Add a self-managed host

Before adding your host entity to SolarWinds Observability, verify your firewall configuration permits TCP/HTTPS/TLS outbound connections to the SolarWinds Observability Agent endpoints on port 443. See Firewall or access control requirements.

If your firewall or access control requirements do not allow such connections, configure the SolarWinds Observability Agent to send data through a proxy. See Configure proxy for SolarWinds Observability Agents

To monitor your self-managed host with SolarWinds Observability, install the SolarWinds Observability Agent on the host.

1. In SolarWinds Observability, click Add Data at the top.

2. In the Add Data dialog, click Host.

3. Select how you want to collect data from the host. See Data collection channels for host monitoring.

   • To collect data from the host using an agent, select one of the options in the SolarWinds Observability Agent section:

     • Deploy the Agent manually: Cancel the wizard and follow the instructions in Install the Agent manually.

     • Wizard: Keep this option selected and click the Agent button.

     • Configuration management tool: Select this option and click the Agent button.

   • To collect data using a cloud provider API, expand Cloud provider API and click AWS or Azure, based on the provider you want to use. See Add an AWS cloud account or Add an Azure cloud account.

   • To collect data from the host using a Network Collector, expand Network Collector, and click Collector. See Install the Network Collector.

4. Specify an Ingestion token that identifies the Agent when sending the data into SolarWinds Observability and click Next.

   • To create a new token, select Generate New Token and provide a name for the new token.

   • To use an existing token, select Use Existing Token and select a token from the list.

   Not sure? See Create a new or use an existing ingestion API token?

5. If you are using the wizard, follow the instructions:

   1. Select the operating system of your target host.

   2. Optional: To set up a host name, click Set up host name, and provide a name which will be used to override the default host name.

   3. Copy the installation script to the clipboard. On the target host, open the command prompt or terminal as an administrator and run the copied script.

      This installation script contains a unique ID used to track the installation status. Do not reuse this script.

      Alternatively, install the SolarWinds Observability Agent on the target host in one of the following ways:

      • Windows Installation Wizard

        1. Click the Installer tab.

        2. Optional: To set up a proxy, click Set up proxy, and provide the proxy address as proxyAddress, proxyAddress:port, or http://user:password@proxyAddress:port. For proxyAddress, use the proxy IP address, hostname, or domain name.

        3. Download the Windows installer on the target host.

        4. Copy the script and run it to install the SolarWinds Observability Agent on the target host.

      • Linux Package Manager

        1. Click the Installer tab.

        2. Select the Package Manager.

        3. Optional: To set up a proxy, click Set up proxy, and provide the proxy address as proxyAddress, proxyAddress:port, or http://user:password@proxyAddress:port. For proxyAddress, use the proxy IP address, hostname, or domain name.

        4. Download the Linux software package for the selected Package Manager.

        5. Copy the command and run it on the target host.

      See Agents and Troubleshoot SolarWinds Observability Agent installation issues for details on configuring and installing SolarWinds Observability Agents.

   4. Click Deploy.

   5. To collect logs, click Enable log monitoring, provide details for collecting logs, and click Deploy to deploy the log monitoring plugin.

6. If you selected Configuration management tool, click the tab for the instrumentation you want to use, follow the instructions, and click Finish.

   For Ansible and Chef, you can use proxy: To set up a proxy, click Set up proxy, and provide the proxy address as proxyAddress, proxyAddress:port, or http://user:password@proxyAddress:port. For proxyAddress, use the proxy IP address, hostname, or domain name.

   • Ansible: Use the Ansible role in galaxy.ansible.com to automatically install the SolarWinds Observability Agent with Ansible. Copy the parameters below to provide required attributes or variables.

   • Chef: Use the recipe in supermarket.chef.io to automatically install the SolarWinds Observability Agent with Chef. Copy the parameters below to provide required attributes or variables.

   • Docker: Use the recipe in https://hub.docker.com/r/solarwinds/swo-agent to automatically install the SolarWinds Observability Agent with Docker. Copy the parameters below to provide required attributes or variables.

7. Optional: When the installation is complete, review the SolarWinds Observability Agent name and the host display name. To change them, click Edit Agent/Host Display name and adjust the names.

8. Optional: You can continue to observe host data:

   • Click Host Details to continue to the host details page and find out more about the target host.

   • Click Host Lists to continue to the list of hosts monitored in SolarWinds Observability.

   • Click Agents to continue to the Agents page to view and manage all deployed SolarWinds Observability Agents and their plugins.

To view data collected for the newly configured entity in the Entity Explorer, click the name of the host in the confirmation dialog in the lower-left corner. It may take a few seconds for data to appear for the newly created entity. See Entity Explorer for details.

See Entities in SolarWinds Observability for an overview of host entities and how they work in SolarWinds Observability.

Install the Agent manually

1. Copy or create an API token (Ingestion type), found in the settings area of SolarWinds Observability. You will need it later. See API Tokens for details.

2. Download the Agent installation file for your operating system:

   • Windows - https://agent-binaries.cloud.solarwinds.com/uams/latest/uamsclient.msi

   • Linux

     • Using DPKG - https://agent-binaries.cloud.solarwinds.com/uams/latest/uamsclient.deb

     • Used Packet Manager: DNF, RPM, YUM, or ZYPPER - https://agent-binaries.cloud.solarwinds.com/uams/latest/uamsclient.rpm

3. In the following code, provide your data and run the code according to your operating system, and distribution (for Linux).

   • Replace YourApiToken in ACCESSTOKEN with the ingestion token you prepared earlier.

   • Replace YourSwoBaseUrl in SWO_URL with the base URL for your organization's endpoints. The base URL is in the form of xx-yy.cloud.solarwinds.com, where xx-yy represents the data center your organization uses. See Find the data center and endpoints for your organization.

   Windows

   msiexec /i uamsclient.msi ACCESSTOKEN="YourApiToken" METADATA="role:host-monitoring" SWO_URL="YourSwoBaseUrl"

   Linux

   Run the code for the Packet Manager you use to install the Agent.

   DPKG

   env UAMS_ACCESS_TOKEN="YourApiToken" UAMS_METADATA="role:host-monitoring" SWO_URL="YourSwoBaseUrl" dpkg -i uamsclient.deb

   DNF

   env UAMS_ACCESS_TOKEN="YourApiToken" UAMS_METADATA="role:host-monitoring" SWO_URL="YourSwoBaseUrl" dnf install -y uamsclient.rpm

   RPM

   env UAMS_ACCESS_TOKEN="YourApiToken" UAMS_METADATA="role:host-monitoring" SWO_URL="YourSwoBaseUrl" rpm -i uamsclient.rpm

   YUM

   env UAMS_ACCESS_TOKEN="YourApiToken" UAMS_METADATA="role:host-monitoring" SWO_URL="YourSwoBaseUrl" yum localinstall -y uamsclient.rpm

   ZYPPER

   env UAMS_ACCESS_TOKEN="YourApiToken" UAMS_METADATA="role:host-monitoring" SWO_URL="YourSwoBaseUrl" zypper install uamsclient.rpm