[Guide] Installing a VMware ESXi Dump Collector

  5:18 PM    Santosh

In my last post I have showed How to Install a VMware ESXi Syslog Collector, Now I am going to cover VMware ESXi Dump Collector.VMware vSphere 5.0 included a new feature called the ESXi Dump Collector.  The VMware ESXi Dump Collector redirect VMware ESXi host core dumps to a network server. The dump collector is included as part of the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA). A core dump is the state of working memory in the event of host failure. By default it is saved to the local disk. In the case of Auto Deploy where there may not be a local disk the core dump will be saved to a ramdisk in memory, which is a problem because the core dumps will be lost when the host reboots.
VMware ESXi Dump Collector very easy to install and configure. There are two server types for VMware ESXi Dump Collector "Standalone Installation" & "VMware vCenter Server Installation". I am going to cover "VMware vCenter Server Installation", its easy & staright forward. You will find "VMware ESXi Dump Collector" installables under VMware vCenter Server ISO/DVD. Insert VMware vCenter DVD & launch the "VMware ESXi Dump Collector" as shown below,
 Click "OK" to continue,
 Click next to continue,
 Accept VMware End-User Patent Agreement to continue,
 Accept VMware License Agreement & click next,
Select Destination folder to install VMware Syslog Collector. Set "vSphere ESXi Dump Collector Size". In my case its default.
  Select setup type as "VMware vCenter Server installation" & Click Next.
  Keep the default VMware ESXi Dump Collector Port & Continue,
  Click Next,
 Click "Install" to start installation,
 Click finish to complete the installation.
Now your VMware ESXi Dump Collector installation is finished & it’s ready to accept incoming ESXi Dumps from Vmware vSphere hosts.  Now need to enable VMware ESXi Dump Collector  plugin. Go to "Plugins" tab & enable "VMware ESXi Dump Collector" as shown below.
 Now open "VMware ESXi Dump Collector" as shown below,
  Here you will find all your VMware ESXi Dump Collector,
Now When your VMware ESXi 5 host generates a core dump the file will be saved on the network server and will be available for analysis.