Network Management

Incorrect Parent-Child Device Dependencies in SolarWinds Platform

This article provides information about an issue in the SolarWinds Platform where automatically generated device dependencies may incorrectly assign parent-child relationships, causing the parent device to appear as the child and vice versa. This can result in inaccurate alerting and impact visibility during outages.

First published date

5/30/2025 6:11 PM

Last published date

6/12/2025 4:30 PM

Overview

In some SolarWinds Platform environments, users may observe that the auto-dependency calculation misclassifies devices in the parent-child relationship. Specifically:

  • The child device (such as a router) may appear as the parent.
  • The parent device (such as a switch or access point) may be shown as the child.
  • This behavior is not limited to specific device models.
  • Incorrect dependency assignments may result in alerts being triggered on downstream devices instead of the actual root cause.

Examples of observed symptoms:

  • A router is incorrectly listed as the child of a switch.
  • Alerts report that a switch is down, even though the issue is with the upstream router.
  • The Node Details page and the Dependencies table reflect an incorrect hierarchy.

This behavior has been observed in various network topologies, including SD-WAN environments and traditional LAN/WAN deployments.

Product section

Network Performance Monitor

Cause

  • The auto-dependency algorithm in the SolarWinds Platform uses multiple data sources (e.g., topology connections, ARP tables, traceroute) to determine parent-child relationships.
  • The current implementation does not account for device types, which can lead to incorrect parent-child assignments.
  • This is a known issue. Engineering has confirmed that resolving it requires a comprehensive revision of the algorithm to introduce device-type awareness and enhance dependency logic.

Resolution

Workaround:

To ensure accuracy in critical areas of your network, use manual dependency configuration to override the automatic assignments.

Steps:

  1. From the Web Console, go to Settings > All Settings > Manage Dependencies.
  2. Turn off Calculate dependencies automatically
  3. Click Add New Dependency.
  4. Manually set the correct Parent (e.g., router) and Child (e.g., switch).
  5. Save the configuration.