About installing or upgrading SolarWinds Platform products and scalability engines

When you download a SolarWinds Platform product from the Customer Portal or from www.solarwinds.com, the download includes the SolarWinds Installer and upgrade advisor. The installer is an all-in-one application for installations and upgrades. Use the installer to:

• Pre-stage files. Save time during an installation or upgrade by downloading the files in advance. Pre-staging files does not affect any existing SolarWinds Platform services.

• Check your environment. Before starting the installation or upgrade, the installer runs a system check to ensure your environment meets the system requirements for the selected products. If you need to make any changes, the installer provides guidance to resolve the issues.

• Install one or more SolarWinds Platform products. You need to download only one SolarWinds Installer, even if you plan to install or upgrade multiple products.

• Upgrade existing products. Each time you run the online installer in an existing deployment, the installer checks for hotfixes and new product versions. If you choose to upgrade, all products are upgraded to the latest compatible versions.

• Install or upgrade scalability engines, such as additional polling engines, additional web servers, and high availability servers.

  When you run the installer in an existing deployment, it automatically checks for scalability engines that need to be upgraded. If the scalability engines are reachable, the installer minimizes upgrade time by upgrading them in parallel.

  To enable the primary SolarWinds Platform server to reach your scalability engines, do not stop the SolarWinds Administration Service on your scalability engines before the upgrade.

Installation overview

Click the following image for an overview of the installation process:

Always have the latest SolarWinds Installer

• If you are using the online installer and your server has an Internet connection, the SolarWinds Installer checks for updates when you start it, and the latest available version is automatically downloaded.

  If you see a progress bar for a SolarWinds Installer update, let it continue. When the download is complete, the new and improved installer starts automatically.

• If you are using the offline installer, or if your server does not have an Internet connection, the SolarWinds Installer cannot check to be sure you have the latest version. In that case, you should check the Customer Portal to make sure you have the latest version of the installer.

Next steps

Use the information in the following topics to install or upgrade SolarWinds Platform products and scalability engines.

If you need to	See
Prepare for an installation or upgrade	Resource Toolkit: Prepare to install or upgrade SolarWinds Platform products
Install your first SolarWinds Platform products	Install SolarWinds Platform products in a new environment
Upgrade products in an existing deployment	Upgrade an existing deployment
Install a new scalability engine	Install an additional polling engine, additional web server, or HA server
Install hotfixes or additional products in an existing deployment	Install a new SolarWinds Platform product in an existing deployment
Troubleshoot problems after an installation or upgrade	Troubleshoot the installation