VMware: How to Export VMware ESXi Host Logs for Review

Before You Begin

• Confirm you have administrative credentials for the ESXi host or vCenter Server.
• Identify which method is available based on your environment:
  • vSphere Client — Use when the ESXi host is managed by a vCenter Server.
  • ESXi Host Client — Use when connecting directly to a standalone ESXi host via a web browser.
  • Command Line (SSH) — Use when you have SSH or direct console access to the ESXi host.

Method 1: Export Logs Using vSphere Client (vCenter Managed)

1. Open the vSphere Client and connect to your vCenter Server.
2. In the inventory, select the ESXi host you want to collect logs from.
3. Right-click the ESXi host and select Export System Logs.

   

4. If required, select Gather performance data and specify a duration and interval.
5. Select the specific logs to export. The default selection is typically sufficient for most troubleshooting.
6. Optionally, set a password for encrypted core dumps. If you provide this bundle to support, share this password with the support engineer.

   

7. Select Export Logs to save the .zip bundle to your local computer.

Method 2: Export Logs Using the ESXi Host Client (Direct Host Access)

1. Open a web browser and navigate to https://<ESXi-host-IP-or-FQDN>/ui.
2. Log in with administrative credentials (for example, root).
3. From the Host tab, select Actions, then select Generate support bundle.

   

4. When prompted, enter administrative credentials again to begin generating and downloading the log bundle.
5. Save the .tgz file to your local computer.

Method 3: Export Logs Using the Command Line via SSH (vm-support)

1. Enable SSH on the ESXi host if it is not already enabled.
   1. Enable SSH Access with the Direct Console User Interface
2. Connect to the ESXi host using an SSH client.
3. Run the following command to generate the support bundle and save it to a specified VMFS Datastore:

   vm-support -w /vmfs/volumes/DATASTORE_NAME

4. After the bundle is generated, transfer the resulting file from the ESXi host to your local computer using SCP or another secure file transfer method.

Alternative Browser-Based Method

You can also generate the bundle by entering the following URL in a web browser:

https://<ESXi-host-IP>/cgi-bin/vm-support.cgi

You will be prompted for administrative credentials. The browser will download the log bundle.

Verify the Export

• Confirm that the downloaded file (.zip or .tgz) is not empty and can be opened.
• If the bundle was requested by Dell Technical Support, upload the file to your open support case.
  • How to Manually Upload Files to Dell Technical Support

• Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESXi using vSphere Client (Broadcom KB 319493)
• Collecting diagnostic information for ESXi hosts and vCenter Server (Broadcom KB 326299)