Log Locations of all VMware Products
Repost from myblog:http://www.virtualizationexpress.com/2014/01/log-locations-vmware-products/
In this post I tried consolidating all the VMware product’s log location for handy use.
- vCenter
- vSphere Profile-Driven Storage
- Inventory service
- vSphere Web Client service
- vCenter Single Sign-On 5.1
- vCenter Single Sign-On 5.5
- VMware Converter
- vCloud Director
- vShield Manager
- vShield Edge
- vCloud Usage Meter
- vCloud Connector
- vCenter Operations
vCenterThe vCenter Server logs are placed in a different directory on disk depending on vCenter Server version and the deployed platform:
vCenter Server 5.x and earlier versions on Windows XP, 2000, 2003: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\Logs\
vCenter Server 5.x and earlier versions on Windows Vista, 7, 2008: C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\Logs\
vCenter Server 5.x Linux Virtual Appliance: /var/log/vmware/vpx/
vCenter Server 5.x Linux Virtual Appliance UI: /var/log/vmware/vamiNote: If the service is running under a specific user, the logs may be located in the profile directory of that user instead of %ALLUSERSPROFILE%.
| Usage | Log File Name |
| The main vCenter Server logs, consisting of all vSphere Client and WebServices connections, internal tasks and events, and communication with the vCenter Server Agent (vpxa) on managed ESX/ESXi hosts. | vpxd.log |
Profiled metrics for operations performed in vCenter Server. Used by the VPX Operational Dashboard (VOD) accessible at https://VCHostnameOrIPAddress/vod/index.html. | vpxd-profiler.log, profiler.log |
| Non-fatal information logged about the vpxd process. | vpxd-alert.log |
| Common Information Model monitoring information, including communication between vCenter Server and managed hosts’ CIM interface | cim-diag.log and vws.log |
| Actions proposed and taken by VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), grouped by the DRS-enabled cluster managed by vCenter Server. These logs are compressed. | drmdump\: |
| Health reports for the Licensing Services extension, connectivity logs to vCenter Server. | ls.log |
| Dump of string used during the installation of vCenter Server with hashed information for DNS, username and output for JDBC creation. | vimtool.log |
| Provides information about the historical performance data collection from the ESXi/ESX hosts | stats.log |
| Health reports for the Storage Monitoring Service extension, connectivity logs to vCenter Server, the vCenter Server database and the xDB for vCenter Inventory Service. | sms.log |
| Health reports for the ESX Agent Monitor extension, connectivity logs to vCenter Server. | eam.log |
| Connectivity information and status of the VMware Webmanagement Services. | catalina.<date>.log and localhost.<date>.log |
| Health status of the VMwareVCMSDS service and individual ADAM database objects, internal tasks and events, and replication logs between linked-mode vCenter Servers. | jointool.log |
vSphere Profile-Driven Storage log files
The vSphere Profile-Driven Storage logs are placed in a different directory on disk depending on the vCenter Server version and the deployed platform:
- vCenter Server 5.x and earlier versions on Windows XP, 2000, 2003: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\Infrastructure\Profile-Driven Storage\Logs
- vCenter Server 5.x and earlier versions on Windows Vista, 7, 2008: C:\ProgramData\VMware\Infrastructure\Profile-Driven Storage\Logs
- vCenter Server 5.x Linux Virtual Appliance: /var/log/vmware/vpx/spsNote: If the service is running under a specific user, the logs may be located in the profile directory of that user instead of%ALLUSERSPROFILE%.
