Configuring Certificate Management Service FAILED error in Configuration Wizard

7/25/2025 8:20 PM

2/11/2026 12:17 AM

Configuration wizard fails with a message Configuring Certificate Management FAILED. 

This issue is caused by potentially two different problems when the Certificate Management Service is starting up.

It will also present with an ERROR on the web console (in some cases):

Problem 1:

From the SolarWinds.CertificateManagementService.log:

With DEBUG logging enabled in SolarWinds.CertificateManagementService.log:

2025-06-27 12:22:09,095 [.NET TP Worker] DEBUG SolarWinds.CertificateManagement.Service.Services.WaitForDependenciesService - (null) Dependencies were not ready.
SolarWinds.Orion.Common.Impersonation.ImpersonationContext+CallbackException: Exception while running the action.
 ---> System.DllNotFoundException: Unable to load DLL 'Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SNI.dll' or one of its dependencies: Access is denied. (0x80070005 (E_ACCESSDENIED))

Problem 2:

From the SolarWinds.CertificateManagementService.log:

2025-08-15 17:03:52,922 [.NET TP Worker] ERROR Grpc.AspNetCore.Server.ServerCallHandler - (null)  Error when executing service method 'GetCertificateThumbprint'.
SolarWinds.Orion.Common.Impersonation.ImpersonationContext+CallbackException: Exception while running the action.
---> Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlException (0x80131904): A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: TCP Provider, error: 0 - The wait operation timed out.)
---> System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception (258): The wait operation timed out.
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning(TdsParserStateObject stateObj, SqlCommand command, Boolean callerHasConnectionLock, Boolean asyncClose)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Connect(ServerInfo serverInfo, SqlInternalConnectionTds connHandler, TimeoutTimer timeout, SqlConnectionString connectionOptions, Boolean withFailover)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlInternalConnectionTds.LoginNoFailover(ServerInfo serverInfo, String newPassword, SecureString newSecurePassword, Boolean redirectedUserInstance, SqlConnectionString connectionOptions, SqlCredential credential, TimeoutTimer timeout)

 

SolarWinds Observability

Problem1:

This is caused by a permission issue with one of the folders inside the C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Orion\Net\runtimes directory. It requires READ access to the SYSTEM account. Note that the above is the default install location; it may be different in a customer environment.

Also, confirmed as bug, when SQL server has windows Auth enabled, we are trying to use this account to impersonate and load the .dll, which will fail. The .dll should be loaded as Local System Account.

Problem 2:

This is being caused by a timeout when the Certificate Management Service is trying to connect to the SQL server, and it times out.

This issue is addressed in SolarWinds Platform 2026.1. Consider upgrading your environment. If you cannot upgrade, use the workarounds below.

Problem 1: 

Resolution 1:

Set READ access for the SYSTEM user on the C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Orion\Net\runtimes directory and replace all child permissions to have the same access. Then, restart the Certificate Management Service and review logs for results.

 

Resolution 2:

If resolution 1 doesn't work, you can instead give READ access to the EVERYONE user and replace all child objects. This is not ideal, but it should immediately resolve the issue after you restart the Certificate Management Service. Review logs for results.

 

Resolution 3:

If resolution 1 doesn't work and you do not want to do resolution 2, you can try the following.

1.) Remove the folders from the C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Orion\Net\runtimes and place them in another location (Download, Desktop, etc.)

2.) Next, run a repair on the SolarWinds Platform in Add/Remove Programs. This will redeploy the files to the system with the required permission level and force you through a configuration wizard.

 

Problem 2:

 

1) Navigate to C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Orion -- Note this is the default install location; yours might be on a different drive

2) Find the swnetpefmon.db file and edit it with Notepad

3) In the first paragraph at the top of file will be the current connection string information. Towards the end of the paragraph, you should see a setting called connect timeout=20. Change this value to '120' and save the file.

4) Restart the SolarWinds services, and it should be able to connect now. 

5) You can now rerun the configuration wizard to finish setup.