Documentation forSolarWinds Platform

Change the agent communication mode on the remote node

This topic applies only to the following SolarWinds Platform products:

Hybrid Cloud Observability Essentials — Hybrid Cloud Observability Advanced

DPAIM — LA — NAM — NPM — SAM — SCM — SRM — VMAN*

You can change how the agent communicates with the SolarWinds Platform server. You can select server-initiated or agent-initiated communication.

  1. Log in to the node where the agent is installed.
  2. Edit the connection settings.
    • For Windows, open Orion Agent Settings in the Control Panel.
    • For Linux, su to an account with elevated privileges and type service swiagentd init in the terminal.
    • For AIX, su to an account with elevated privileges and type /opt/SolarWinds/Agent/bin/swiagentaid.sh init in the terminal.
  3. Select an agent communication mode.
    • Agent-initiated communication: The agent initiates communication with the SolarWinds Platform server on port 17778. This port must be open on the SolarWinds Platform server firewall so the agent can connect. No changes to the firewall rules are required on the agent-monitored device.
    • Server-initiated communication: The agent waits for requests from the server on a specified port. This port must be open on the firewall of the agent computer so the SolarWinds Platform server can connect. No changes to the firewall rules are required on the SolarWinds Platform server.
  4. Save your changes.

If you switch from agent-initiated to server-initiated communication, you must register the agent with the SolarWinds Platform server manually.

When communication between the agent and the SolarWinds Platform server is successful, the agent is listed on the Manage Agents page with the updated communication mode.