In your web browser, to assist with live incident reporting you can record a selectable area of your screen and optionally, the microphone and the browser log directly by using VMware Cloud Director Availability.

The recording contains an encoded video file with your mouse movements, text entries, and all actions performed in the selected screen area, and optionally sound from your microphone.

In addition to the video file, when recording the VMware Cloud Director Availability window, the recording can also optionally contain a browser log file with VMware Cloud Director Availability entries only, with the passwords and the sensitive information censored.

Prerequisites

Verify that VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.2 or later is successfully deployed.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the management interface of VMware Cloud Director Availability.
  2. Before using the recording options, access the new recording icons.
    • Depending on the login method, if the top pane of VMware Cloud Director Availability is visible, next to the refresh button and the light/dark theme selector menu, there is a new recording icon.
    • Alternatively, on the Dashboard page next to Topology, click the Report Issue link.
    • Alternatively, to show or hide the new recording icon in the right pane on any VMware Cloud Director Availability page, press Ctrl + Shift + A.
  3. To start the recording, click either of the new recording icons.
    1. In the Before you continue window, acknowledge the sensitive information message and click Continue.
    2. In the Live Incident Assistant window, select at least one recording option and click Start.
      Option Description
      Capture video Select to record a motion video track of the selected screen area. The resulting archive contains a video.mp4 file with the video track.
      Video quality Select either Low, Medium, or High video encryption quality for the video track.
      Capture audio Select to record the audio track from your microphone.
      • If recording both audio and video, the resulting archive contains a video.mp4 file with the video and the audio tracks.
      • If recording audio without Capture video selected, the resulting archive contains an audio.webm file with the audio track.
      Capture browser logs Select to record a censored text log with all web browser requests and responses between the VMware Cloud Director Availability portal and the backend server. The resulting archive contains a browser-console.log file.
    3. If you selected Capture video, accept your browser request for permission to capture your screen and select a screen recording area.
      Depending on your web browser, you can select to share the following area with VMware Cloud Director Availability for recording:
      • Your entire screen area, by selecting which monitor to record.
      • A specific window, by selecting the application window for recording.
      • A specific browser tab, by selecting the tab for recording.
      If you cancel, block, or dismiss the screen sharing permissions without explicitly allowing them, an Error window shows a message that Your browser denied the permissions required for capturing the screen. In the browser, select the screen capture area and allow the request from the appliance to share/see your screen after attempting another capture.
    4. If you selected Record audio, accept your browser request for permission to use your microphone.
      If you do not permit the audio sharing, an Error window shows a message that Your OS blocks capturing your screen or your microphone. Allow the requested permissions to your browser before attempting another capture..
  4. Perform the actions that you want to be present in the recording.
    The maximum session time is 30 minutes. If you do not stop the recording before they pass, you are prompted to download the recording or to discard it.
  5. To stop the recording, in the place of the new recording icons, click either of the stop recording buttons or when recording video, you can click the stop sharing browser button.

    Your browser downloads the VCDA UI Support Bundle - hh_mm_ss.zip file that contains the optional recorded motion video, the optional sound track, and the optional browser-console.log file.

What to do next

You can send the recorded archive to support.