ESXi log files are very important when troubleshooting issues within the virtual environment. The following table shows the location and purpose of each log file.
| Log File | Name | Details |
| /var/log/vmkernel | Vmkernel | Records activities related to the virtual machines and ESX host |
| /var/log/vmkwarning | Vmkernel Warnings | A copy of everything marked as a warning or higher severity from vmkernel log. Easier to look through than vmkernel log |
| /var/log/vmksummary | Vmkernel Summary | Used for avaialability and uptime statistics. Human-readable summary in vmksummary.txt |
| /var/log/vmware/hostd.log | Host Agent Log | Contains information on the agent that manages and configures the ESX host and its virtual machines |
| /var/log/vmware/vpx | VirtualCenter Agent | Contains information on the agent that communicates with VirtualCenter |
| /var/log/messages | Service Console | Log from the Linux kernel. Useful for underlying Linux issues. The kernel has no awareness of VMs running on the VMkernel |
| /var/log/vmware/esxcfg-boot.log | ESX Boot Log | ESX Boot log, logs all ESX boot events |
| /var/log/vmware/webAccess | Web Access | Records information on Web-based access to ESX Server |
| /var/log/secure | Authentication Log | Contains records of connections that require authentication, such as VMware daemons and actions initiated by the xinetd daemon |
| /var/log/vmware/esxcfg-firewall.log | ESX Firewall Log | Contains all firewall rule events |
| /var/log/vmware/aam | High Availability Log | Contains information related to the High Availability (HA) service |
| /var/log/vmware/esxupdate.log | ESX Update Log | Logs all updates completed using the esxupdate tool |
Check last 10 logs
tail /var/log/messages
View in real time
tail -f /var/log/messages
