Network Management

"Failed: Service Solarwinds Platform Bridge Service (SolarwindsPlatformBridge) failed to start." error during offline upgrade to SolarWinds Platform 2026.1

An upgrade to 2026.1 fails during SolarWinds Platform Setup because the SolarWinds Platform Bridge Service could not start, with Event Viewer showing a .NET runtime error indicating that .NET needed to be installed/updated.

First published date

2/25/2026 4:38 PM

Last published date

4/9/2026 2:22 PM

Overview

  • Issue: Upgrade to SolarWinds Platform 2026.1 fails during SolarWinds Platform Setup.
  • Symptom: Installer reports
    • Failed: Service SolarWinds Platform Bridge Service (SolarWindsPlatformBridge) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services.

  • Investigation:
    • Check Event Viewer → Application log.
    • A .NET application error displays for SolarWinds.Platform.Bridge.exe with message:
      • You must install or update .NET to run this application.

Product section

Network Performance Monitor

Cause

A missing .NET component is not installed.

Resolution

Important! The SolarWinds Platform requires the ASP.NET Core Runtime and the .NET Desktop Runtime to be upgraded to the same version.  Please review the following article for recommended steps.

 

  1. Ensure ASP.NET Core Runtime and .NET Desktop Runtime are running the same versions
    • If one of them is missing, download and install the missing runtime
    • Verify the installation by running dotnet --info from Command Prompt.
  2. Re-run the 2026.1 installer.

Note: When you "Save Diagnostics" and open the .zip file it does not have any file inside.

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