| Usage | Log |
| The main Profile-Driven Storage logs, consisting of all vCenter Server and Management Webservices connections, internal tasks and events, and information about the storage profile integrity. | sps.log |
| This file consists of information about the installation of Profile-Driven Storage including computer name, operating system revision, the date of installation and the number of revisions that have been installed or upgraded on the system. | vim-sps-install.log |
| This file provides information about the state of the Java runtime environment. | wrapper.log |
vSphere Web Client service logs
For vSphere 5.0, all the logs for the vSphere Web Client service are located at:
- Windows: C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere Web Client\DMServer\serviceability\
- Linux: /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-client/server/serviceability/
For vSphere 5.1, all the logs for the vSphere Web Client service are located at:
- Windows: C:\ProgramData\VMware\vSphere Web Client\serviceability\
- Linux: /var/log/vmware/vsphere-client/serviceability/
For vSphere 5.5, all the logs for the vSphere Web Client service are located at:
- Windows: C:\ProgramData\VMware\vSphere Web Client\serviceability\
- Linux: /var/log/vmware/vsphere-client/
| Usage | Log |
| The main vSphere Web Client log, consisting of all communication between underlying Flex endpoint connections, internal tasks and events | logs\vsphere_client_virgo.log |
| Individual HTTP requests from the Web browser | logs\access\localhost_access_log.<date>.txt |
| Information about plug-in bundle communication | logs\virgo-server\log.log |
| Time stamps of startup and shutdown of the vSphere Web Client service | eventlogs/eventlog.log |
vCenter Single Sign-On
The SSO logs are placed in a different directory on disk depending on the vSphere version and the deployed platform:vSphere 5.1 using vCenter Single Sign-On 5.1:vCenter Server 5.1.x on Windows Server 2003 – C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\SSOServer\logs\vCenter Server 5.1.x on Windows Server 2008/2012 – C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\SSOServer\logs\vCenter Server Virtual Appliance 5.1.x – /var/log/vmware/sso/vSphere 5.5 using vCenter Single Sign-On 5.5:vCenter Server 5.5.x on 2003 – %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\CIS\logs\vCenter Server 5.5.x and 2008, 2012 – C:\ProgramData\VMware\CIS\logs\vCenter Server Virtual Appliance 5.5.x – /var/log/vmware/sso/Note: If the service is running under a specific user, the logs may be located in the profile directory of that user instead of %ALLUSERSPROFILE%.
SSO 5.1
| Usage | Log |
| SSO installer log | Vminst.log |
| SSO Lookup Service log | vm_vim_ls.log |
| MSI installer for SSO installation log – verbose | vim-sso-msi.log |
| SSO database operations | vim-sso-javalib.log |
| Standard Tomcat logs | catalina.date.log |
| RSA’s Castle logs | imsTrace.log and imsSystem.log |
| SSO admin serve | ssoAdminServer.log |
| Lookup server log | lookupServer.log |
| Replication | replicationTransport.log |
SSO 5.5
| Usage | Log |
| SSO installer log | Vminst.log |
| MSI installer for SSO installation log – verbose | vim-sso-msi.log |
| SSO Service log | vim_ssoreg.log |
| Endpoint information about each of the SSO Solution Users and identity sources extracted from previous vCenter Single Sign On 5.1.0 instance | exported_sso.properties |
| MSI installer verbose log for OpenSSL installation | vim-openssl-msi.log |
| MSI installer verbose log for Python installation | vim-python-msi.log |
| MSI installer verbose log for MIT Kerberos installation | vim-kfw-msi.log |
| Promotion and demotion operation information for the SSO instance when joined or removed from a linked configurations | vmdird\vdcpromo.log |
| VMware Directory Service setup post-installation log containing information about the localhost | vmdird\vdcsetupIdu.log |
| Health reports for the VMware Directory Service (VMDir) service and the VMDir database | vmdird\vmdir.log |
| Key Distribution Center (kdc) run-time log, reports ports conflicts preventing the service from starting | vmkdcd\vmkdcd.log |
| VMware Identity Management service run-time logs, time-stamped records of user attempts when accessing SSO for administrative purposes | vmware-sso\vmware-sts-idmd.log |
| VMware Identity Management service performance counter logs | vmware-sso\vmware-sts.ldmd-perf.log |
| Commons Daemon log once the Identity Management Service has started | vmware-sso\VMwareIdentityMgmtService.date.log |
vCenter Inventory Service
The vCenter Inventory Service logs are placed in a different directory on disk depending on the vCenter Server version and the deployed platform:
- vCenter Server 5.x and earlier versions on Windows XP, 2000, 2003: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\Infrastructure\Inventory Service\Logs
- vCenter Server 5.x and earlier versions on Windows Vista, 7, 2008:C:\ProgramData\VMware\Infrastructure\Inventory Service\Logs
- vCenter Server 5.x Linux Virtual Appliance: /var/log/vmware/vpx/inventoryserviceNote: If the vCenter Inventory Service is running under a specific user, the logs may be located in the profile directory of that user instead of %ALLUSERSPROFILE%.
