploading diagnostic information for VMware (1008525).
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For information on obtaining diagnostic information for other VMware products, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products (1008524).
Environment
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware ESX Server 2.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.0
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
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:
- Open the vSphere Client.
- Log in using an account with administrative privileges or with the Global.Diagnostics permission.
- Select Hosts and Clusters from the Home tab.
- Select an ESXi host or vCenter object in the inventory.
- 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.
- 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.
- Upload the logs to the SFTP/FTP site. For more information, see Uploading diagnostic information for VMware (1008525)
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:
- Open the vSphere Client.
- Log in using an account with administrative privileges such as root.
- Select Actions from the Host tab.
- Select Generate support bundle.
- Enter the same administrative credentials again to start downloading the log bundle.
- Upload the logs to the SFTP/FTP site. For more information, see Uploading diagnostic information for VMware (1008525)
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:
- Open the vSphere Web Client.
- Log in using an account with administrative privileges or with the Global.Diagnostics permission.
- Select Hosts and Clusters from the Home tab.
- Select an ESXi host or vCenter in the inventory.
- Click Actions.
- Select All vCenter Actions > Export System Logs...
- If a group of ESXi hosts are available in the selected context, select the host or group of hosts from the Source list.
- Click Next.
- 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.
- If required, select the Gather performance data option, and specify a duration and interval.
- Click Generate Log Bundle.
- Click Download Log Bundle.
- Upload the logs to the SFTP/FTP site. For more information, see Uploading diagnostic information for VMware (1008525)
Additional Information
VMware Skyline Health Diagnostics for vSphere - FAQAdditional Information
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