Month: March 2017

VMware ESXi 6.0 – Syslog Collector Configuration

VMware ESXi 6.0 hosts save their log files locally by default. However, you may configure the host to save their logs to a centralized server known as the Syslog Collector. Below are the steps to complete the configuration.

  1. Start the SSH service on the VMware ESXi 6.0 host.
  2. Enter the following command to configure the syslog collect on the host esxcli system syslog config set –loghost=x.x.x.x –logdir-unique=true. The –loghost=x.x.x.x value identifies the Syslog Collector server.
  3. Enter the following command to enable the syslog collector configuration esxcli system syslog reload.
  4. Stop the SSH service on the VMware ESXi 6.0 host.
  5. Configure the firewall to allow the outgoing traffic.
  6. After the host is added to vCenter server verify the logs are located in the following directory on the Syslog Collector server C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\data\vmsyslogcollector.

VMware ESXi 6.0 – Dump Collector Testing

The VMware ESXi Dump Collector is a centralized service that can receive and store memory dumps from VMware ESXi 6.0 hosts in the event that they crash unexpectedly. In order to use this feature you must first configure the VMware ESXi Dump Collector Service. Then, you must configure the VMware ESXi 6.0 host to redirect their memory dumps. After the VMware ESXi 6.0 host has been configured to redirect their memory dumps you may use the commands below to verify test the configuration.

  1. Start the SSH service on the VMware ESXi 6.0 host.
  2. Enter the following command  to send a test dump to the collector esxcli system coredump network check.
  3. On the dump collector server, in the %ProgramData%\VMware\VMware ESXi dump collector\Data\ folder, verify that a new dump file is present (i.e. IP address of the VMware ESXi 6.0 host).
  4. Stop the SSH service on the VMware ESXi 6.0 host.

VMware ESXi 6.0 – Dump Collector Configuration

The VMware ESXi Dump Collector is a centralized service that can receive and store memory dumps from VMware ESXi 6.0 hosts in the event that they crash unexpectedly. In order to use this feature you must first configure the VMware ESXi Dump Collector Service on VMware vCenter Server. Then, you use the commands below to configure the VMware ESXi 6.0 host to redirect their memory dumps.

  1. Start the SSH service on the VMware ESXi 6.0 host.
  2. To review the existing  dump collector configuration enter the command esxcli system coredump network get and press Enter.
  3. Configure the VMware ESXi 6.0 host’s dump redirection with the following command esxcli system coredump network set -v vmk0 -i x.x.x.x -o xxxx. The -i option is used to specify the IP address of the dump collector and the -o option is used to indicate the dump collector port number.
  4. Enter the following command to turn on dump redirection esxcli system coredump network set -e true.
  5. Enter the following command to confirm the dump redirection settings esxcli system coredump network get.
  6. Stop the SSH service on the VMware ESXi 6.0 host.