Documentation forSolarWinds Observability SaaS

Troubleshoot other Agent issues

Connection issues

If the Agent status is Disconnected, it might be caused by a connection issue.

  1. Check the Agent logs. Search for issues related to accessing endpoints or blocked ports. See Collect Agent logs from target hosts.

    On target hosts, log files are stored in the following default locations:

    • Windows: C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\UAMSClient\log\uamsclient.log
    • Linux: /var/log/solarwinds/uamsclient/uamsclient.log

  2. Make sure that the firewall on the host allows access to allSolarWinds Observability SaaS endpoints. See Data centers and endpoint URIs.

Collect Agent logs from target hosts

  1. In SolarWinds Observability SaaS, click Settings > Agents.

  2. Click the vertical ellipsis at the end of a SolarWinds Observability Agent row and select Collect Logs. Agent logs available on the target host start to be downloaded to SolarWinds Observability SaaS.

  3. When the download is complete, you will see a download logs button next to the agent. Click the button to download the logs to your computer.

Agent logs are downloaded as a ZIP archive and are available for download in SolarWinds Observability SaaS for 24 hours. To get a fresh set of logs, repeat the steps above.

Multiple items for one Agent on Agents page

When you see multiple items for one SolarWinds Observability Agent on the Agents page, configure your deployment to override the Client ID.

By default, Agent ID is tied to the external MAC address of the target host. Once the host reboots, a new Client ID is created and a new Agent item based on the ID is displayed in Agents.

To resolve the issue, override the client ID using the uamsclient-ctl tool or an environment variable.

Use uamsclient-ctl tool to override the client ID

To use a randomly generated client ID, run the following code:

Windows PowerShell for a random client ID

C:\'Program Files'\SolarWinds\UAMSClient\uamsclient-ctl.exe bind-new-identity -work-dir $env:programData\SolarWinds\UAMSClient -log-dir $env:programData\SolarWinds\UAMSClient\log

Linux for a random client ID

sudo -u swagent /opt/solarwinds/uamsclient/sbin/uamsclient-ctl bind-new-identity -work-dir /opt/solarwinds/uamsclient/etc -log-dir /var/log/solarwinds/uamsclient

To use a specific client ID, replace <your UUID> with the ID and run the code:

Windows PowerShell for a specific client ID

C:\'Program Files'\SolarWinds\UAMSClient\uamsclient-ctl.exe bind-identity -id <your UUID> -work-dir $env:programData\SolarWinds\UAMSClient -log-dir $env:programData\SolarWinds\UAMSClient\log

Linux for a specific client ID

sudo -u swagent /opt/solarwinds/uamsclient/sbin/uamsclient-ctl bind-identity -id <your UUID> -work-dir /opt/solarwinds/uamsclient/etc -log-dir /var/log/solarwinds/uamsclient

When you set the new identity, the Agent will not be replicated on the Agents page for each reboot. However, if you set the client ID value in the environment variable, the variable value will overwrite the value set by the uamsclient-ctl tool.

Set the UAMS_CLIENT_ID_OVERRIDE [string] variable

Set the client ID value in the UAMS_CLIENT_ID_OVERRIDE [string] variable. If the variable is defined during the client start, the value will be used. This value has priority over the client-id-override value in the dynamic configuration file.

When you set the UAMS_CLIENT_ID_OVERRIDE [string] variable, the defined value will always be used and the Agent will not be replicated on the Agents page for each reboot. The UAMS_CLIENT_ID_OVERRIDE variable must be in the Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) format

Potentially duplicated Agents

The Potentially duplicated Agent detected alert displayed on the Agent list indicates that multiple Agents across different environments are using the same Agent ID. This can cause several types of inconsistencies and misconfigurations, for example:

  • Agents from different environments can appear as a single agent on the Agents page.
  • Monitoring data can appear inconsistent or merged.
  • Changing an Agent's configuration can affect multiple environments unexpectedly.

Resolving this is slightly different depending on the Agent deployment method, but all options require you to go to all your Agent deployments and verify the value of the Agent ID override using the management interface. See Manage SolarWinds Observability Agents for more information.

Docker deployment

If you're using Docker containers:

  1. Stop the running containers with the duplicated Agent ID.

  2. Re-run the container using a unique UAMS_CLIENT_ID_OVERRIDE for each instance. See Install SolarWinds Observability Agent as a Docker imagefor more information.

Only the additional (second or next) deployments need to use a new ID.

Standalone installation or cloned Virtual Machines

If you're using standalone installs or VMs cloned from images:

  1. On the duplicate instance, generate a new Agent ID. See Manage SolarWinds Observability Agents for more information.

  2. Restart the Agent to apply the new ID to the configuration.

Only the additional (second or next) deployments need to use a new ID.

Best practices to prevent Agents from being duplicated

  • Always use a unique UAMS_CLIENT_ID_OVERRIDE or UAMS_BIND_IDENTITY per environment.
  • Avoid cloning VMs with pre-installed and configured Agents.
  • Automate the generation of unique Agent IDs in deployment scripts or infrastructure-as-code templates.
  • See Manage Agent on virtual machines for information on preventing the duplication of Agent IDs when running the Agent on a virtual machine.