Network Management

"Collection parameter 'installChain' cannot be empty" error when upgrading Additional Polling Engine (APE)

When upgrading APE, the following error message may appear with "Collection parameter 'installChain' cannot be empty".

First published date

8/31/2021 12:39 PM

Last published date

3/31/2025 4:22 AM

Overview

When upgrading APE, the following error message may appear:

Collection parameter 'installChain' cannot be empty

Product section

Orion Platform

Cause

This issue occurs when a previously started centralized upgrade session is still running.

Resolution

Workaround 1:

Restart SolarWinds Administration Service (SWA) on main poller and additional polling engine.

Workaround 2:

Check on the DB SWA_InstallationSession table and it shows there is Locked active session.

Backup the Orion Database

Open the SolarWinds Database Manager.
Look for the db table SWA_InstallationSession > Right click and execute query
Check if any row has IsActive Column Value set to true - this means Centralized Upgrades is in Active.
To reset the upgrade session > Click Enable table editing > Check the row & cell next that is marked with a Checkbox and Uncheck it.
Refresh the Orion Web console page to see the most up to date information about upgrade session.

Workaround 3:

Reinstall Administration Service
Reboot the server

Disclaimer: Please note, any content posted herein is provided as a suggestion or recommendation to you for your internal use. This is not part of the SolarWinds software or documentation that you purchased from SolarWinds, and the information set forth herein may come from third parties. Your organization should internally review and assess to what extent, if any, such custom scripts or recommendations will be incorporated into your environment. You elect to use third-party content at your own risk, and you will be solely responsible for the incorporation of the same if any.