OPERATIONAL DEFECT DATABASE
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When running VMware ESX 4.x with a software iSCSI initiator, you see these symptoms:Running the df command in the host terminal shows that the partition /var/log is 100% full. For more information, see Investigating disk space on an ESX or ESXi host (1003564).The log file /var/log/vmkernel does not update.The log file /var/log/vmkiscsid.log or /var/log/vmkiscsid.log is very large.
On VMware ESX 4.x, the software iSCSI daemon log file at /var/log/vmkiscsid.log is not rotated or cleared, unlike other syslog-generated log files. Therefore, the vmkiscsid.log file grows to a very large size if the host has experienced, or is experiencing, ongoing communication issues with the iSCSI storage.
SolutionThis issue is resolved by ESX 4.0 Update 3, released 2011-05-05. After installing this update, 600KB of vmkiscsid logs are retained, across 6 files. For more information, see the release notes at https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_esx40_u3_rel_notes.html.Workaround for ESX 4.0If you need the software iSCSI client logs for troubleshooting purposes, archive them prior to reboot. See the Additional Information section.Reboot the ESX 4.0 host.The file /var/log/vmkiscsid.log is erased during startup and the space used by the file is released.Workaround for ESX 4.1Reboot the ESX 4.1 host.The file /var/log/vmkiscsid.log is rotated to /var/log/vmkiscsid.log.previous during startup.If you need the software iSCSI client logs for troubleshooting purposes, archive them following the reboot. See the Additional Information section.Delete the older file using a command similar to:rm /var/log/vmkiscsid.log.previous
If there is rapid logging to the /var/log/vmkiscsid.log file, investigate underlying iSCSI storage connectivity issue by reviewing your storage target configuration and system logs.Make a compressed backup of the /var/log/vmkiscsid.log or vmkiscsid.log.previous files before deleting them or rebooting the host, in case this information is needed for troubleshooting purposes. Archive the file to a location with sufficient space, such as a datastore. For example, use a command similar to:tar czvf /vmfs/volumes/DatastoreName/vmkiscsid.tgz /var/log/vmkiscsid.log*Note:To view this file, you can extract the file using an archive manager.The archive can be relocated back to /var/log/ after the system reboots to keep the system logs in a single location.Investigating disk space on an ESX or ESXi host
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