Introduction: VMkernel and vobd.log are essential components of vSphere infrastructure, providing valuable insights into the health and performance of your virtual environment. Troubleshooting issues related to VMkernel and vobd.log logs can be time-consuming if done manually. In this article, we will explore how to leverage PowerShell to automate the process of troubleshooting VMkernel and vobd.log and publish all errors to a file, simplifying the troubleshooting process and saving valuable time.

1. Establishing Connection to vSphere Environment: The first step is to establish a connection to the vSphere environment using the vSphere PowerCLI module in PowerShell. This allows us to interact with the vSphere API and retrieve the necessary information. Use the following commands to connect to the vSphere environment:

powershell
# Import the vSphere PowerCLI module
Import-Module VMware.PowerCLI

# Connect to the vSphere environment
Connect-VIServer -Server <vCenter_Server_IP> -User <Username> -Password <Password>

Make sure to replace “, “, and “ with your actual vCenter Server details. 2. Retrieving VMkernel Logs: The VMkernel logs provide information about the virtualization layer, including host hardware, networking, and storage. To retrieve VMkernel logs, we can use the `Get-VMHost` cmdlet and specify the desired log file. Here’s an example of how to retrieve VMkernel logs for all hosts in the vSphere environment:

powershell
# Retrieve VMkernel logs for all hosts
$VMHosts = Get-VMHost
$VMkernelLogs = @()

foreach ($VMHost in $VMHosts) {
    $VMkernelLog = Get-Log -VMHost $VMHost -LogFile vmkernel.log
    $VMkernelLogs += $VMkernelLog
}

The above script retrieves the `vmkernel.log` file for each host in the environment and stores it in the `$VMkernelLogs` array.

3. Parsing VMkernel Logs for Errors: Once we have retrieved the VMkernel logs, we can parse them to identify any errors or warning messages. We can use regular expressions to search for specific patterns indicating errors. Here’s an example of how to parse the VMkernel logs for errors:

powershell
$ErrorPattern = "error|warning" # Define the error pattern to search for
$Errors = @()

foreach ($VMkernelLog in $VMkernelLogs) {
    $Matches = Select-String -Pattern $ErrorPattern -InputObject $VMkernelLog.LogMessages
    
    if ($Matches) {
        $Errors += $Matches
    }
}

In the above script, we define the error pattern to search for, such as “error” or “warning”. We then iterate through each VMkernel log and use the `Select-String` cmdlet to find matches for the error pattern. If any matches are found, they are stored in the `$Errors` array.

4. Retrieving vobd.log: The vobd.log file contains information related to vSphere Object Block Device (VOBD) operations, including datastore and storage-related events. To retrieve the vobd.log file, we can use the `Get-Log` cmdlet and specify the `vobd.log` file. Here’s an example:

powershell
$VobdLog = Get-Log -Name vobd.log

The above script retrieves the `vobd.log` file and stores it in the `$VobdLog` variable.

5. Parsing vobd.log for Errors: Similar to parsing VMkernel logs, we can parse the vobd.log file to identify any errors or warning messages. Here’s an example of how to parse the vobd.log file for errors:

powershell
$VobdErrors = Select-String -Pattern $ErrorPattern -InputObject $VobdLog.LogMessages

In the above script, we use the `Select-String` cmdlet to search for matches of the error pattern in the vobd.log file. Any matches are stored in the `$VobdErrors` variable.