Whether your tracking down an issue on your own or collection data to submit a support request to VMware your gonna need to round up the necessary log files. I have collected and listed some of the main log locations from VMware and also linked to KB articles covering a full list of log file locations.
VMware ESX log files
You can see ESX logs: (KB Link)
- From the Service Console
- From the vSphere Client connected directly to the ESX host (click Home > Administration > System Logs)
- From the VMware Infrastructure Client connected directly to the ESX host (click Administration > System Logs)
The vmkernel logs (which log everything related to the kernel/core of the ESX) are located at /var/log/vmkernel.
The vmkwarning logs (which log warnings from the vmkernel) are located at /var/log/vmkwarning.
The vmksummary logs (which provide a summary of system activities such as uptime, downtime, reasons for downtime) are located at /var/log/vmksummary.
The hostd log (which is the log of the ESX management service of the ESX) are located at /var/log/vmware/hostd.log.
The messages log (which log activity on the Service Console operating system) is located at /var/log/messages.
The VirtualCenter Agent log is located at /var/log/vmware/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log.
The Automatic Availability Manager (AAM) logs are located at /var/log/vmware/aam/vmware_<hostname>-xxx.log.
The SW iSCSI logs are located at /var/log/vmkiscsid.log.
The System boot log is located at /var/log/boot-logs/sysboot.log.
VMware ESXi log files – (KB Article)
The vmkernel, vmkwarning, and hostd logs are located at /var/log/messages.
The Host Management service (hostd = Host daemon) log is located at /var/log/vmware/hostd.log\.
The VirtualCenter Agent log is located at /var/log/vmware/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log.
The System boot log is located at /var/log/sysboot.log.
The Automatic Availability Manager (AAM) logs are located at /var/log/vmware/aam/vmware_<hostname>-xxx.log.
vCenter log files – (KB Article)
SRM log files – (KB Article)
The SRM configuration files are located at:
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\config\extension.xml
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\config\vmware-dr.xmlOr
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\config\extension.xml
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\config\vmware-dr.xml
The SRM Logs (on vCenter Server for connection with SRM and on SRM for SRM workflow) are located at:
- %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\Logs, which translates by default to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\LogsOr
- %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\Logs, which translates by default to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\Logs
The SRM Installation Logs (on the SRM Server, which may not be the vCenter Server) are located at C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\1.
The location of the SRA Logs (on the SRM server) depends on the SRA type and vendor. They may be located in:
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\scripts\SAN\*\logOr
- C:\Program Files\<SRA Vendor or Name>\
