Documentation forSolarWinds Observability SaaS

Troubleshoot Network Collector installation issues

The Network Collector includes the SolarWinds Observability Agent and the Agent uses the network-collector plugin to send data to SolarWinds Observability SaaS. During the installation, both the Agent and the plugin are configured automatically. See Agents and Troubleshoot SolarWinds Observability Agent issues for details on configuring and installing SolarWinds Observability Agents.

Upgrade the Network Collector

New versions of the Network Collector support monitoring new devices, collecting extra data, and performing additional remote management actions.

Download and run the installation file on the Network Collector.

  1. Download the ISO file using this link.

    https://downloads.solarwinds.com/solarwinds/Observability/RTM/Solarwinds.Observability.NetworkCollector.OfflineInstaller_soc.iso

  2. On the Network Collector, mount the ISO file and run the installation file from the mounted volume. Complete the installation wizard.

The Network Collector installation gets stuck: A restart is required to complete the installation

If you try to install the Network Collector on a server without .NET framework installed, the installation gets stuck in the Network Collector installation phase.

Diagnose

  • Check installation events.

    1. In SolarWinds Observability SaaS, click Analyze > Events.

    2. In the drop-down, select Network Collector Installation.

    3. Search for "Network collector installation started". If the event was triggered a few hours ago and you cannot see the "Network collector installation completed successfully" event, the installation may be stuck.

  • Check logs on the Network Collector server.

    1. Open C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\Logs\Installer\OrionInstaller.BootStrapper.log.

    2. Search for messages about restart being required, such as:

      .NET 4.8 Installer (Offline) exited with an exit code of 3010. " A restart is required to complete the installation. This message indicated success."
      .NET 4.8 Installer (Offline) requires a reboot. This will be done after the Orion install.

Resolution

  1. Reboot the Network Collector.

  2. Wait until the installation is finished. The installation might take quite a long time to complete.

Error: Network collector installation failed - restart during the silent installer configuration phase

When the silent installation for Network Collector on a Windows server is interrupted by a reboot while the Configuration wizard is running, you can see an event saying that Network collector installation failed.

Diagnose

  1. Check this log: C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\Logs\Installer\<Date>\AdministrationService.Client.log. Search for "ConfigurationWizard started successfully." If you find it but it is not followed by "Configuration Wizard Finished", the Configuration wizard was interrupted.

Resolution

Revert the VM to a clean snapshot or create a new VM and start the silent installation again.

Web console credentials don't work

If you reuse the same script to install the Agent on a different machine, a password for the web console is generated automatically on each machine. The passwords will not be the same.

Resolution

Log in to the Network Collector web console using the password stored in the SilentConfigWizardSoc.xml.

  1. Log in to the Network Collector server.

  2. Open SilentConfigWizardSoc.xml in %ProgramData%\Solarwinds\UAMSClient\plugin-storage\network-collector-deployment-plugin\SilentConfigWizardSoc.xml and search for WebConsolePassword

  3. Log in to the Network Collector web console using the password.

    SolarWinds recommends you to generate a new installation script for installing the Network Collector on each machine to prevent this issue.

Error: Network collector installation failed

If the installation fails, review installation events to find out what happened. If you see that a specific installation step failed, search for its resolution in this guide. If you don’t find a resolution, collect logs and contact SolarWinds support. See Collect Agent logs from target hosts

Resolution

Re-run the installation on a new virtual machine.

Error: Failed to create web console credentials for user admin

In case of credential service issues, user-defined credentials might fail to be applied on the Network Collector. On Events, you will see an event saying Failed to create web console credentials for user admin.

Resolution

  1. Open the web console in your browser. On the Login screen, create a password manually.

Can't select an existing Network Collector, it gets stuck in the Installing status

If you successfully install the Agent but cannot see any events related to the installation on the Events page, the Agent might have been installed with a different plugin/role, such as host-monitoring in the past.

Diagnose

  • When adding a network device with the Add Network Device wizard, you want to use a Network Collector that is disabled. The version column displays Installing for more than 2 minutes.

  • Check plugin status on the Agent:

    1. In SolarWinds Observability, click Settings > Integrations > Agent-based > Network Collector.

    2. Click the Network Collector you are troubleshooting. The agent details page opens, the Inspector Panel is activated on the Plugins tab.

    3. Ensure that the following plugins are included:

      • network-collector(SiteCollector)

      • nim-licensing-plugin (SiteCollector)

      If the network-collector plugin is not available, complete steps in the Resolution.

Resolution

  1. Uninstall the Agent.
  2. Delete the Agent in SolarWinds Observability SaaS. See Remove the Agent from SolarWinds Observability SaaS.
  3. Re-install the Agent.

See Delete Agents.

Event: SolarWinds Platform is found in inconsistent state

Option 1 - The SolarWinds Information Service is not running

Verify the status of the SolarWinds Information Service and re-start it if appropriate.

Resolution

  1. On the Network Collector server, open Services.msc.

  2. Check the status of SolarWinds Information Service V3.

    • If the SolarWinds Information Service is not running, complete these steps:

      1. Stop the SolarWinds UAMS Client service.

      2. Start SolarWinds Information Service V3.

      3. Start SolarWinds UAMS Client.

    • If the SolarWinds Information Service is running, restart the Agent:

      1. In SolarWinds Observability SaaS, click Settings > Agents and find the Network Collector agent.

      2. Click the vertical ellipsis at the end of the Agent row and select Restart.

Option 2 - Platform-connected SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted was uninstalled

If you installed SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted on a server, uninstalled it, and then started the silent installation of the Network Collector on the same server, the installer does not start.

Diagnose

  1. Collect Agent logs and review the deployment plugin logs. See Collect Agent logs from target hosts

  2. In plugins\network-collector-deployment-plugin\deployment-plugin-YYYYMMDD.log, search for messages saying - "SWIS is NOT installed", "Installation status check ended", "SolarWinds Platform is found in inconsistent state", and "Installation will not be initiated".

Resolution

Clean up the VM and reinstall the Network Collector.

  1. Start Services.msc on the VM.

  2. Stop the SolarWinds UAMS Client service.

  3. Uninstall SQLExpress if present.

  4. Remove the SolarWinds Orion registry entries in the Registry Editor.

  5. Start SolarWinds UAMS Client.

  6. Close the Service Viewer.

  7. Wait for the Network Collector to be deployed.

Error including "mmc is running" - silent installation does not proceed

If you see this information in an event or on a SolarWinds Observability SaaS view, ensure that Microsoft Management Console is not open on the VM where you are installing the Network Collector.

Resolution

  1. Log on to the server where you are installing the Network Collector.

  2. Close all instances of mmc.exe.

  3. In SolarWinds Observability SaaS, navigate to Settings > Agents.

  4. Select the Agent, click the vertical ellipsis at the end of the Agent row and select Restart.