Applications Systems

Problems in SAM with SNMP Process Monitors failing

First published date

11/29/2018 10:37 PM

Last published date

4/9/2025 8:42 PM

Overview

SNMP Process Monitors in SolarWinds SAM fail due to the large number of SNMP requests they are generating.

Product section

Server Application Monitor

Resolution

You can change how the SNMP Process Monitor gets information about processes from remote nodes. This may reduce the number of SNMP requests that the SNMP Process Monitor is generating, thereby resolving the issue of the monitors failing. 

  1. To change the settings for how the SNMP Process Monitor gets information about processes from remote nodes, open one of these files in a text editor, depending on which platform you're using. Here are the default paths:
    • c:\Program Files (x86)\SolarWinds\Orion\APM\SolarWinds.APM.Probes.dll.config
    • c:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Orion\APM\SolarWinds.APM.Probes.dll.config 
  2. Locate the following section:
<snmpprocessprobesettings/> <snmpprocessprobesettings/> 

         BulkSize="10"

         PollMethod="None"

         MaxProcessCount="30000"

         RetryCount="2"

         Timeout="2500"

 

  1. Modify the following values, as necessary:
  • BulkSize – Specifies how many rows to retrieve using a single SNMP request. (It is set to the SNMP Max-Repetitions value). Using a value that is too large may not be supported by some clients or firewalls.
  • PollMethod – Specifies the method to use for reading data from SNMP. The default value None uses getNext in the SNMP request. In some environments, it may be beneficial to set this value to  either BulkRow or BulkColumn. In either case, SNMP requests will be using getBulkand this should improve performance. The difference between using BulkRow versus BulkColumn is in the way data is read. That is, whether you are reading SNMP tables by rows or by columns.
  • RetryCount – Specifies how many times Orion APM repeats the SNMP request if an error is returned.
  • Timeout – Specifies the  timeout for SNMP requests (in milliseconds).
  1. Save the config file after you make changes.
  2. Restart Orion Services.

If experiencing random issues with SNMP Process Monitors, try changing the default setting for PollMethod to  BulkColumn or BulkRow. Using either setting should significantly reduce the number of SNMP requests that the monitor is generating, thereby resolving the issue of the monitors failing.