Collecting VMware logs for Agentless/Export troubleshooting (4040551)

To collect vSphere 6 system logs from the web client:

1. Open a browser, navigate and log in to https://vCenter_server_FQDN/vsphere-client
2. Click on Host and Clusters either in the Navigator panel or the Home tab.
   Make sure that the Virtual Center is selected.
3. In the main panel next to the Virtual Center's Name, use the Actions pull down menu and select Export System Logs.
4. In the Export Logs wizard, Select the ESXi host(s) that you would like to collect logs from.
   To include VC logs, select the check box to Include vCenter Server and vSphere Web Client logs
5. Click Next.
6. Specify which system logs you would like exported.
   There is also an option to collect performance data within this section.
7. Click Generate Log Bundle and specify where you would like the bundle to be saved.
8. After the bundle has been generated and downloaded you can click on Finish.
   NOTE: Do NOT close the the browser or navigate away from the page until the process is complete. This will cancel the process.

To collect vSphere system logs from the vSphere client:

1. Open the vSphere Client and connect to vCenter Server or directly to an ESXi 5.x host.
2. Log in using an account with administrative privileges or with the Global.Diagnostics permission.
3. Select the Virtual Center in the inventory.
4. Click the File > Export > Export System Logs.
5. If a group of ESXi hosts are available in the selected context, select the host or group of hosts from the Source list.
   To include VC logs, select the check box to Include Information From  vCenter Server and vSphere Client.
6. Click Next.
7. In the System Logs pane, select the components for which the diagnostic information must be obtained. To collect diagnostic information for all the components, click Select All.
   If required, select the Gather performance data option and specify a duration and interval.
8. In the Download Location pane, click Browse and select a location on the client's disk where you have to save the support bundle.
9. Click Next.
10. In the Ready to Complete pane, review the summary and click Finish.
    
    The Downloading System Logs Bundles dialog appears and provides progress status for the creation and downloading of the support bundle from each source. A Generate system logs bundles task is created.

Once the system logs have been exported you can include them in the Rapid Recovery support bundle. There is an option to include additional logs when the Info Gathering Tool is run.

Other VMware system log collection options are available from https://kb.vmware.com/kb/653

Note: By default in ESXi, log retention is limted. To preserve the logs further, ESXi can be configured to place these logs to an alternate storage location on disk and to send the logs across the network to a syslog server. https://kb.vmware.com/kb/2003322