Install an additional polling engine, additional web server, or HA server in a SolarWinds Platform deployment

Use the SolarWinds Installer to install scalability engines (Additional polling engines, Additional web servers, and SolarWinds Platform High Availability backup servers).

Additional polling engines (APEs) or an Additional web server can be used to increase the monitoring capacity of your SolarWinds Platform deployment. SolarWinds Platform High Availability (HA) provides a backup server to protect your main SolarWinds Platform server.

Requirements and recommendations

Before you begin, be sure your scalability engine servers meet the following requirements:

• Installing an APE and an Additional web server on the same host is not supported.

• All APEs must be set to the same time zone as the SolarWinds Platform database server.

  If APEs and the SolarWinds Platform database server are set to different time zones, polled data can be confusing or misleading. For example, data can have a time stamp that is in the future.

• The main polling engine and the APE must be able to resolve each other's host names to an IP address.

Prepare for the installation

Before you install a scalability engine in your environment, complete the following actions:

	Install the primary SolarWinds Platform server first. Then install each APE.
	When you install an APE or Additional web server, verify the port requirements.
	If you are going to install a backup server for SolarWinds Platform High Availability, review the SolarWinds Platform High Availability requirements.
	Acquire a user name and password with administrative privileges to the SolarWinds Platform Web Console on your primary SolarWinds Platform server.
	Be sure the APE uses the same SolarWinds Platform database as the primary SolarWinds Platform server.
	Verify the latency between your SolarWinds Platform database server and the APE. Performance degradation can begin around 200 ms. Ping the SolarWinds Platform database server to find the current latency.
	If you have an alert with a Send Email action that runs against a node monitored by an APE, confirm that the APE can access your SMTP server.
	Add the IP address of your APE to Windows Servers on the Security tab. Make sure that the following options are set: Ensure that a case-sensitive community name has been specified. Ensure that Accept SNMP packets from any host is selected or ensure that the APE is listed within the Accept SNMP packets from these hosts list. Ensure that your network devices allow SNMP access from the new polling engine. For example, on Cisco devices, you can modify the Access Control List.

Install the scalability engine

Task 1: Run the installer

Keep the SolarWinds services running on the main polling engine when installing an Additional polling engine or Additional web server.

1. Run the installer .exe file on your scalability engine server as Administrator.

   The Welcome screen is displayed.

2. Click Start.

3. Under Installation Type, select Scalability Add-ons. Then click Next.

4. On the Server Connect screen, enter the following information, and then click Next:

   • IP address or host name of your primary SolarWinds Platform server
   • User name and password used to log in to the SolarWinds Platform server

   The installer connects to your SolarWinds Platform server and verifies compatibility.

5. Select the type of scalability engine to install, and then click Next.

6. Review the EULA. If you agree, click the accept option, and then click Next.

7. If you do not want to install the scalability engine in the default location, browse to the desired location and select it. Then click Next.

   You cannot install on a remote mapped drive, read-only drive, compressed drive, or compressed HDD.

   The installer performs a system check to ensure that your environment meets the minimum requirements and to look for any potential problems. The results of the system check are displayed on the Installation Report page.

8. On the Installation Report page:

   1. Review the results of the system check. If any issues were found, the installer displays one or more messages:

      • Informational and warning messages recommend actions and best practices to optimize performance. These do not block the installation.

      • Critical issues describe changes that are required to support the products. These block the installation until they are resolved.

   2. If any issues were found, click the to see detailed information about the issue.
   3. If there are issues that prevent installation, resolve them and click Retest to run the system check again.

   4. Click Install to start the installation.

      When the installation is complete, a confirmation message is displayed.

Task 2: Complete the Configuration Wizard

When the installation is complete, the Configuration Wizard opens automatically.

1. In the Welcome dialog box, click Next.
2. If prompted to stop services, click Yes.
3. On the Database Settings panel:
   1. Select your existing SolarWinds Platform database server.
   2. Select the authentication method used by your existing SolarWinds Platform database, and enter login credentials if necessary.
   3. Click Next.
4. If you receive a warning message that the user does not have permission to create a new database, click OK.
5. Select your existing database from the drop-down menu, and click Next.
6. If you receive a message that the user does not have permission to create a new database account, click OK.
7. Select your SQL Server account and enter your password.
8. At the SNMP Trap Service not disabled message, click Yes.
9. Click Next to start the configuration.

Task 3: For an APE, specify the nodes to be polled

If you installed an Additional polling engine, specify which nodes you want it to poll.

Task 4: Activate the license

If you installed a scalability engine that requires a license, activate the license.