Introduction

When working with VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS), collecting a support bundle is often the first step in troubleshooting cluster issues.

Broadcom supports two methods for collecting VKS support bundles:

• SSH-based collection
• GuestOps-based collection

While SSH has traditionally been used, it introduces operational and security challenges, especially in enterprise environments.

The GuestOps method provides a secure, scalable, and automation-friendly alternative by leveraging vCenter Guest Operations APIs to collect logs without direct node access.

This blog focuses entirely on collecting VKS support bundles using GuestOps.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure the following are in place.

• Linux Jump Host which has Supervisor Cluster Access
• Required Permissions (vSphere Administrator privileges, Access to Supervisor namespace and Permissions to execute Guest Operations)
• Download VKS Support Bundler Tool from Broadcom KB

Workflow Steps

1. Login to Supervisor Cluster
2. Run vks-support-bundler tool
3. Tool communicates with vCenter
4. GuestOps executes commands inside VKS nodes
5. Logs are collected and packaged
6. Bundle is saved locally

Bill of Materials(BOM) used in this Demo

• VCF 9.0.2 GA
• VKS 3.6.2
• VKS Support Bundler CLI Version:3.6.0

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 — Extract the Tool

Step 2 — Login to Supervisor Cluster

kubectl vsphere login --server=<SUPERVISOR_IP> --vsphere-username <VC_SSO_USER> --insecure-skip-tls-verify

Step 3 — Verify Context

Step 4 — Run VKS Cluster Support Bundle Collection

./vks-support-bundler create -k ~/.kube/config -v <VCENTER_IP> -u <VC_SSO_USER> -c <GUEST_CLUSTER_NAME> -n <SUPERVISOR_NAMESPACE> -o <Output_Directory> -i true

Command Parameter Explanation

-k = Path to kubeconfig -v = vCenter IP/FQDN
-u = vCenter SSO username
-c = VKS cluster name
-n = Supervisor namespace
-o = Output directory
-i = Interactive password prompt -p = Progress-bar

Please Refer to official Broadcom documentation for the latest guidance on all the supported parameters.

From above output, we can see support-bundle is saved at /tmp/demo/.

demo-vks-namespace-cluster01-demo-vks-namespace-1779119537-support-bundle.tar.gz is your collected VKS Cluster support bundle.

Disclaimer

This guide is for educational and operational purposes only. Always validate in a non-production environment before applying in production systems. Behavior may vary depending on VKS and vSphere versions.

Refer to official Broadcom documentation for the latest guidance.