Documentation forVirtualization Manager
Monitoring virtual environments is a key capability of SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted (formerly Hybrid Cloud Observability) and is available in the Advanced edition. Virtualization Manager (VMAN) is also available in a standalone module.

Virtualization Manager Installation Guide

This page is for new installations of Virtualization Manager. If you're upgrading an existing installation of VMAN, see the VMAN Upgrade Guide.

Check if your environment meets the recommended requirements

SolarWinds strongly recommends that you install the SolarWinds Platform on a server that is neither public, nor internet-facing. To learn about best practices for configuring your SolarWinds Platform installation securely, see Secure Configuration for the SolarWinds Platform.

Before installing VMAN, check that your environment meets the software and hardware requirements. See VMAN Recommended Requirements.

If you're planning to use VMAN to monitor and manage a large number of virtual machines, see the VMAN Deployment Sizing Guide to help make sure you're ready to scale.

Download and use the SolarWinds Installer

Use the SolarWinds Installer to install VMAN.

  • If you're evaluating VMAN, the SolarWinds Installer is included with the free VMAN trial download.
  • The SolarWinds Installer is also included in the latest install package for VMAN, available in the Customer Portal:
  1. Log in to the Customer Portal.
  2. Navigate to Downloads > Download Product.
  3. Select Virtualization Manager in the Products list.
  4. Under Server Downloads, choose Virtualization Manager for Online Installation or Virtualization Manager for Offline installation. Click Download.

After the download is completed, run the installer to begin installation.

The SolarWinds Installer will help you through the Virtualization Manager installation. For step-by-step instructions for preparing and executing your installation, you can follow the SolarWinds Installer Guide.

You don't need to install the VMAN appliance

Before version 8.0, Virtualization Manager was packaged as a virtual appliance, which needed to be installed and maintained separately from a SolarWinds Platform installation. To benefit from newer features like Recommendations, users could follow a separate process to integrate the VMAN appliance with a SolarWinds Platform installation.

In versions 8.0 and later, Virtualization Manager is a full SolarWinds Platform product out of the box, already including the most up-to-date features like Recommendations and Capacity Planning. So for new installations, you don't need to download or install the VMAN appliance.

With version 2020.2.1 and later, the legacy VMAN appliance has reached end of support and should not be used. If you're still using the VMAN appliance, see the VMAN Upgrade Guide for instructions.