Article Number: 000224535
How to export Tech Support Report with access to VMware ESXi 8 only
Summary: The Tech Support Report is a hardware log collection that is crucial to Dell Technical Support in diagnosing issues, trending, preventing issues, and logging events. These logs provide detailed information about the hardware's health, helping to identify and resolve issues efficiently. This article guides you how to collect even when your access is limited to the ESXi host. ...
Article Content
Instructions
Download the iDRAC Tools (RACADM) from the Dell Support website.
Transfer the iDRAC Tools installation file to the datastore.
Statement: From the left navigation menu, select Storage, click the Datastore browser button, select the datastore (in this example datastore1) and click the Upload button and select the previously downloaded iDRAC Tools file, select the Open button to start the upload and wait for it to complete.
Enable the SSH service.
Statement: From the left navigation menu, select Host, click the Actions button, select Services>Enable Secure Shell (SSH).
An alert will be presented only to inform you that SSH is enabled on this host.
Access the ESXi host via SSH using the PuTTY program.
Statement: Run the PuTTY program and enter the IP of the ESXi Host in the Host Name (or IP address) field, click on the Open button and wait for connect, when opening the finish inform the root user when asking for 'login as:' and press the Enter key, then enter the password when it asks for 'password:' and press the Enter key (root user and password is the same used to access the host via VMware Host Client) when completing the terminal will display [root@localhost:~] and be ready to execute the next commands.
Installation of iDRAC Tools.
Statement: Install the vib using the command: esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/Dell-iDRACTools-Web-ESXi.VIB-11.1.0.0-5294_A00.zip
Note that there is no need to restart the host.
Start log collection.
Statement: Run the command to start the collection: racadm techsupreport collect -t SysInfo,TTYLog
Note that it will generate a Job ID, in this example JID_141362012978.
Track the progress of the log collection.
Statement: Monitor the Job progress using the command: racadm jobqueue view -i <JobID>
Note that the JobID> must be replaced with the <Job ID generated by the previous command, example: racadm jobqueue view -i JID_141362012978
Retry the command until the Job Status displays the value Completed.
Disable USB Arbitrator.
Statement: Enable the host so that you can transfer the collection file from iDRAC to the datastore using the command: /etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop
Reference: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1038228
Export the log collection to the datastore.
How to: Export the iDRAC collection file to datastore using the command: racadm techsupreport export -f /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/tsr_report.zip
Download the log collection to your computer.
Statement: Access the host via VMware Host Client, from the left navigation menu, select Storage, click the Datastore browser button, select the datastore (in this example datastore1) select the tsr_report.zip file and click the Download button.
Ready! You can now send the generated collection file to the technical support agent for analysis.
Access the ESXi host via SSH using the PuTTY program and run the command: /etc/init.d/usbarbitrator start
Access the ESXi host via SSH using the PuTTY program and run command: esxcli software vib remove -n racadm
- Go to the https://www.dell.com/support/home/pt-br website and enter your server model or service tag.
- Click the Drivers & Downloads tab.
- Select your operating system, in this case, VMware ESXi 8.0.
- In the keyword search field, type: iDRAC Tools.
- Download the Dell iDRAC Tools for VMware ESXi or Dell iDRAC Tools for ESXi file that appears.
What is iDRAC Tools (RACADM)?
RACADM, also known as Dell Remote Access Controller Admin, is a command-line tool that allows remote or local management using the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC).
Access the host through the ESXi Host Client.
Transfer the iDRAC Tools installation file to the datastore.
Statement: From the left navigation menu, select Storage, click the Datastore browser button, select the datastore (in this example datastore1) and click the Upload button and select the previously downloaded iDRAC Tools file, select the Open button to start the upload and wait for it to complete.
Enable the SSH service.
Statement: From the left navigation menu, select Host, click the Actions button, select Services>Enable Secure Shell (SSH).
An alert will be presented only to inform you that SSH is enabled on this host.
Access the ESXi host via SSH using the PuTTY program.
Statement: Run the PuTTY program and enter the IP of the ESXi Host in the Host Name (or IP address) field, click on the Open button and wait for connect, when opening the finish inform the root user when asking for 'login as:' and press the Enter key, then enter the password when it asks for 'password:' and press the Enter key (root user and password is the same used to access the host via VMware Host Client) when completing the terminal will display [root@localhost:~] and be ready to execute the next commands.
Installation of iDRAC Tools.
Statement: Install the vib using the command: esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/Dell-iDRACTools-Web-ESXi.VIB-11.1.0.0-5294_A00.zip
Note that there is no need to restart the host.
Start log collection.
Statement: Run the command to start the collection: racadm techsupreport collect -t SysInfo,TTYLog
Note that it will generate a Job ID, in this example JID_141362012978.
Track the progress of the log collection.
Statement: Monitor the Job progress using the command: racadm jobqueue view -i <JobID>
Note that the JobID> must be replaced with the <Job ID generated by the previous command, example: racadm jobqueue view -i JID_141362012978
Retry the command until the Job Status displays the value Completed.
Disable USB Arbitrator.
Statement: Enable the host so that you can transfer the collection file from iDRAC to the datastore using the command: /etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop
Reference: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1038228
Export the log collection to the datastore.
How to: Export the iDRAC collection file to datastore using the command: racadm techsupreport export -f /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/tsr_report.zip
Download the log collection to your computer.
Statement: Access the host via VMware Host Client, from the left navigation menu, select Storage, click the Datastore browser button, select the datastore (in this example datastore1) select the tsr_report.zip file and click the Download button.
Ready! You can now send the generated collection file to the technical support agent for analysis.
How do I enable USB Arbitrator?
Access the ESXi host via SSH using the PuTTY program and run the command: /etc/init.d/usbarbitrator start
How do I uninstall iDRAC Tools?
Access the ESXi host via SSH using the PuTTY program and run command: esxcli software vib remove -n racadm
Caution : It is recommended that you uninstall iDRAC Tools only when you are sure that the issue is completely resolved. Depending on the situation, the technical support agent may request more than one data collection. Therefore, it is advisable to keep iDRAC Tools installed until all issues are fully resolved.
Article Properties
Affected Product
Servers
Last Published Date
30 Apr 2024
Version
2
Article Type
How To