System information

VMware Technical Support Guide
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Collecting Information
These guidelines describe the information VMware needs diagnose issues and quickly log
your support request. Please gather the pertinent information before you contact VMware
Support.
Configurations
System, storage and/or network configuration diagrams and files are very helpful when
troubleshooting issues with a VMware product. Having these diagrams on file for easy upload
to VMware Support or running the appropriate commands on the devices to collect the
configuration information will help speed up the problem-solving process.
Log File
If you are reporting an issue you encountered while installing a VMware product, it is helpful to
have your installation log file. Please locate and provide the VMware log file and a VMware
core file if the log indicates that one was created. The location of the log files is dependent on
the operating system and VMware product you are using. Please refer to the appropriate
VMware Administrator documentation for the specific syntax. If the physical hardware is
crashing, any log files from the hardware vendor can be helpful as well.
Support Script Output
If a virtual machine exits abnormally or crashes, reboot it and run the support script to collect
the appropriate log files and system information. The syntax and location of the script vary for
different VMware platforms. Please refer to the following knowledge base article for gathering
troubleshooting data for Technical Support to review, http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1008524.
Record Any Recent Changes
Check to see if any changes have recently occurred in your virtual infrastructure environment.
Changes to versions of guest operating system, host operating system, networking, storage
and applications are of particular interest.
Utilizing Self Help Tools
Purchasers of VMware products can register for access to VMware Communities. VMware
Communities provide resources and services for members, including full product
documentation, technical papers, developer resources, access to the VMware Support
knowledge base, participation in discussion forums, information about VMware user groups
and a monthly technical newsletter for end-users of VMware products. Many of these same
resources can be linked to from our support home page. VMware continually updates these
resources with new technical information, fixes, and workarounds. Included is a convenient
search of these resources for existing answers to your questions at the start of the support
request filing process. The goal is to provide immediate answers to the most common
customer questions.