How do you scroll up in a virtual machine console window?

[pwallace]

I am unable to scroll in my vm console windows. Linux is my OS but I am thinking that should not matter. Running version 4 of ESXi and vSphere.

Attached is a screen capture of my console window saved as a windows doc file.

Thanks,

Pippin

[devzero]

that looks like a linux issue not lika a vmware issue to me. seems your linux didn`t completely boot to a login-prompt.

[pwallace]

devzero, you are correct about the state of the system however, here is an image of the vm console window of a fully loaded system and I have the same issues.

[Rumple]

What do you mean by scroll.

On the screens you showed, neither console window is located at a spot where A:, you need to scroll to see more of the screen (console window too small), or B, you need to scroll through the command history?

Little confused to what you are expecting. Looking at the screenshot looks exactly like it would if I were if it were a physical machine with a keyboard/mouse attached it it...

[pwallace]

Rumple, good point. I have attached another pic after a yum update and for example I would like to see what happened above the Cleanup line but I can not scroll up or page up in the vm console window and that is what I am looking for help on.

Thanks for the clarification question.

[devzero]

did you switch to another VT while that was running in the background?

afaik, that cleans the scrollback buffer on some? linux distros (if not all)

not a vmware issue !!!

[DSTAVERT]

The VI client is useful for adding Virtual machines but for daily management other more appropriate tools. Use SSH or vnc for linux, terminal services (RDP) client or vnc for windows.

[pwallace]

DSTAVERT, I am with you on there are better tools. Would you recommend another way to view the following? When I am kickstarting a vm and problems arise before the vm is fully kickstarted I want to view what has transpired but cannot view beyond what is on the vm console screen for I cannot scroll back or page up. Might there be a better way to view the console output from a vm kickstart?

[DSTAVERT]

dmesg should show what happened during a boot.

[pwallace]

Yah, but it does not fully boot. I am encoutering problems when kickstarting the vm and it does not finish the kickstart. Where it hangs I want to scroll back up the terminal output and see what errors were thrown but this is where I am stuck because I cannot scroll in the vm counsle. Is there another why to view the console output of a vm other than the vm console via ESXi?

[devzero]

>Yah, but it does not fully boot. I am encoutering problems when kickstarting the vm and it does not finish the kickstart

what do you do if you kickstart a physical box and have a problem? are you able to scroll back there? i`m very sure that it behaves the same there and i`d wonder if this is a vmware issue.

you should ask on a linux forum.

maybe netconsole is something for you - have a look at http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=blob;f=Documentation/networking/n...

[DSTAVERT]

Is there another why to view the console output of a vm other than the vm console via ESXi?

I just tried VNC but it looks like the vnc support doesn't exist in ESXi. It was a great to have in GSX and Server and may still exist in ESX.

[DSTAVERT]

Yah, but it does not fully boot. I am encoutering problems when kickstarting the vm and it does not finish the kickstart.

Boot from your rescue CD. Once you are chrooted you should be able to use dmesg.

I have used physical machines to make an initial install and then used converter to create the virtual machine.

[pwallace]

Thanks DSTAVERT, Great idea! I will use this however I was hoping for some cool trick to get a vm console to scroll back even if it required some contorted emacs key combo.