Documentation forLog Analyzer
Analyzing logs is a key capability of Hybrid Cloud Observability and is also available in a standalone module, Log Analyzer (LA). Hybrid Cloud Observability and LA are built on the self-hosted SolarWinds Platform.

Use an additional polling engine with LA

Use an additional polling engine (APE) specifically designed to be used with Storage Resource Monitor (SRM), Virtualization Manager (VMAN), and Log Analyzer (LA). You can scale your SRM, VMAN, and LA installation without having to purchase a license for an APE.

This option is not available with SolarWinds Platform Log Viewer.

When you apply a valid license, you can use this poller for actions and functions performed by the LA, SRM, and VMAN modules, including:

  • Scanning the network during network discovery
  • Syslog and SNMP trap ingestion
  • Assigning nodes on LA to an APE for polling
  • Adding a new node to LA using the APE as the polling engine

You can check status of the APE in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console under Settings > All Settings > License Details.

SolarWinds Platform uses the SolarWinds Platform Web Console to configure rules for all polling engines. Therefore, you cannot use different rule configurations on APEs.

Additionally, alerting actions are executed on the main polling engine. This means that:

  • Some settings are not available as a result. For example, selecting the network adapter option in a forwarding rule is not available, because the network adapter is specific to a server.
  • Accounts used for executing external accounts must be present on every polling engine, and the external account must be present on every polling engine on the same path.

With SolarWinds Platform, any polling engine accepts messages from particular nodes by default, but specific polling engines can be limited to accept messages. Assign nodes to the specified polling engines to ensure that only they can receive messages.

For legacy syslogs and traps, individual rules can run on any polling engine. Rules are processed on the polling engine where they are defined, and actions are executed on the polling engine where they are defined.

Install the Additional Polling Engine

Use the SolarWinds Platform Installer. You can use the same installation file that's used to install LA.

  1. Run the installer on a computer that does not already have an SolarWinds Platform server installed.
  2. Select Add a Scalability Engine and click Next.
  3. Enter your SolarWinds Platform server's IP address or hostname.

  4. Select Additional Polling Engine for Storage Resource Monitor, Virtualization Manager, or Log Analyzer, and then click Next.
  5. Follow the remaining onscreen instructions to complete the installation.

For more detailed guidance on installing an Additional Polling Engine, see SolarWinds SolarWinds Platform Installation and Scalability Engine Guidelines.