Emergency Log Collection: Generating and Uploading ESXi Support Bundles

Emergency Log Collection: Generating and Uploading ESXi Support Bundles | Lazy Admin Blog

Posted on August 23, 2015 Updated on March 23, 2026

If you can’t generate a support bundle through vCenter, your best bet is the ESXi Shell. By running vm-support directly on the host, you bypass the management overhead and get your diagnostics faster.

Step 1: Generate Logs via SSH (CLI)

Before running the command, identify a datastore with at least 5-10GB of free space to store the compressed bundle.

SSH into your ESXi host using Putty.
Navigate to your chosen datastore: cd /vmfs/volumes/YOUR_DATASTORE_NAME/
Run the support command and redirect the output to a specific file name:Bashvm-support -s > vm-support-HostName-$(date +%Y%m%d).tgz
- -s stands for “stream,” directing the output to the file you specified.
- Tip: Using $(date +%Y%m%d) automatically adds the current date to the filename.
Once finished, use the vSphere Datastore Browser to download the .tgz file to your local workstation.

Step 2: Uploading to VMware via FileZilla

VMware provides a public FTP/SFTP landing zone for Support Requests (SR). While many admins use the browser, a dedicated client like FileZilla is much more reliable for large multi-gigabyte bundles.

Configure FileZilla for VMware

Set Transfer Mode: Go to Transfer > Transfer type > Binary. This prevents file corruption during the upload.
Open Site Manager: (File > Site Manager) and create a new site:
- Host: ftpsite.vmware.com
- Protocol: FTP (or SFTP if requested by support)
- Logon Type: Normal
- User: inbound
- Password: inbound

Navigating the Remote Site

Connect to the server.
Create your SR Folder: In the “Remote Site” pane, right-click and select Create Directory. Name it exactly after your 10-digit Support Request number (e.g., 2612345678).
Upload: Locate your .tgz bundle in the left pane (Local Site), right-click it, and select Upload.

Important Note: For security, the VMware FTP is “blind.” You will not see your files or folders once they are created/uploaded. Don’t panic if the directory looks empty after the transfer completes; as long as the transfer queue shows 100%, VMware has it.

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