The purpose to create this post is to guide the community saving time and hassle when running a very old version of installed Software and upgrade needs hardware migration.
So if you are still running NPM 12.0 / 12.1 / 12.3 (NCM 7.6 /7.7/ 7.8 ) versions of Orion and planing for an upgrade to 2019.4 Core - latest version
OR
You are running an older Unsupported version having any issue / bug / Error . (Support is requested for an upgrade )
and you need to first upgrade your Orion platform which involved hardware* and software changes including the SQL server upgrade and migration.
Use the Shortcut Path (Get Fresh installation)
Instead of doing all the above painful work which does includes downtime running multiple upgrades / May heave some upgrade BUGs / during the this process.
How about parallel fresh installation of NPM 12.5 in 10 / 15 min installation time with no downtime on your older servers.
Running discovery for the exact same nodes you have in your old NPM all done in same day within few hours .
Please Note Current supported versions
Network Performance Monitor (NPM)
- Latest Version: 12.5
- Oldest Supported Version: 12.1
| EOL VERSION | EOL ANNOUNCEMENT | EOE EFFECTIVE DATE | EOL EFFECTIVE DATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.2 | September 6, 2019 | December 6, 2019 | December 6, 2020 |
| 12.1 | December 4, 2018 | March 4, 2019 | March 4, 2020 |
Network Configuration Manager (NCM)
- Latest Version: 8.0
- Oldest Supported Version: 7.6
| EOL VERSION | EOL ANNOUNCEMENT | EOE EFFECTIVE DATE | EOL EFFECTIVE DATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.7 | June 6, 2019 | September 6, 2019 | September 6, 2020 |
| 7.6 | December 4, 2018 | March 4, 2019 | March 4, 2020 |
| Upgrading Older version | Parallel Fresh Installation of Orion |
| Downtime required | No Downtime required |
| Backup the whole environment | No backup required |
| Multiple installation required | Single installation wizard |
| Hardware changes required | No hardware changes required |
| Bugs during upgrade / Migration | No Bugs during installation |
| Maps / Reports / Alerts / Custom Properties | You can imported these into the new system if required any |
| Historical data will be available on older system | Fresh polling will start NO HISTORICAL DATA MIGRATION FROM OLD DB [NOT SUPPORTED] |
| NCM Configuration | Fresh NCM Device configuration will be downloaded |
| Can leave the system running for few days | Once the system is stable and configured old system can be decommissioned |
* You may need to check the hardware as well compatible with 2016 servers and / SQL server recommended by the Solarwinds depends on your current installed environment
Check the compatibility of your Orion Products here
Product Upgrade Advisor | SolarWinds Customer Portal
Orion Platform 2019.4 Requirements
Windows Server 2012, 2016, and 2019 and SQL Server 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019 Support
Use the exact same Name and IP address for your New fresh installation so you do not have to change any Firewalls rules or on the device level polling IF needed
OR
Fresh installation can be deployed with New ip address and run as parallel and you can keep it running to collect the data and other configurations and once done move the production licenses to the new installation
How do i move my Old ip address and hostname to Fresh installation ? (Most common question)
Once you have done your Fresh installation
It will take quick 10 - 20 min max to move the old ip address and hostname to fresh installation (Each server )
But first create a backup plan .
- Take full snapshot of new server
- Take full DB backup of new Server
Disconnect the old Server from the Network
Replace the ip address and hostname on new server > Re run the Configuration Wizard
Once Done.
follow the below KB post to move the nodes to new engine ip address and remove the old one .
Moving Nodes to Correct Polling Engine & (Removing OLD Engine Entry with previous IP Address)
apply the commercial licenses and all Done.
Your backup Plan
In case off any technical issues on the New server and you need immediate plan to revert back Collect Orion diagnostics first
NPM - How to gather diagnostics
Revert the snapshot of new servers back to the previous state . Now bring the old server back to the network and
Contact Solarwinds support if needed to resolve the issue you faced and provide the diagnostic files you have collected from the New Server
How can i import my nodes into the new installation ?
Go to the old server > Collect Orion Diagnostics > Unzip > Go to the DB Folder > Open the Nodes.csv file in Excel > Ip_Address column copy your ip address
Now Run the Discovery Wizard on your New installation > (IP addresses ) pate the ip address here and complete the wizard
How can i import nodes Custom Properties ?
You can import Custom Properties after the Wizard if needed / Or can create new one .
How can i Configure your SMTP / Alerts / Maps ?
SMTP server can be configured on the new installation quickly
Firstly check Canned Alerts there are many new Alerts are added in the System you may not have configure new custom Alerts
There are new options in the Maps available this can be configured as well Yes you can also import your old maps however check the New Maps options in the Network Atlas if you still needs any old Maps to be imported
How can i import my old reports ?
Firstly check Canned reports there are many new reports are added in the System you may not have configure new custom report or even needs to import your old report.
How can i Download configuration from the devices (NCM) on the fresh installation ?
Once you have done your discovery the first part simply run the Nightly Config Backup Job and this will download the fresh configuration from the devices.
If you have any issues with the NCM Jobs/Devices please use the Post below
NCM troubleshooting landing page
Do i need license for new installation ?
No the Fresh instillation will have 30 days evaluation license + 30 days can be extended to run the system parallel
Any further questions / issues please feel free to submit support ticket.
