vCenter Server 6.0 Log Locations

vSphere 6.0 has made some significant changes to the logging locations for its contained vCenter and PSC services. Everything has been condensed into a common area of the directory structure and labeled with the service name. In short, it makes a LOT more sense now than it did before.
 
This is an overview of what the structure looks like now and where to find what you need.
 
Windows Log Locations
 
C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\logs
 

 
vCenter Appliance Log Locations
 
/var/log/vmware
 


 
Note: For the purpose of brevity, all log locations will be referenced from the base logs directory mentioned above
 

vCenter Service

vmware-vpx\vpxd.log

Use this to troubleshoot issues with issues relating directly operation of the vCenter. Everything from DB connectivity problems to vCenter crashes are in here. This log will have a LOT of information in it and is a good place to start on many issues.
 

Inventory Service

invsvc\inv-svc.log

Formally the ds.log in 5.x. The format and location has changed.

invsvc\wrapper.log

Used to troubleshoot why the inventory service will not start.
 

Single Sign on

sso\vmware-sts-idmd.log

This is a good log to use as a “one-stop-shop” for SSO authentication issues. Authentication requests/failures as well as problems with an identity source will post here.

vmafd\vdcpromo.log

Contains installation errors during configuration of vmdir. Especially useful for errors when adding another PSC to the same SSO domain.

vmdird\vmdird-syslog.log

Has information concerning the SSO LDAP instance named vmdir. Problems with ldap operations and replication within SSO can be found here.
 

vPostgres Service

vpostgres\postgresql-##.log

Operational information about the local vPostgres instance. This is just a renamed version on pg_log in normal Postgresql.
 

vSphere Web Client

vsphere-client\logs\vsphere_client_virgo.log

An excellent source of information when troubleshooting errors within the Web Client. If you receive errors from simply clicking on objects, you begin chasing them down here!

vsphere-client\wrapper.log

Entries in here can help determine why your vSphere Web Client service won’t start, or if it suddenly crashes. This log will not have as much on issues received while inside the Web Client
 

VMware System and Hardware Health Manager

vws\wrapper.log

This service is used to poll ESXi hosts for IPMI information for the Hardware Status tab. Entries in here can determine why the service won’t start, is malfunctioning, or if it suddenly crashes.
 

Performance Charts

perfcharts\stats.log

Has information on the Performance Charts section of the vCenter. If the charts fail to load, look here first.