Migrate SolarWinds Orion products to a new server with a new IP and hostname

Build the new server including any changes to the architecture, hardware, and Operating System.

Review the minimum SolarWinds Orion platform requirements, multi-module guidelines, and specific product requirements (see release notes and admin guides) for your product.

Product requirements include:

• NPM 12.4 |12.3 | previous
• NCM 7.9 | 7.8 | previous 
• IPAM 4.8 | 4.7 | previous
• SAM 6.7.1 | 6.7 | previous
• NTA 4.5 | 4.4 | previous
• SRM 6.7 | 6.6 | previous
• UDT 3.3.2 | 3.3.1 | previous
• VMAN 8.3 | 8.2.1 |previous
• VNQM 4.5.1 | 4.5 | previous
• WPM 2.2.3 | 2.2.2
• DPAIM 11.1 | 11.0
• EOC 2.1 | 2.0
• LM 1.1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0

For all port requirements, see Port Requirements for all SolarWinds products.

See URLs used by the Orion Platform for a list of URLs to add as exceptions to your firewall.

Release the product license on the original server.

Back up your current database before migration.

If your SQL database is on a VM, create a snapshot of the VM.

If using the SQL Management Studio Express, do the following:

1. Open the SQL Management Studio Express on the Orion SQL server using your Windows credentials.
2. From the Object explorer, expand Databases and locate the SolarWinds (Orion) database.
3. Right-click on the Orion database and select Tasks then Backup. 
4. Create a backup of your SolarWinds SQL database.

(Optional) If you use Report Writer reports (NPM 10.5 and earlier) or still have legacy reports, back up the reports folder to save your custom reports:

• 64 bit OS: C:\Program Files x86\Solarwinds\Orion\Reports
• 32 bit OS: C:\Program Files\Solarwinds\Orion

For NCM, you may need to back up the following folders (found in C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Orion\NCM or C:\Program Files (x86)\SolarWinds\Orion\NCM):

• Reports
• Config Archive
• Scripts
• Device Command Templates

Unzip and install the new Orion product.

Do not run the Configuration wizard.

If you migrate as part of an upgrade, follow the upgrade path for your upgrades. Depending on the upgrade path and requirements for new product versions, you may need to migrate to new servers and OS before upgrading Orion products.

Point to the SolarWinds Orion SQL database and (optional) configure the NTA Flow Storage database.

Need more information? Check our SolarWinds Upgrade Guide.

Replace all references to the old server with the new server name.

You must use the NetBIOS short names to the old and new servers to complete this step. Run the hostname command from the command line to confirm the server names. If you have decommissioned the old server completely, look in the Engines table for this information.

1. Open the Database Manager by clicking Start > All programs > SolarWinds Orion > Advanced Features > Database Manager.
2. Click Add Server, connect to the SQL server, and select the SolarWinds Orion database.
3. Run one of the following queries and replace Server1 and Server2 with the appropriate host names.

   Migrating the Main server, run this query:

   DECLARE @oldHostname nvarchar(max)
SET @oldHostname = 'Server1'
DECLARE @newHostname nvarchar(max)
SET @newHostname = 'Server2'

UPDATE Engines SET ServerName = @newHostname WHERE ServerName = @oldHostname
UPDATE WebSettings SET SettingValue = @newHostname WHERE SettingName = 'JobSchedulerHost'
UPDATE Websites SET ServerName = @newHostname WHERE ServerName = @oldHostname
UPDATE OrionServers SET HostName = @newHostname WHERE HostName = @oldHostname
    

   Migrating an Orion Platform 2015.1.3 and earlier product? Although the OrionServers Update query fails, the migration completes successfully.

    

   Migrating Additional Polling Engines, run this query:

   DECLARE @oldHostname nvarchar(max)
SET @oldHostname = 'Server1'
DECLARE @newHostname nvarchar(max)
SET @newHostname = 'Server2'

UPDATE Engines SET ServerName = @newHostname WHERE ServerName = @oldHostname
UPDATE OrionServers SET HostName = @newHostname WHERE HostName = @oldHostname

    

   Migrating Additional Web Servers, run this query:

   DECLARE @oldHostname nvarchar(max)
SET @oldHostname = 'Server1'
DECLARE @newHostname nvarchar(max)
SET @newHostname = 'Server2'

UPDATE Websites SET ServerName = @newHostname WHERE ServerName = @oldHostname
UPDATE OrionServers SET HostName = @newHostname WHERE HostName = @oldHostname

    

   Migrating with HA, run this query:

   This query removes the HA entries. They are automatically repopulated when you restart the HA service.

   truncate table HA_FacilitiesInstances
truncate table HA_PoolMemberInterfacesInfo
truncate table HA_PoolMembers
truncate table HA_Pools
truncate table HA_ResourcesInstances

Run the Configuration wizard on the new server and restart all Orion services.

What you should do:

• When selecting or creating a database, select your existing database.
• When selecting or creating a user, use the existing DB admin credentials.
• When prompted to create a new website, select yes and complete.

Need more information? Check our SolarWinds Upgrade Guide.

Complete this step if your products are on Orion Platform 2016.2 - 2017.1, such as NPM 12.0.1 and SAM 6.3. If not, continue to the next step.

If you are migrating the main Orion server, you must move the license store.

1. Log in to the new Orion server.
2. Open a command prompt.
3. Navigate to c:\Program Files (x86)\SolarWinds\Orion\Licensing\.
4. Enter the following: Migration.exe /promote
5. Open the Orion Service Manager.
6. Restart the SolarWinds Orion Module Engine service.

Enable the product license on the new server.

14. Redeploy or reconnect to Agents

You have multiple options for deploying or reconnecting to existing Agents during a migration. You can:

• Redeploy agents through an Orion server push (recommended)
• Manually changing the Orion server IP address the agent uses via the Windows Control Panel
• Use the Group Policy Administrative template to redirect existing agents to the new Orion server

15. Copy legacy reports to the server, upgrade report schemas

Copy other files as needed

(Optional)

(Optional)

Copy the reports folder to the same directory as on the old server on the new server: c:\program files x86\solarwinds\orion\reports

For website SSL certificates, you will need to transfer the certificate to the new server. Review the documentation from your SSL vendor to migrate the certificate. You will need the CSR, private key, and certificate.

If you use a self-signed SSL certificate, you must create a new self-signed certificate for the new server IP and hostname.

(Optional) If your server was an HA pool member, recreate your HA pool. This is for SolarWinds HA, not FailOver Engine HA.

For details on SolarWinds HA, see this article.