How To Check VM Instance Boot Logs in OpenStack

Josphat Mutai
June 30, 2024
9:55 pm
No Comments

Do you have an issue on your OpenStack where the instance is not booting up properly?, Or cloud-init data injection to the virtual machine failing on OpenStack as a result of metadata server not being reachable?.

Let’s create a test VM instance to demonstrate how you can check VM instance logs on OpenStack compute platform.

$ openstack server create --flavor linux-advanced-vps   --net public   --key-name jkmutai   --security-group allow_all   --image "Rocky-Linux-9"   Rocky-Linux-9
+--------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Field                                | Value                                                |
+--------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| OS-DCF:diskConfig                    | MANUAL                                               |
| OS-EXT-AZ:availability_zone          |                                                      |
| OS-EXT-SRV-ATTR:host                 | None                                                 |
| OS-EXT-SRV-ATTR:hypervisor_hostname  | None                                                 |
| OS-EXT-SRV-ATTR:instance_name        |                                                      |
| OS-EXT-STS:power_state               | NOSTATE                                              |
| OS-EXT-STS:task_state                | scheduling                                           |
| OS-EXT-STS:vm_state                  | building                                             |
| OS-SRV-USG:launched_at               | None                                                 |
| OS-SRV-USG:terminated_at             | None                                                 |
| accessIPv4                           |                                                      |
| accessIPv6                           |                                                      |
| addresses                            |                                                      |
| adminPass                            | 2DVtdhoq9PjV                                         |
| config_drive                         |                                                      |
| created                              | 2024-06-19T15:00:33Z                                 |
| flavor                               | linux-advanced-vps (12)                              |
| hostId                               |                                                      |
| id                                   | cf1fdd2f-3118-4052-a629-797ccacbd2a4                 |
| image                                | Rocky-Linux-9 (6774019b-df26-4841-8842-689e31aff1d7) |
| key_name                             | jkmutai                                              |
| name                                 | Rocky-Linux-9                                        |
| os-extended-volumes:volumes_attached | []                                                   |
| progress                             | 0                                                    |
| project_id                           | 3dfc8a0aec3d409696daa2c825b85a3f                     |
| properties                           |                                                      |
| security_groups                      | name='7abe316b-ad8b-4dc0-9b18-d4bbe6781a96'          |
| status                               | BUILD                                                |
| updated                              | 2024-06-19T15:00:33Z                                 |
| user_id                              | a381926a111e43d288f927baf92e78c8                     |
+--------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+

Check server status and get the instance name or instance ID by running:

$ openstack server list
+--------------------------------------+---------------+--------+-----------------------+---------------+--------------------+
| ID                                   | Name          | Status | Networks              | Image         | Flavor             |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+--------+-----------------------+---------------+--------------------+
| 5e7e6c8d-4d80-4102-9eb3-81a086112751 | Rocky-Linux-9 | ACTIVE | public=198.41.183.233 | Rocky-Linux-9 | linux-advanced-vps |
+--------------------------------------+---------------+--------+-----------------------+---------------+--------------------+

To get OpenStack instance show console output, the command to use is:

openstack console log show <vm-instance>

Example below shows console logs for Rocky-Linux-9 instance.

openstack console log show Rocky-Linux-9

Sample output from command execution.

.....
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mdracut pre-udev hook[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mRule-based Manage���for Device Events and Files[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Started [0;1;39mRule-based Manager for Device Events and Files[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mdracut pre-trigger hook[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mdracut pre-trigger hook[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mColdplug All udev Devices[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mColdplug All udev Devices[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mSystem Initialization[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mBasic System[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mNetwork[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mdracut initqueue hook[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Started [0;1;39mHardware RNG Entropy Gatherer Daemon[0m.
[    1.689594] virtio_blk virtio2: 1/0/0 default/read/poll queues
[    1.701024] virtio_blk virtio2: [vda] 167772160 512-byte logical blocks (85.9 GB/80.0 GiB)
[    1.721627]  vda: vda1 vda2 vda3 vda4
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Found device [0;1;39m/dev/disk/by-label/rocky[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mInitrd Root Device[0m.
[    1.823181] scsi host0: ata_piix
[    1.827731] scsi host1: ata_piix
[    1.827840] ata1: PATA max MWDMA2 cmd 0x1f0 ctl 0x3f6 bmdma 0xc0e0 irq 14 lpm-pol 0
[    1.827842] ata2: PATA max MWDMA2 cmd 0x170 ctl 0x376 bmdma 0xc0e8 irq 15 lpm-pol 0
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mdracut initqueue hook[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mPreparation for Remote File Systems[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mRemote Encrypted Volumes[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mRemote File Systems[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mdracut pre-mount hook[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mdracut pre-mount hook[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mFile System Check on /dev/disk/by-label/rocky[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mFile System Check on /dev/disk/by-label/rocky[0m.
         Mounting [0;1;39m/sysroot[0m...
[    2.511799] SGI XFS with ACLs, security attributes, scrub, quota, no debug enabled
[    2.540954] XFS (vda4): Mounting V5 Filesystem 5b6a1614-08e4-4d63-92fe-cee0bc83425f
[    2.585105] XFS (vda4): Ending clean mount
[    2.597811] xfs filesystem being mounted at /sysroot supports timestamps until 2038 (0x7fffffff)
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Mounted [0;1;39m/sysroot[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mInitrd Root File System[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mMountpoints Configured in the Real Root[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mMountpoints Configured in the Real Root[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mInitrd File Systems[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Reached target [0;1;39mInitrd Default Target[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mdracut pre-pivot and cleanup hook[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Finished [0;1;39mdracut pre-pivot and cleanup hook[0m.
         Starting [0;1;39mCleaning Up and Shutting Down Daemons[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mNetwork[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mRemote Encrypted Volumes[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mTimer Units[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Closed [0;1;39mD-Bus System Message Bus Socket[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mdracut pre-pivot and cleanup hook[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mInitrd Default Target[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mInitrd Root Device[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mInitrd /usr File System[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mRemote File Systems[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mPreparation for Remote File Systems[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mdracut pre-mount hook[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mdracut initqueue hook[0m.
         Stopping [0;1;39mHardware RNG Entropy Gatherer Daemon[0m...
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mSetup Virtual Console[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mHardware RNG Entropy Gatherer Daemon[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mBasic System[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mPath Units[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mSlice Units[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mSocket Units[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mSystem Initialization[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mLocal Encrypted Volumes[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mDispatch Password ���ts to Console Directory Watch[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mLocal File Systems[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped target [0;1;39mSwaps[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mApply Kernel Variables[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mLoad Kernel Modules[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mCreate Volatile Files and Directories[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mColdplug All udev Devices[0m.
[[0;32m  OK  [0m] Stopped [0;1;39mdracut pre-trigger hook[0m.
....

You can dump the contents of the logs to a file for later review.

$ openstack console log show <vm-instance> > instance_logs_file.txt

To get VNC console access URL which can be accessed from your web browser, use:

 openstack console url show <vm-instance>

Here is the sample output. We can see the URL that you can open in your browser to access instance console.

+----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Field    | Value                                                                                         |
+----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| protocol | vnc                                                                                           |
| type     | novnc                                                                                         |
| url      | http://198.41.183.233:6080/vnc_auto.html?path=%3Ftoken%3D9ea9052e-0e7e-46b3-983e-198151d2e88d |
+----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

As CloudSpinx, we can help you with different OpenStack administration tasks and issue resolution. You can chat with us and we will he happy to help.

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