| Usage | Log |
| The main vCenter Inventory Service logs, consisting of all vCenter Server and Single Sign-On connections, internal tasks and events, and information about the xDB. | ds.log |
| This file contains information about the installation of Inventory Service including computer name, operating system revision, the date of installation and the number of revisions that have been installed or upgraded on the system. | vim-is-install.log |
| This file provides information about the status of the Java runtime environment. | wrapper.log |
VMware Converter logs
There are also several ways to diagnose issues by viewing the VMware Converter logs. The logs can contain information that is not apparent from error messages. In newer versions of VMware Converter, you can use the Export Log Data button. Otherwise, logs are typically stored in these directories:
- Windows NT, 2000, XP, and 2003:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Converter Enterprise\LogsC:\WINDOWS\Temp\vmware-converterC:\WINDOWS\Temp\vmware-temp
- Windows Vista, 7, and 2008:
C:\Users\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Converter Enterprise\Logs
- Windows 8 and Windows 2012:
C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\logs
- Note: In order to access this location in Windows Vista, 7, or 2008, you may need to go into the folder options and ensure thatShow Hidden Files is enabled and that Hide Protected Operating System Files is disabled.
C:\WINDOWS\Temp\vmware-converterC:\WINDOWS\Temp\vmware-temp
- Windows NT and 2000:
C:\WINNT\Temp\vmware-converterC:\WINNT\Temp\vmware-temp
- Linux:
$HOME/.vmware/VMware vCenter Converter Standalone/Logs/var/log/vmware-vcenter-converter-standalone
vCloud Director
| Component | Path |
| Cell Startup log. | $VCLOUD_HOME/logs/cell.log |
| Debugging log messages from the cell | $VCLOUD_HOME/logs/vcloud-container-debug.log |
| Warnings or errors in the cell | $VCLOUD_HOME/logs/vcloud-container-info.log |
| Log of the Watchdog service – which restarts the vCD service if it hangs or stops | $VCLOUD_HOME/logs/vmware-vcd-watchdog.log |
vShield Manager
vSM is a hardened Linux Appliance so use below commands in the vSM to view the logs
| Component | Commands |
| vShield Manager Log | Show logShow manager logShow manager log followShow manager log last |
vShield Edge logs
| vShield Edge log | Show logShow log follow |
vCloud Usage Meter
| Usage Meter Log | /var/log/usgmtr/um.log |
vCloud Connector logs
| Usage | Log |
| vCloud Connector Server Log | /opt/vmware/hcagent/logs/hcs.log |
| vCloud Connector Node Log | /opt/vmware/hcagent/logs/hca.log |
vCenter Operations
| Component | VM | Path |
| Admin UI | UI | /var/log/vmware/admin.log |
| vSphere UI | UI | $ALIVE_BASE/user/log/web_std.log |
| Custom UI | UI | $ALIVE_BASE/user/log/web.log |
| CapIQ | UI | /var/log/vmware/ciq.log |
| Upgrades | UI | /var/log/vmware/upgradecoordinator.log |
| ActiveMQ | AL | $ALIVE_BASE/user/log/activemq.log |
| Analytics | AL | $ALIVE_BASE/user/log/analytics.log |
| Collector | AL | $ALIVE_BASE/user/log/collector.log |
| Adapter | AL | $ALIVE_BASE/user/log/adapters/<AdapterType>/<AdapterType>_<InstanceID>.log <refer below note> |
Please comment if you need any additional products.