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Technical Support Resources Technical Support Resources
Documentation on the Web
Full documentation for VMware GSX Server, including the latest updates to the manual, can be found on the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/support/gsx3/doc.
VMware Knowledge Base
You can find troubleshooting notes and tips for advanced users in the knowledge base on the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_alp.php.
VMware Community Forums and Newsgroups
The VMware community is a set of moderated discussion forums hosted on the VMware Web site and is open to users of all VMware products. VMware technical staff regularly monitor the forums to learn about your issues and feedback, and help facilitate discussions when appropriate.
To participate in the community, go to www.vmware.com/community and create a user account.
The VMware newsgroups are primarily forums for users to help each other. You are encouraged to read and post issues, workarounds and fixes. While VMware personnel may read and post to the newsgroups, they are not a channel for official support. The VMware NNTP news server is at news.vmware.com.
For a listing of all current newsgroups and the topic areas they cover, see www.vmware.com/support/newsgroups.html.
Reporting Problems
If you have problems while running GSX Server, please report them to the VMware support team.
You must register your serial number; then you can report your problems by submitting a support request at www.vmware.com/requestsupport.
The steps below describe the information we need from you to diagnose problems. This information largely comes from various log files. Which log file we need depends upon the problem you encounter. The log files are listed after the steps.
You can simplify the process of collecting the needed information by running the support script to collect the appropriate log files and system information. Follow the steps below that apply to your host computer.
Note: The support script runs only on the GSX Server host. If you encounter problems on a remote client, you must supply the log files manually. The two log files you should supply, depending upon the problem you encounter on the client, include the VMware Virtual Machine Console log file and the installation log file. See below for more information about these logs.
Windows Host
1. Open a command prompt.
2. Change to the GSX Server program directory.
C:
cd \Program Files\VMware\VMware GSX Server
If you did not install the program in the default directory, use the appropriate drive letter and substitute the appropriate path in the cd command above.
3. Run the support script.
cscript vm-support.vbs
4. After the script runs, it displays the name of the directory where it has stored its output. Use a file compression utility such as WinZip or PKZIP to zip that directory, then include the zip file with your support request.
Linux Host
1. Open a terminal.
2. Run the support script as the user who is running the virtual machine or as root.
vm-support
If you do not run the script as root, the script displays messages indicating that it cannot collect some information. This is normal. If the VMware support team needs that information, a support representative may ask you to run the script again as root.
3. The script creates a compressed .tgz file in the current directory. Include that output file with your support request.
Log Files
The following log files are generated by GSX Server and are collected by the support script as needed. Since there is no support script on a remote client, you need to submit a support request at www.vmware.com/requestsupport for any issues you encounter on a client and include the console's log file or its installation log file.
Virtual Machine Log File
If a virtual machine exits abnormally or crashes, please run the support script or save the log file before you launch that virtual machine again. The key log file to save is the VMware log file for the affected virtual machine.
On a Windows host, the vmware.log file is in the same directory as the configuration file (.vmx) of the virtual machine that had problems. The path to the log file of the active virtual machine appears in the About dialog box. In a console, choose Help > About VMware GSX Server, and look under Additional information.
On a Linux host, the <vmname>.log file is in the same directory as the configuration file (.vmx) of the virtual machine that had problems.
Also save any core files (core or vmware-core).
Virtual Machine Event Log File
The virtual machine's event log, some of which can be viewed in the VMware Management Interface, is stored as a file on the host. This file can also be useful in the event a virtual machine crashes.
Each virtual machine on the host includes an event log file called event-<path_to_configuration_file>.vmx.log.
On a Windows host, the log is stored in C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware GSX Server\vmserverdRoot\eventlog.
On a Linux host, the log is stored in /var/log/vmware.
VMware Virtual Machine Console Log File
The VMware Virtual Machine Console keeps a log. If you encounter problems with the VMware Virtual Machine Console on a remote client, please submit a support request and this log file.
On a Windows host, the log is called vmware-<username>-<PID>.log and is stored in the user's TEMP directory; by default, this directory is C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp. The path to this file appears in the About dialog box. In a console, choose Help > About VMware GSX Server, and look under Additional information.
On a Linux host, the log is called ui-<PID>.log and is stored in the user's TEMP directory; by default, this directory is /tmp/vmware-<username>. The path to this file appears in the terminal when you start the console.
VMware Management Interface Log File
The VMware Management Interface keeps a log.
On a Windows host, the log is called mui.log and is stored by default in C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Management Interface.
On a Linux host, the log is called error_log and is stored by default in /var/log/vmware-mui.
VMware Authorization Service Log File
You can enable logging for the VMware Authorization Service (known as vmware-authd on Linux hosts) manually.
1. In a text editor, open the following file:
  • On a Windows host, edit config.ini, located in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware GSX Server.
  • On a Linux host, edit /etc/vmware/config.
    • 2. Add the following lines to the file:
    vmauthd.logEnabled = TRUE
    log.vmauthdFileName = "vmauthd.log"
    This creates a file called vmauthd.log. On a Windows host, this file appears by default in C:\Windows\system32 or C:\WINNT\system32; on a Linux host, this file appears by default in /var/log/vmware.
    3. Save and close the configuration file. The log is enabled on a Linux host.
    4. On a Windows host, restart the VMware Authorization Service. Choose Start > Administrative Tools > Services. Right-click VMware Authorization Service and choose Restart. This enables logging.
    VMware Registration Service Log File
    The VMware Registration Service keeps a log.
    On a Windows host, the log is called vmware-serverd.log and is stored in C:\Windows\Temp.
    On a Linux host, the log is called vmware-serverd.log and is stored in /var/log/vmware.
    VMware GSX Server and VMware Virtual Machine Console Installation Log Files
    GSX Server keeps an installation log file on the server host.
    On a remote client, the VMware Virtual Machine Console keeps an installation log file. If you encounter problems installing the VMware Virtual Machine Console, please submit a support request and this log file.
    On a Windows host, the file is VMInst.log. It is saved in your TEMP directory; the default location is C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp. The Local Settings folder is hidden by default. To see its contents, open My Computer, choose Tools > Folder Options, click the View tab and select Show Hidden Files and Folders.
    On a Linux host, the log is called locations and is stored in /etc/vmware.


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