6.0

Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts
All ESXi hosts run a syslog service (vmsyslogd), which logs messages from the VMkernel and other system
components to log files.
You can use the vSphere Client or the esxcli system syslog vCLI command to configure the syslog service.
For more information about using vCLI commands, see Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces.
Procedure
1 In the vSphere Client inventory, select the host.
2 Click the Configuration tab.
3 In the Software panel, click Advanced Settings.
4 Select Syslog in the tree control.
5 To set up logging globally, click global and make changes to the fields on the right.
Option Description
Syslog.global.defaultRotate
Sets the maximum number of archives to keep. You can set this number
globally and for individual subloggers.
Syslog.global.defaultSize
Sets the default size of the log, in KB, before the system rotates logs. You
can set this number globally and for individual subloggers.
Syslog.global.LogDir
Directory where logs are stored. The directory can be located on mounted
NFS or VMFS volumes. Only the /scratch directory on the local file
system is persistent across reboots. The directory should be specified as
[datastorename] path_to_file where the path is relative to the root of the
volume backing the datastore. For example, the path
[storage1] /systemlogs maps to the
path /vmfs/volumes/storage1/systemlogs.
Syslog.global.logDirUnique
Selecting this option creates a subdirectory with the name of the ESXi host
under the directory specified by Syslog.global.LogDir. A unique directory
is useful if the same NFS directory is used by multiple ESXi hosts.
Syslog.global.LogHost
Remote host to which syslog messages are forwarded and port on which
the remote host receives syslog messages. You can include the protocol
and the port, for example, ssl://hostName1:514. UDP (default), TCP,
and SSL are supported. The remote host must have syslog installed and
correctly configured to receive the forwarded syslog messages. See the
documentation for the syslog service installed on the remote host for
information on configuration.
6 (Optional) To overwrite the default log size and log rotation for any of the logs.
a Click loggers.
b Click the name of the log you that want to customize and enter the number of rotations and log
size you want.
7 Click OK.
Changes to the syslog options take effect immediately.
vSphere Administration with the vSphere Client
426 VMware, Inc.