Purpose
This article provides methods for configuring the network coredump feature in vSphere ESXi 5.x. For more information on the network coredump functionality, see Network Dump Collector in VMware vSphere (1032051). For more information on configuring a network dump collector to receive diagnostic information, see Configuring the Network Dump Collector service in vSphere 5.0 (2002954).
The network coredump functionality in ESXi allows for capturing diagnostic data via the network in the event of a purple diagnostic screen. For more information, see Interpreting an ESX host purple diagnostic screen (1004250).
Resolution
The vSphere ESXi 5.x network coredump client can be configuring using esxcli or using Host Profiles. Select a method appropriate to your environment. A host configured using esxcli can be subsequently used as a reference for creating host profiles.
Generally, the host is configured with a VMkernel interface attached to a standard vSwitch which has an active uplink port, and the target netdump server's IP address and port is specified.
Configuring using Host Profiles
- Connect to vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
- Click Home and select Host Profiles.
- Create or edit a host profile.
- Select Networking Configuration.
- Select Network Coredump Settings.
- Specify the VMkernel network interface to use for outbound traffic, such as
vmk0. - Specify the IP address and UDP port number of the remote network coredump server.
- Save and apply the host profile.
Configuring using ESXCLI
- Open a console session to the ESXi host, the vMA, or other location where the vCLI is installed.
- Review the current configuration using this command:
esxcli system coredump network get - Specify the VMkernel network interface to use for outbound traffic and the IP address and UDP port number of the remote network coredump server using this command:
esxcli system coredump network set --interface-name--server-ipv4 --server-port PortNumber
Example:esxcli system coredump network set --interface-name vmk0 --server-ipv4 10.11.12.13 --server-port 6500
Note: As of vSphere ESXi 5.1, the VLAN value from the selected interface is used when generated a core dump over the network. - Enable the network coredump configuration using this command:
esxcli system coredump network set --enable true - Review and confirm the configuration using this command:
esxcli system coredump network get - As of vSphere ESXi 5.1, you can also check the functionality of ESXi Dump Collector server configuration by using this command:
esxcli system coredump network checkA successful core dump transmission should return the following output:Verified the configured netdump server is runningBased on VMware KB 2002955
