The log files on your ESXi Host contain tons of information pertaining to your systems over all state. In this post we will take a look at some of the ways to access and view Log files via SSH. Because VMware leverages several Linux-like commands I will list a few of the more frequently used ones below.
cat: This command allows you to view the contents of a file and much more.
example: cat /var/log/vpxa.log
more: This command allows you to display output in the terminal one page at a time
example: more /var/log/vpxa.log
tail: This command allows you to see the most resent or last handful of logs.
example: tail /var/log/vpxa.log
The below example shows the location and list of all available logs inside of your ESXi host.
The next example will explore the ESXi logs accessible via the Host web client, the GUI way.
Directions: Browse to the management IP address of your ESXi Host, log in, select Monitor. Select the Logs tab at the top of the screen and navigate to the log file in question and there you have it. You can even search the log as well, all from the GUI.