Log Insight is a real-time log management and analytics solution, and one of VMware’s newest product. Log Insight was recently updated to version 2.0 and available to download here.
Below we’ll go through the steps to installing VMware Log Insight and you’ll soon see just how easy it is to get Log Insight up and running.
The 25 OSI VMware vRealize log insight licenses that come with VMware vCenter server is enough for organizations to realize the value of Log Insight before they commit to it. Log Insight is a handy tool that helps administrators and operators troubleshoot their environment quickly and easily, and is easy to get started with. VMware vRealize Log Insight: Deploy and Manage. Course Overview In this three-day course, you will focus on deploying, using, and managing VMware vRealize® Log Insight™. You will learn about the configuration and use of vRealize Log Insight to collect and manage logs from a variety of VMware and third-party products.
Deploying the Log Insight OVA
When you download Log Insight it comes as a .OVA file. I’m not going to get all wrapped up in OVA deployment part as it’s pretty simple. In a nutshell you’ll accept the user agreement, give it a name and assign it an IP – or you can use DHCP.
Once the appliance has been deployed go ahead and power it up.
Install / Configure Log Insight
- To begin, open up your favorite browser and go to:
https:appliance-ip-address - You are then prompted to join an existing deployment or new deployment, being that Log Insight isn’t already installed – click on “Start New Deployment“.
- You’re then prompted to enter a new password and email address for the Log Insight admin user.
- Now enter your license key and click on “Add License Key“.
- The next screen shows details of your license, now click on “Continue”.
- Next, enter an email address you want to have system notifications sent to. Also decide if you want to help VMware be sure to join the customer experience improvement program. Being that my license was free (Thanks Corey Romero & vExpert program!) I decided to check the box.
- Next is Time Configuration and you have two options. Use NTP server(s) or time sync with the ESXi hosts. I went with the recommended option (NTP Server), the default NTP servers Log Insight has automatically entered is: 0.vmware.pool.ntp.org, 1.vmware.pool.ntp.org, etc, however I recommend using the same NTP servers you are currently using throughout your environment, otherwise it’s going to be hard reading logs if the time is skewed. In my case I’m already using: 0.us.pool.ntp.org, 1.us.pool.ntp.org, etc.
- Enter your SMTP server, sender address, username, and password so that Log Insight can send you notifications.
- That’s it on the initial setup of Log Insight, just click on Finish!
Import system logs into VMware Log Insight
Now that the initial appliance setup is finished we need to link our vCenter and ESXi hosts to Log Insight.
- Click on the “vSphere Integration” link to start the wizard
- Simply enter the host name or IP address of your vCenter server along with a username and password. By default Log Insight will collect vCenter events, tasks, alarms, as well ans configure the ESXi hosts to send their logs to Log Insight as well.
- Once you click on Save from the step 11, Log Insight will start link to vCenter and start configuring your hosts to send logs to Log Insight.
Note: I already had my hosts configured to send logs to my Synology Syslog server and was happy to see Log Insight kept that IP setting alone on each of the hosts and simply added a comma and the Log Insight IP as well.
That’s it! When the last step completes the page will refresh and will already start showing you stats and information about your environment.
I’m looking forward to really digging into Log Insight in the lab and very possibly in the production environment as well. If you’re interested in finding out more specifics on VMware Log Insight, be sure to check out the Log Insight Community by VMware.
****UPDATE****
VMware has recently announced the End of Availability (EOA) of vRealize Log Insight for vCenter. This means that the next version of vRealize Log Insight (yet to be released) will not accept a vCenter Server Standard license key to provide a 25-OSI pack entitlement. Version 4.6.x and older will continue to provide this functionality.
Here are your options going forward:
- Continue to run vRealize Log Insight 4.6.x or older until the End of General Support (August 23, 2019).
- Purchase Standalone vRealize Log Insight or vRealize/vCloud Suite.
- This is a great option because the full product version unlocks a lot of powerful features. Check out the VMware Hands-on Labs (http://labs.hol.vmware.com) to learn more about the full product capabilities. Reach out to your VMware account team for additional information.
- Move to VMware’s new Cloud SaaS Offering – Log Intelligence.
Check out this VMware KB for additional details regarding this End of Availability announcement: vRealize Log Insight for vCenter Server – End of Availability (EOA) (55980)
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You may recall a few weeks ago I wrote a blog (here) that outlines how to enable the VCSA Log Browser in the vSphere Web Client. While the Log Browser is a nice tool, there is a much more powerful option when it comes to digging into your vSphere logs which you likely did not know you owned… “vRealize Log Insight for vCenter”. Not to be confused with the full-blown product, ‘vRealize Log Insight‘, this version of the product is a small entitlement (25-OSI pack) that is bundled with every vCenter Server license. There are some limitations to this version, but it can still provide a lot of value for smaller environments.
Limitations include the following:
- Only one vCenter Server license can be added per appliance.
- Deployments are limited to a single node (no clustering).
- Only one vCenter Server can be integrated with vRealize Log Insight for vCenter.
- Content packs are limited to those for VMware products.
- Event forwarding and archiving are not allowed.
![Vmware vcenter log insight keygen music download Vmware vcenter log insight keygen music download](http://vcloudtip.com/vclcont/uploads/2016/12/realize.jpg)
![Keygen Keygen](http://docs.hol.vmware.com/HOL-2014/hol-sdc-1426_html_en/images/57609500-cf00-4168-954d-3bbc7bfbe474.png)
Click here to review a KB article that outlines the vRealize Log Insight for vCenter license entitlement.
Below are the steps to install and configure the appliance.
Installation
- Once you have downloaded the Log Insight .ova, login to vCenter and deploy an OVF:
- Select the cluster or host you wish to deploy the OVF to:
- Click Next to accept the advanced configuration options:
- Read and Accept the EULA:
- Choose the size you wish to deploy:
- Choose which datastore you wish to deploy to:
- Select the appropriate network for the appliance:
- Enter the appropriate network and root password settings:
- Review the settings and click Finish to deploy the appliance:
Configuration
- Once the appliance has been deployed, open a browser and navigate to the FQDN or IP Address. Click Next to begin the configuration process:
- Click the Start New Deployment button:
- Enter the Admin email address and provide a password:
- Enter your vCenter Server license key and click Save And Continue:
- Provide an email address for system notifications:
- Enter your NTP Server information. It is extremely important that you have consistent NTP settings across your environment for event correlation:
- Enter the SMTP information for your organization:
- Click Finish:
- Click Configure vSphere integration to add the details of your vCenter Server to Log Insight:
I would encourage you to setup Log Insight in your environment and get to know the product. Below are some good options for training/enablement:
- vRealize Log Insight Fundamentals [V3.0] – Free Course
Duration: 2 Hours - vRealize Log Insight; Deploy and Manage [V4.3] – Paid Course
Duration: 3 Days - VMware Hands-on Labs – Free Online Lab Environments
Duration: All you can eat!
Happy Logging!