Configure Serial Logging on an Appliance VM

You can configure serial logging on an appliance VM to capture log messages when the VM crashes.

Procedure

1. Log in to the VM as root.
2. Edit /etc/default/grub.
3. Find the parameter GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAUL and append console=ttyS0 console=tty0.
4. Run the command update-grub2.
5. Verify that the /boot/grub/grub.cfg file has the change made in step 3.
6. Power off the VM.
7. Edit the VM's configuration (.vmx) file and add the following lines:

          serial0.present = "TRUE"
          serial0.fileType = "file"
          serial0.fileName = "serial.out"
          serial0.yieldOnMsrRead = "TRUE"
          answer.msg.serial.file.open = "Append"

8. Power on the VM.

Results

If a kernel panic occurs in the VM, you can find the file serial.out containing log messages at the same location as that of the .vmx file.