Using VxExplorer.exe to gather logs on servers running Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows and Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows High Availability 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x

Problem

Using VxExplorer.exe to gather logs on servers running Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows and Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows High Availability 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x. VxExplorer can also be used to capture log files for Veritas ApplicationHA.

Solution

For troubleshooting purposes, Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows and Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows High Availability 4.x and 5.x write several logs in real time. VxExplorer is a utility that gathers these logs, and places them in a *.CAB file that can be sent to Technical Support. VxExplorer can also be used to capture log files for Veritas ApplicationHA.

To run VxExplorer, perform the following steps:
 

1. Download VxExplorer.zip from Attachments section below for SFW 5.x and earlier or VxExplorer for SFW 6.zip for SFW 6.x and higher.
   
   Note: It is critical that the latest version of VxExplorer is used, unless otherwise instructed. Outdated versions of VxExplorer will not gather all of the logs properly. In the event that File Transfer Protocol (FTP) access is not available, contact technical Support for other alternatives to provide the file.
    
2. Extract the whole zip archive to a local path on the server.
3. Execute VxExplorer.exe. The VxExplorer utility will open a window containing several fields that can be modified (Figure 1).
   Figure 1 - VxExplorer 
   
4. Add the support case ID into the Incident/Titan/Ref # field. The case ID should have been provided by a Global Support Representative (GSR).
5. The Name and Comments fields are optional.
6. Unless otherwise instructed, accept all of the default options and click OK. VxExplorer will begin gathering logs from the system.
   
   Note: In many cases, VxExplorer may appear to "hang" and may be listed in the Windows Task Manager as "Not Responding." This happens because VxExplorer executes at a low priority to avoid impacting the available resources of the server. In some cases,  VxExplorer may take 30-45 minutes to complete.

If VxExplorer hangs for an extremely long time (over an hour),  it may be because it cannot gain access to one or more logs, or that the logs are very large in size. Try rerunning VxExplorer with some of the options unchecked (in particular, the "OS Information," "Application Log" and the "System Log").

Once VxExplorer has completed, a *.CAB file will be created using the name of the Support case ID. By default, the file is placed directly under the C: drive in a folder named after the support case ID.

For example, if VxExplorer is run on a server called "Server," and the case number is 111222333, the resulting file and path will be

C:\111222333\SERVER\09052007__10-50-23\Cab\111222333_SERVER_BIGFiles.CAB