Initiate a support bundle transfer request for an object within your environment and attach it to an open Support Case.

Follow these steps to initiate a log transfer request.

Note:

Skyline Advisor supports the following checks to increase the likelihood of a log transfer request succeeding:

  • Privileges - The account used to add the product to the Skyline Collector has the required privileges for Log Assist. See KB Article 59661 for details. A red error icon is displayed in the Privileges column if the required product permissions are not applied to the account.

  • Connectivity - Skyline frequently verifies that the Skyline Collector can connect to the vCenter Server and ESXi hypervisor hosts over the network. You won't be able to continue log transfers if the Skyline Collector cannot communicate with one of these objects. An informational message will be displayed in this column.

To validate the required privileges and connectivity requirements:

  • On the Log Assist page, click Re-Validate.

  • Click View Details to view the results of the revalidation. If there are any revalidation issues, the Collector's name and status are displayed. Use this information to resolve any issues with privileges or connectivity.

Important:

Log Assist does not support the transfer of support bundles from ESXi Hypervisor hosts utilizing Host Encryption Mode.

Important:

Log Assist for selected NSX-T objects will delete any support bundles previously created for that object, ensuring sufficient storage capacity is available for the new request. This deletion includes support bundles manually created using the NSX Manager. If log bundles are needed, download them before initiating the request.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that you have added the product to the Skyline Collector from which you want to receive the logs and attach that bundle to the SR.

  • Ensure you have the required role/privileges. Go to Product User Account Privileges for details. For more information, see this KB Article.

Procedure

  1. In Skyline Advisor Pro, click Log Assist.
  2. Select the radio button next to the Support Request to which the support bundles must be attached. You can only choose one Support Request at a time.
  3. Locate the specific object for which a support bundle is required. You have two options for finding the object:

    • Use the Search by Object Name feature to search for the object by its name.

    • Browse through the Inventory tree to locate and select the object.

  4. Select the check box next to each object that a support bundle is needed. You can select more than one object. Click Next.
  5. Click Initiate Log Transfer.
  6. (Optional) Select the advanced configuration option for vCenter, EXSi Hosts, and NSX-T Log Transfer and click Next.

    You can define some advanced configurations to make log uploads based on your specific issue and help streamline the data you want to send for resolution rather than sharing everything without any controls or settings.

    For vCenter, select the below customization:

    • Exclude Core Dumps

    For ESXi Hosts, select the below customization:

    • Exclude Core Dumps

    • Include vCenter Logs with the support bundle

    For NSX-T, select the below customization:

    • Select log age limit

  7. Confirm Initiate Log Transfer.

Results

This log transfer request is sent to the Skyline Collector. A support bundle is generated for the object, or objects, selected during the Initiate Log Transfer process. The Skyline Collector collects and transfers the support bundle to VMware.

What to do next

You can monitor the status of the log transfer request on the Log Library page. When you click the Log Bundle detail, a modal displays all the customization applied to that specific log bundle. If the log transfer request fails, notify the VMware Technical Support Engineer (TSE) assigned to the Support Request so that they can take the appropriate steps to retrieve the support bundle to assist you with troubleshooting and resolving the issue you are experiencing.