This topic describes how to collect ESX Server Logs using the CLI.

If you have determined that the problem the customer is experiencing is not a DXi V1000 problem, instruct the customer to contact VMware technical support or their third-party hardware vendor. Advise them to collect their ESX server logs prior to contacting VMware or a third-party technial support. You can help them collect their ESX server logs if they do not know how to do so.

Use this procedure if the customer does NOT have vCenter installed in their environment. If the customer has a vCenter environment with several ESX hosts, and you need to collect more than one ESX host log, refer to the Collecting ESX Server Logs from vCenter topic.

To access an ESX host from the CLI (SSH), the customer must have SSH enabled on the ESX server, and you must log in as root. If the customer does not know how to enable SSH, ask them to contact VMware support for assistance. The customer can also reference the VMware Knowledge Base http://kb.vmware.com for the instructions on enabling SSH.

To gather ESX server logs from the CLI:

1. First, check if the file system you want to save the logs to has enough space. You can use one of the following directories: /var/log or /tmp.

    

2. Open a CLI prompt.

    

3. cd to the directory where you want to save the logs.

    

4. Execute the command

    

    # vm-support

    

   This command will generate the logs and save them to the directory you are in. Here is an example of the output:

    

   

    

     Note: As shown above, at the end of the process, the utility will show the path and file name of the log, which is in a .TGZ file.

    

5. Download the log, using scp.