Version 103 of the "VMware Automation" PowerPack includes updates for compatibility with Python 3 and includes two new automation policies and two new run book actions. This PowerPack also incorporates content from the "VMware User-Initiated Automations" PowerPack.
This PowerPack is intended to be used in conjunction with the "VMware: vSphere Base Pack" PowerPack.
- Minimum Required SL1 Version: 12.1.2
Before You Install or Upgrade
Ensure that you are running version 12.1.2 or later of SL1 before installing the "VMware Automation" PowerPack. For details on upgrading SL1, see the relevant SL1 Platform Release Notes.
For best results, install and configure the "VMware: vSphere Base Pack" PowerPack before using "VMware Automation" version 103.
You must install version 201 or later of the "Datacenter Automation Utilities" PowerPack before proceeding.
Installation or Upgrade Process
To install version 103 of the "VMware Automation" PowerPack, perform the following steps:
- See the Before You Install or Upgrade section. If you have not done so already, upgrade your system to the 12.1.2 or later release.
- Familiarize yourself with the Known Issues for this release.
- Download the PowerPack to a local computer.
- Go to the PowerPack Manager page (System > Manage > PowerPacks). Click the menu and choose Import PowerPack. For details on importing PowerPacks, see the chapter on Installing a PowerPack in the PowerPacks manual.
- Click the button. For details on installing PowerPacks, see the chapter on Installing a PowerPack in the PowerPacks manual.
See the VMware Automation PowerPack manual for instructions on using this PowerPack.
Features
This release includes the following content:
- Run book automation policies that are triggered when events from the "VMware: vSphere Base Pack" PowerPack occur:
- VMware Automation: Get vCenter Service Logs
- VMware Automation: Get VMKernel Log and Syslog
- VMware Automation: Get VMware hostd and vCenter Agent ESXi Logs
- Run book actions that you can configure to collect additional diagnostic information when events occur:
- Get All Available VMware Diagnostic Logs. This action attempts to retrieve the last 10 lines of data from all available log files on the target device (vCenter root device).
- Get vCenter Service Logs. This action attempts to retrieve the last 50 lines from the vpxd.log file.
- Get VMware hostd and vCenter Agent ESXi Logs. This action attempts to retrieve the last 50 lines from the hostd.log file and vpxa.log file.
- Get VMware VMKernel Log and Syslog. This action attempts to retrieve the last 50 lines of data from the vmkernel.log and syslog.log log files on the target device (vCenter root device).
- A custom action type that you can use to create new run book actions:
- Get VMware Diagnostic Logs
Enhancements and Issues Addressed
The following enhancements and addressed issues are included in this release:
- Updated the execution environment and all relevant libraries for this PowerPack to be compatible with Python 3.6.
- Updated the snippet code in the "Get VMware Diagnostic Logs" run book action type to be compatible with Python 3.6.
- All automation policies were updated so that the Policy Type is now set by default to Active Events/User Initiated.
- Updated the "Get VMware Diagnostic Logs" action type (version 1.1) snippet to support universal credentials.
- Added the "VMware Automation: Get vCenter Service Logs" and "VMware Automation: Get VMware hostd and vCenter Agent ESXi Logs" run book automation policies and the "Get vCenter Service Logs" and "Get VMware hostd and vCenter Agent ESXi Logs" run book actions to collect log data from the /var/log/hostd.log, /var/log/vpxa.log, and /var/log/vmware/vpxd/vpxd.log on the target vCenter.
Known Issues
This release has the following known issue:
- If the log files specified in a run book action are not present on the target vCenter or standalone ESXi host device, the automation policies for this PowerPack will output an empty response instead of actual log data.