Documentation forSolarWinds Observability

Migrate from AppOptics to SolarWinds Observability

When deciding when and how to migrate from AppOptics to SolarWinds Observability, you have three options:

To help you decide if you are ready to upgrade your AppOptics agents to SolarWinds Observability libraries, see Should I upgrade to the SolarWinds Observability APM libraries?.

When deciding which migration path to take, keep in mind that AppOptics and its agents are not under active development, whereas SolarWinds Observability and its APM libraries are constantly improving with new features and enhancements.

Upgrade to SolarWinds Observability APM libraries

Upgrading to the SolarWinds Observability APM libraries allows you to partially migrate to SolarWinds Observability, while still sending your data to AppOptics. This partial migration will make a final migration to SolarWinds Observability in the future easier.

Consideration Stick with AppOptics agents Upgrade to SolarWinds Observability libraries
Supports newer language runtimes, components, and libraries.
Supports legacy language runtimes, components, and libraries.
Regularly receives updates and new features.
Based on OpenTelemetry (OTel), benefiting from SolarWinds enhancements and OTel community contributions.

*
Better performance and more functionality.
Support for serverless monitoring with lambda functions. **
Compatible with SolarWinds Observability.

* Java and Python libraries are built with OTel packages and agents, with additional libraries in the process of moving to OTel.
** Support for serverless monitoring is under active development.

Should I upgrade to the SolarWinds Observability APM libraries?

Yes, upgrade to the newer library

Upgrade to the SolarWinds Observability libraries to take advantage of the following:

  • Cutting-edge development and codebase: The SolarWinds Observability APM libraries leverage the latest codebase and are undergoing active development. This ensures that you're equipped with the most advanced features and capabilities, keeping your monitoring solutions up-to-date and future-proof.

  • Updated language runtime support: SolarWinds Observability APM libraries support newer language runtimes and their corresponding components and libraries. If your applications are built using modern technologies and the latest programming languages, use SolarWinds Observability libraries to effectively monitor your applications.

  • End of updates for AppOptics: AppOptics APM agents are no longer receiving updates. By upgrading to SolarWinds Observability libraries, you ensure continued support and access to the latest features, fixes, and enhancements.

  • OTel adoption: The SolarWinds Observability Java and Python libraries have been developed based on OTel, while integrating SolarWinds enhancements. This ensures compatibility with evolving industry standards while retaining the distinctive benefits offered by SolarWinds. Additional SolarWinds Observability libraries are in the process of converting to OTel; Ruby and Node.js libraries even have OTel-based pre-release versions available.

    By basing the libraries on OTel, they benefit from contributions within the OpenTelemetry community. This results in additional components and capabilities that can further elevate your observability practices.

  • Unmatched functionality and performance: In the majority of cases, SolarWinds Observability libraries outperform AppOptics agents by providing superior functionality and performance. This means more accurate insights, faster issue identification, and ultimately, a more reliable and efficient application environment.

  • Compatibility with SolarWinds Observability: SolarWinds Observability libraries are designed to work with SolarWinds Observability. Even if you're not ready to transition to using SolarWinds Observability, upgrading to the SolarWinds Observability libraries makes future migration easier.

No, keep using the agents

Keep using the AppOptics agents to maintain compatibility with legacy language runtimes and components, or to monitor serverless applications.

What do I need to keep in mind when upgrading to SolarWinds Observability libraries?

Before upgrading to the SolarWinds Observability libraries, consider the following:

  • Ensure that your platform, language runtime and components, and application language are supported. If you are using unsupported legacy runtimes and components, continue using the AppOptics APM agents. Consider upgrading your application.

  • Remove the AppOptics APM agent from your application before using the SolarWinds Observability library. Do not run other APM libraries alongside the SolarWinds Observability library.

  • Review your application's API calls for the old AppOptics agents. After upgrading, replace the AppOptics calls with calls to the SolarWinds Observability API.

  • Review your custom configurations. After upgrading, manually migrate the settings to SolarWinds Observability library configurations as needed.

How to upgrade to SolarWinds Observability libraries

Find the instructions for your language's library below to upgrade to the SolarWinds Observability APM library. This upgrade (partial migration) involves uninstalling the AppOptics agent, installing the SolarWinds Observability APM library, and migrating your configurations and customizations to SolarWinds Observability. Before restarting the application, make the following additional configuration changes to have the SolarWinds Observability library continue sending data to AppOptics:

  • Set a valid AppOptics service key. Find the SolarWinds Observability configuration topic in Application performance monitoring (APM) for your library's new configuration file and environment variable names.

  • Set the collector configuration option to the AppOptics endpoint collector.appoptics.com:443.

Do not run other APM libraries alongside the SolarWinds Observability libraries. Remove other APM libraries from your application before using the SolarWinds Observability library.

Make a complete shift from AppOptics to SolarWinds Observability

While SolarWinds Observability has the advantage of constant improvements with new features and enhancements, it does not yet match AppOptics in terms of all features. In addition, an easy path to migrate custom dashboards and other AppOptics configurations to SolarWinds Observability is not yet available. Contact your SolarWinds account manager or send us a message at Sales@solarwinds.com to discuss whether switching to SolarWinds Observability is the right move for your company.