Install SEM on Microsoft Hyper-V

Access the Customer Portal and download the Security Event Manager Hyper-V Appliance installer. This installer includes a SEM version that you select in the portal.

You can also download a free trial version from the Security Event Manager website. The trial version provides unlimited access to all product features for 30 days.

Prepare for the install

1. Ensure that your Microsoft Hyper-V machine meets all system requirements.

2. Ensure that Volume Shadowcopy is disabled on the Hyper-V machine.

3. Review the pre-installation checklist.

Install SEM

1. Download the installer.

   1. Quit all other programs.

   2. Log in to the Customer Portal.

   3. Click Downloads > Download Product.

   4. Click the Products drop-down menu and select:

      Server Event Manager (SEM), formerly Log & Event Manager (LEM)

   5. Click the Licenses drop-down menu and select your license tier.

   6. Under All Release Downloads, locate the Security Event Manager Hyper-V Appliance installer.

      

   7. Click the product version drop-down menu and select the latest release.

   8. Review the information in the window, and then click Download.

      

   9. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the download.

      The following executable is downloaded to your desktop folder:

      SolarWinds-SEM-<version>-Evaluation-HyperV.exe

      where <version> is the product version you selected in the drop-down menu.

2. Extract the files.

   In the desktop folder, double-click the EXE file. The extracted files and tools are added to a folder on your desktop.

3. Import the virtual machine.

   1. Open Hyper-V Manager.

   2. In the Hyper-V Manager navigation pane, select the computer running Hyper-V.

   3. Click Action > Import Virtual Machine.

   4. If the Before You Begin screen displays, read the content and then click Next.

   5. On the Locate Folder screen, navigate to the folder that matches your version of Windows Server, and then click Next.

      If you are running Windows Server 2016, navigate to the Virtual Machines 2012 R2 folder, and then click Next.

      For example:

      ..\SolarWinds-SEM-2024.4-Appliance-HyperV\SolarWinds Security Event Manager\Virtual Machines 2012 R2

   6. On the Select Virtual Machine screen, select SolarWinds Security Event Manager, and then click Next.

   7. On the Choose Import Type screen, choose Copy the virtual machine (create a new unique ID), and then click Next.

   8. On the Choose Folders for Virtual Machine Files screen, change the folder locations that the wizard will import files to (if needed). Otherwise, click Next.

   9. On the Choose Folders to Store Virtual Hard Disks screen, change the location of the virtual hard disks for this virtual machine (if needed). Otherwise, click Next.

   10. Verify that Volume Shadowcopy is disabled for this virtual Hyper-V machine.

   11. On the Configure Memory screen, configure the Startup RAM setting, and the Minimum RAM and Maximum RAM settings for Dynamic Memory, and then click Next.

   12. On the Summary screen, review the configuration settings and click Finish.

       In this example, the installer copies the SolarWinds-SEM-2024.4.vhd file to Hyper-V. The file name will vary based on your targeted release version.

4. Connect to the SEM VM.

   1. Select the newly added VM.

   2. In the main Hyper-V Manager window, click Action > Connect.

      The virtual console displays on the screen.

5. Start SEM.

   1. In the virtual console window, click Action > Start.

      The SEM VM starts.

   2. Record the VM IP Address and keep it in a safe place. You will need this IP address when you run the setup wizard. You can change the IP address later when you configure SEM.

      The default SEM host name is swi-sem. To change the default host name and IP address settings, see Run the activate command to secure SEM and configure network settings in the SEM Administrator Guide for instructions.

6. Complete the SEM installation.