Log Files comes to mind when we think of troubleshooting. We may need to analyze the system log files to understand the real cause of the issue to troubleshoot further.  Whenever we open a support case with VMWare Technical support, Technical Support people will routinely request diagnostic information.  This diagnostic information contains product specific logs, configuration files, and data appropriate to the situation. The information is gathered using a specific script or tool for each product. As a VMware administrator, We are aware of the procedure to generate support bundle for ESXi host and Windows based vCenter Server. Since We all started working on vCenter Server appliance actively from the recent past, I decided to write an article with the detailed step by step procedure with 3 simple ways to generate vCenter Support bundle in vCenter Server appliance.

If you have deployed the vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller, you can export support bundle for a specific product included in the vCenter Server Appliance or for a specific service in the Platform Services Controller. If you have deployed the vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services Controller, you can export support bundles for Specific Services depending on the node that you select in the vSphere Web Client.

3 Ways to Generate vCenter Support Bundle in vCenter Server Appliance

1.Generate vCenter Support Bundle using Web Browser

a.Log into any Windows machine on which you want to download the vCenter Support bundle.

b. Open any web browser such as Internet Explorer or Google Chrome and navigate to the below URL

https://vCenter Server FQDN or IP/appliance/support-bundle

c.Enter the user and password of the root user of vCenter Server appliance  and Click Enter

d.The support bundle will start to be downloaded as .tgz file on your Windows machine.

2. Generate vCenter Support Bundle using vSphere Web Client UI

a.Login to your vCenter Server using vSphere Web Client as administrator@vSphere.local

b. On the vSphere Web Client home page, Click on the Home icon -> System Configuration -> Nodes

c. Select the single node in case of the vCenter server with embedded Platform Services Controller or Select individual nodes if it is vCenter Server with external platform Services controller.  Below example is the vCenter Server with external platform services controller. Click on vCenter Server, Select “Export Support bundle” from the Actions menu.

d.Include or exclude the services to generate the log bundle and Click on “Export Support Bundle”.

e.Provide the location to save the export bundle and click OK. You vCenter Support bundle will be saved on the specified location in few minutes.

3. Generate vCenter Support Bundle from command line

a.Connect to the vCenter Server appliance using SSH and Login with your root credentials

b.Type “Shell” to switch to the Bash Shell and type the below command in the bash shell

vc-support -l

c.Logs bundle generation will start and log collection will run for few minutes.  Once it is completed, VC Support bundle will be saved in the format of “vc-<FQDN_of-PSC>-<Date>.tgz.” under /Storage/log

Once Log bundle collection is completed,  You use WinSCP client to download the log bundle and send it to VMWare Support. I hope this is informative for you. Thanks for Reading !!! Be social and share it with social media using Social media plugins, If you feel worth sharing it.