PowerCLI Script to Download VM Screenshots from Datastore

ScriptsVirtuallyWired0

Occasionally, you may need to download virtual machine files from the Datastore. For example, If vSphere HA resets virtual machines, there is a good chance just before it reset it, vSphere HA VM monitoring took a screenshot of the VM console, storing it with the VM configuration files on the Datastore.

Reset by vSphere HA. Reason: VMware Tools heartbeat failure. A screenshot is saved

Downloading these files is done simply by browsing the datastore VM directory via the UI and selecting the file or files to download. These days I find this can be tedious with the size of clusters, and with vSAN’s directory structure, you could be sifting through hundreds or even thousands of directories.

I decided to write a quick little Powershell script to quickly and automatically download these files, and you can even use this script to download other files like vmware.log files. I have tested this script on vSphere 6.7U3 with vSAN and VMFS6 Datastores.

You can download the script here Get-VMFiles.ps1 or copy the code below.

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Downloads virtual machine screenshots, logs, or other files from the datastore to a local machine.

.DESCRIPTION
    This function connects to a vCenter server, locates the specified virtual machine, 
    and downloads files of the specified type from the VM's directory on the datastore 
    to a specified local directory.

.PARAMETER vCenter
    The URL or IP address of the vCenter server.

.PARAMETER VMName
    The name of the virtual machine from which files are to be downloaded.

.PARAMETER ItemType
    The file extension (e.g., LOG, PNG) of the files to be downloaded.

.PARAMETER LocalPath
    The local directory path where the files will be saved.

.PARAMETER Credential
    The credentials to connect to the vCenter server. Use `Get-Credential` to supply the credentials.

.EXAMPLE
    Get-VMFiles -vCenter "vc.virtuallywired.io" -VMName "win2016" -ItemType "PNG" -LocalPath "C:\VM_LOGS" -Credential (Get-Credential)

.NOTES
    Version: 1.1
    Tested on vSphere 6.7 Update 3, vSAN 6.7 Update 3, and VMFS 6.
    Author: Nicholas Mangraviti #VirtuallyWired
    Blog URL: virtuallywired.io
#>
function Get-VMFiles {
    param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$vCenter,

        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$VMName,

        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$ItemType,

        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$LocalPath,

        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [PSCredential]$Credential
    )

    try {
        # Connect to vCenter
        Write-Host "Connecting to vCenter: $vCenter" -ForegroundColor Cyan
        $VC = Connect-VIServer -Server $vCenter -Credential $Credential

        # Get the VM object
        Write-Host "Locating VM: $VMName" -ForegroundColor Cyan
        $VM = Get-VM -Name $VMName

        # Create target local directory
        $Target = New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$LocalPath\$($VM.Name)"

        # Extract VM path details
        $vmpath = [regex]::Matches(([regex]::Replace(($VM.ExtensionData.Config.Files.LogDirectory), "\s", "")), '\[(.+)\](.+)\/').Groups.Value
        $Datastore = $VM | Get-Datastore -Name $($vmpath[1])

        # Map datastore as a PSDrive
        if ((Get-PSDrive).Name -eq "DSdrive") {
            Remove-PSDrive -Name DSdrive -Confirm:$false -Force | Out-Null
        }
        New-PSDrive -Location $Datastore -Name DSdrive -PSProvider VimDatastore -Root "\" | Out-Null

        # Change location to VM's datastore directory
        Set-Location "DSdrive:\$($vmpath[2])\"

        # Download files
        if (Get-ChildItem "*.$ItemType") {
            Write-Host "'$ItemType' file(s) found, preparing to download..." -ForegroundColor Green
            Copy-DatastoreItem -Item "*.$ItemType" -Destination $Target
            Write-Host "File(s) downloaded successfully to $($Target.FullName)" -ForegroundColor Green
        } else {
            Write-Host "No '$ItemType' file(s) found." -ForegroundColor Red
        }

        # Reset location
        Set-Location C:

        # Cleanup PSDrive
        if (Get-PSDrive -Name DSdrive) {
            Remove-PSDrive -Name DSdrive -Confirm:$false -Force | Out-Null
        }
    } catch {
        Write-Host "An error occurred: $_" -ForegroundColor Red
    } finally {
        # Disconnect from vCenter
        Write-Host "Disconnecting from vCenter..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
        Disconnect-VIServer -Server $VC -Force -Confirm:$false -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
    }
}

I hope you found this useful, if you have any feedback feel free to contact me. 🙂

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