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Orion Log Viewer the New and Improved Version of the Syslog and Trap Viewers

While the existing syslog and trap functionality that ships with the OrionRegistered Platform has served us well over the last several years, there has always been some room for improvement. For example, we would sometimes hear from users that syslog collection would bog down their database or that it was inconvenient to manage logs outside the web console. Another common issue raised was around the lack of integration with Orion alerting.

As we built Log Analyzer, we wanted to do something about this valuable functionality that also seemed to be causing issues for our users. That’s where Orion Log Viewer comes in.

Orion Log Viewer (or OLV for short) is built on the Orion Platform and is a subset of SolarWindsRegistered Log Analyzer’s functionality. It shares the same systems requirements as LA and gives you the ability to collect, view, filter, search, manage, and alert on syslogs and traps from within your SolarWinds web interface. And the best part is, NPM users can get this updated functionality for no additional cost.

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OLV will not only make it easier to manage your logs, but also give you extra visibility into performance issues by including syslog and trap data in your PerfStackTm dashboards. The additional context can help speed root cause investigation and troubleshooting. Additionally, both OLV and LA use the same alert engine as the other Orion-based products, nearly doubling the amount of alert actions you can take from your logs and reducing the number of alert engines you have to learn and maintain.

Orion Log Viewer also ships with its own database specifically designed for log collection. Lessening the impact of collecting logs on your Orion database. You can see how each of the different versions of the logging tools compare in this knowledge base article.

As mentioned earlier, OLV is a subset of Log Analyzer, so to get this updated functionality, you need to download and install a free trial of Log Analyzer on the same server as your NPM instance. At the end of the 30-day trial, if you decide not to purchase LA, the additional functionality that it provides will simply turn off. All that will remain is the functionality provided with Orion Log Viewer. At that time, OLV will be supported at the same level as your NPM license. If you decide later to upgrade to Log Analyzer, simply activate a license key and the functionality will return.

One note for those using the existing syslog and trap functionality. Installing Log Analyzer/OLV will override your existing rules. This means your previously configured syslog and trap rules and alerts will no longer be active. While there is no migration path for existing rules or log data to transfer to OLV, they will continue to be readable.

Orion Log Viewer is the future of syslogs and traps in Orion. We would love to get your feedback on the tool, so we can continue to improve it and support you.

  • When I have 50 VM running on 1 ESXi host, I only need enable the event monitoring for the 1 host to see whats going on with all my virtual machines, right?

    That would use up one license size of the paid Log Analyzer.

  • steffen.gutzeit  wrote:

    When I have 50 VM running on 1 ESXi host, I only need enable the event monitoring for the 1 host to see whats going on with all my virtual machines, right?

    That would use up one license size of the paid Log Analyzer.

    You are correct, if you're utilizing Log Analyzer on the box, you only need to enable the event monitoring for 1 host.

  • Say, just hypotheically, that I installed the most recent updates to Solarwinds, including the new and improved Log Viewer. How can I review my old trap handling rules (the ones I set up in the old Trap Viewer) so that I can re-create them in the new Log Viewer?

  • Hi serena​, I installed the upgrade last night and now I'm seeing this error in the logs:

    A valid license for SolarWinds Log Manager for Orion was not found. Please reinstall Log Manager for Orion or contact SolarWinds Support.

    I've opened a ticket with Solarwinds, but I'm wondering if you can tell me if this is a bug in the upgrade or an actual licensing issue? Thanks!

  • m-milligan  wrote:

    Hi serena , I installed the upgrade last night and now I'm seeing this error in the logs:

    A valid license for SolarWinds Log Manager for Orion was not found. Please reinstall Log Manager for Orion or contact SolarWinds Support.

    I've opened a ticket with Solarwinds, but I'm wondering if you can tell me if this is a bug in the upgrade or an actual licensing issue? Thanks!

    Is this just occurring in the logs or are you seeing anything in the product (loss of functionality or errors in the license manager)?

  • Hi serena​, it looks like it's just in the logs. LM is catching SNMP traps without problems.

  • m-milligan  wrote:

    Hi serena , it looks like it's just in the logs. LM is catching SNMP traps without problems.

    Then all is well. I've logged the misleading logs internally as a bug and we'll look at making sure that's streamlined.

  • m-milligan  wrote:

    Say, just hypotheically, that I installed the most recent updates to Solarwinds, including the new and improved Log Viewer. How can I review my old trap handling rules (the ones I set up in the old Trap Viewer) so that I can re-create them in the new Log Viewer?

    1.  Access the Syslog Viewer from the SolarWinds application server via All programs > Solarwinds Orion > Syslog and SNMP Traps, and select Syslog Viewer.
    2.  From the menu of the Viewer, choose Files > Settings > Alerts/Filter Rules tab.

    The rules will remain in the Syslog/Trap viewers, so just go to the Rule and click edit - that will show you all the rule conditions