Location of ESX log files
You can see ESX logs:
- 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
Additional Information
For related information, see the main article in this series, Location of log files for VMware products (1021806).
Location of ESXi log files
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
Note: The logs on an ESXi host can be rolled over and or removed after an ESXi host reboot. VMware recommends configuring the ESXi host with a syslog server. For more information on syslog server configuration, see your product versions Basic System Administration guide.
Additional Information
For related information, see Location of log files for VMware products (1021806).
Disclaimer.
The information in this article is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights. This article does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my employer. It is solely my opinion.
