Network Management

How to decommission an Additional Web Server (AWS)

This article explains how to remove an unused Additional Web Server from a SolarWinds Platform deployment. The procedure covers licensing considerations, removal of the registered server records from the SolarWinds Platform database, service impact, and post-removal validation.

First published date

8/3/2026 10:31 PM

Last published date

8/3/2026 10:31 PM

Overview

Environment

  • SolarWinds Platform

  • Additional Web Server

  • SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted, when applicable

Product section

Network Performance Monitor

Resolution

Before proceeding — no downtime required

  1. Confirm that the server being removed is an Additional Web Server, not a Main Polling Engine or an Additional Polling Engine.

  2. Confirm that users can access the SolarWinds Platform Web Console through another active web endpoint.

  3. If the Additional Web Server receives Web Console traffic through DNS or a load balancer, remove it from that traffic path.

  4. Review the license type:

    • If License Manager shows a separately activated Additional Web Server license, deactivate only that license.

    • SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted Standard and Enterprise licenses include Additional Web Servers. Do not deactivate the primary SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted license solely to remove one Additional Web Server.

  5. Create a current backup or snapshot of the SolarWinds Platform database before changing any database records. Use Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio for database backup and restore operations.

  6. Record the exact hostname of the Additional Web Server being removed.

Method 1: Clean uninstall — interruption limited to the Additional Web Server

Use this method when the Additional Web Server is accessible and its SolarWinds software, services, registry entries, and folders must be removed. Starting with SolarWinds Platform 2019.2, the SolarWinds Installer supports full uninstallation of the Platform deployment from the server where the command is run.

  1. Sign in to the Additional Web Server being removed.

  2. Locate SolarWinds.Orion.Installer.exe and verify its actual path on that server.

  3. Open Command Prompt and run:

"<verified path>\SolarWinds.Orion.Installer.exe" -uninstall

  1. Follow the on-screen instructions.

  2. Run this command only on the Additional Web Server being removed. Do not run it on the Main Polling Engine or another SolarWinds Platform server.

  3. After uninstallation, query OrionServers and Websites. If the retired server remains registered, complete Method 2.

Method 2: Remove stale database records — platform-wide downtime required

Use this method when the Additional Web Server is no longer accessible or when its records remain after clean uninstallation. The documented manual removal procedure requires all SolarWinds services on all SolarWinds Platform servers to be stopped before the database records are changed.

  1. Stop all SolarWinds services on all SolarWinds Platform servers by using SolarWinds Platform Service Manager.

  2. Open Database Manager.

  3. Query the following tables:

    • OrionServers

    • Websites

  4. In each table, verify the exact row associated with the Additional Web Server being removed.

  5. Select Enable Table Editing.

  6. Right-click only the verified row for the Additional Web Server, and then select Delete.

  7. Select Execute Query.

  8. Query both tables again and confirm that the retired server records are no longer present.

  9. Start all SolarWinds services on all SolarWinds Platform servers by using SolarWinds Platform Service Manager.

Post-validation — no additional downtime required

  1. Confirm that the retired server is absent from both OrionServers and Websites.

  2. Confirm that users can access the SolarWinds Platform Web Console through the remaining web endpoints.

  3. Confirm that the retired server is no longer receiving Web Console traffic through DNS or a load balancer.

Notes

  • These instructions apply only to an Additional Web Server.

  • Do not use this procedure to decommission a Main Polling Engine or an Additional Polling Engine.

  • Delete only the database records that have been verified as belonging to the retired Additional Web Server.

  • Do not deactivate a primary SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted license when removing an included Additional Web Server.