VMware VirtualCenter 1.4.x Support Documentation

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Collecting Log Files

There are several files available that might be requested by the VMware technical support to help resolve your problem. The following describes script processes for generating and collecting some of these files.

Setting VirtualCenter Verbose Logging

There are two ways to set verbose logging.

Method one: Set verbose log in the VirtualCenter client.

1. Choose File > VMware VirtualCenter Settings > Advanced.

2. Scroll to the log.verbose parameter.

3. Set the parameter to a value of 1.

4. Click OK.

Method two: Enable logging:

1. Open or create one of the configuration files:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\config.ini

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users.WINNT\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\config.ini

2. Add the following line:

vpxd.logVerbose = "TRUE"

3. Restart the VirtualCenter service.

Collecting VirtualCenter Settings Information

1. From the VirtualCenter client, open the VMware VirtualCenter Settings and select the Advanced tab.

Select File > VMware VirtualCenter Settings. When the dialog box appears, select the Advanced tab.

2. Record the information in the server.options field. Click OK.

Collecting VirtualCenter Log Files

A script collects log files for both VirtualCenter client and server. You no longer have to collect the files by hand, except for the Event Viewer log.

The script vclogs.wsf collects log files and saves them to a directory in the location where the script is run. The naming convention for the directory is VirtualCenterLogs-[USER]-[DATE]. After collecting the files, archive the directory and send the file to support, using the method your support representative requests (usually FTP upload).

The script uses the following Windows user and system environment variables on your VirtualCenter client or server host to determine where the log files are located.


Environment	Typical Directory Location	Find Files
%WINDIR%\temp\	C:\WINDOWS\temp\	vmware-vpxd-SYSTEM* vmware-vmount.log
%TMP%	C:\DOCUME~1\<user>\LOCALS~1\Temp	vmware-vpxd-* vmware-vmount.log vmware-[USER]-* client-*
%TEMP%	C:\DOCUME~1\<user>\LOCALS~1\Temp	vmmsi.log vminst.log
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%	C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\	config.ini
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMA\	C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\VMA\	vmware-vmount.log vmaConfig.xml vma-*"

For VirtualCenter Client: Log on to the machine running VirtualCenter Client, using the same login as the user who encountered the error, and open a command prompt window.

For VirtualCenter Server: Log on to the machine running VirtualCenter Server, using a local Windows administrator account, and open a command prompt window.

1. Change to the directory where VirtualCenter is installed.

For example, if the default installation directory was used:

cd c:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\

2. Run the following command to collect the logs:

cscript vclogs.wsf

Here is an example of the command run with options:

cscript vclogs.wsf /n:all /o:vclog

Options:

/? - Displays help for this script.

/n:N or /n:all - Number of log files to collect (replace N with the actual number). The default value is 10. Specify all to collect all logs.

/o:dir - Output directory (replace dir with your directory). The default is VirtualCenterLogs-username-date.

3. Locate and provide the Event Viewer log files from the VirtualCenter server.

a. Log on as a user with VirtualCenter Administrator privileges.

b. Export the files in the default Event Viewer format with .evt extensions.

4. Compress and archive the Event Viewer log files and output directory as a .zip file. Incorporate a timestamp into the .zip file name.

Collecting ESX Server VMkernel Files

If the VMkernel fails, normally an error screen appears for a period of time and then the virtual machine reboots.

If you specified a VMware core dump partition when you configured your virtual machine, the VMkernel also generates a core dump and error log.

More serious problems in the VMkernel can freeze the machine without an error screen or core dump.

Collecting ESX Server Service Console Files

This script collects and packages all relevant ESX Server system and configuration information and ESX Server log files. This information can be used to analyze the problem you are encountering.

1. Run the following script on the service console:

/usr/bin/vm-support

2. Save the resulting file:

esx-<date>-<unique-xnumber>.tgz

Collecting ESX Server Service Log Files

You can enable logging for the VMware Authorization Service (known as vmware-authd on Linux managed hosts) manually.

1. In a text editor, open the following file:

On a Windows managed host, edit config.ini, located in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter.

On a Linux managed host, edit /etc/vmware/config.

2. Add the following lines to the file:

vmauthd.logEnabled = TRUE log.vmauthdFileName = "vmauthd.log"

This creates a file called vmauthd.log. On a Windows managed host, this file appears by default in C:\Windows\system32 or C:\WINNT\system32; on a Linux managed host, this file appears by default in /var/log/vmware.

3. Save and close the configuration file. The log is enabled on a Linux-managed host.

4. On a Windows-managed host, restart the VMware Authorization Service. Choose Start > Administrative Tools > Services. Right-click VMware Authorization Service and choose Restart. This enables logging.

Collecting GSX Server or VMware Server Files and Logs Using Scripts

The GSX Server or VMware Server log files are generated by GSX Server or VMware Server and are collected by the support script as needed. Since there is no support script on a remote GSX Server or VMware Server client, you need to submit a support request at www.vmware.com/requestsupport for any issues you encounter on a client and include the console's log file or its installation log file.

With GSX Server or VMware Server hosts, you can simplify the process of collecting the needed information by running the support script to collect the appropriate log files and system information. Follow the steps below that apply to your managed host computer.

Note: The support script runs only on the GSX Server or VMware Server host. If you encounter problems on a remote client, you must supply the log files manually. The two log files you should supply, depending upon the problem you encounter on the client, are the VMware Virtual Machine Console log file and the installation log file. See below for more information about these logs.

Running GSX Server or VMware Server Scripts for Windows Hosts

1. Open a command prompt.

2. Change to the GSX Server or VMware Server program directory.

C: cd \Program Files\VMware\VMware GSX Server (or VMware Server)

If you did not install the program in the default directory, use the appropriate drive letter and substitute the appropriate path in the cd command above.

3. Run the support script.

cscript vm-support.vbs

4. After the script runs, it displays the name of the directory where it has stored its output. Use a file compression utility such as WinZip or PKZIP to zip that directory, then include the zip file with your support request.

Running GSX Server or VMware Server Scripts for Linux Hosts

1. Open a terminal.

2. Run the support script as the user who is running the virtual machine or as root.
vm-support

If you are not running the script as root, the script displays messages indicating that it cannot collect some information. This is normal. If the VMware support team needs that information, a support representative may ask you to run the script again as root.

3. The script creates a compressed .tgz file in the current directory. Include that output file with your support request.

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