Deploying the Orion Platform

Participant’s Guide

Deploying the Orion Platform

Participant’s Guide

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

Table of Contents
What Is the SolarWinds Orion Platform? 3
SolarWinds Orion Platform Architecture 4
System Requirements 5
Upgrading 2012 Servers 6
Install Orion Platform Products Via the Azure® Marketplace 6
Installing SQL Server 7
Network Discovery 7
Orion Web Console 8
Orion Web Console Navigation 10
Working With the Settings Menu 11
Back-End Applications 12
Useful Links 13

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

What Is the SolarWinds Orion Platform?

• The Orion® Platform is at the core of the SolarWinds IT operations management portfolio.
• It provides a stable and scalable architecture including data collection, processing, storage, and
presentation.
• The Orion Platform provides common features like network node discovery, dashboards,
reporting, alerting, SNMP traps, Syslog, groups, and more.

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

SolarWinds Orion Platform Architecture

The Orion Platform provides the following functions:

• Unified, web-based dashboard using Windows® IIS™—what we refer to as the Web Console
• Discovery and resource mapping—what elements you can monitor and are monitoring
• Maps—includes a Network Atlas tool to map devices, elements, schematics, and locations to
display in a graphical form
• Discovery includes both on-demand and scheduled discoveries to identify and add elements
across the network
• Centralized Settings and Access Control—views, users, permissions, and configurations for
running Orion Platform products in your environment
• Alerting and reporting
• Consolidated metrics and data—displaying data and metrics across monitored elements and
installed Orion Platform products

For more details, visit this link:

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/orionplatform/Content/Orion_Platform_Administrator_
Guide.htm

How it all comes together:

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

System Requirements
Orion Platform Requirements
https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/Content/System_Requirements/Orion_Plat
form_2020-2_system_requirements.htm

Supported application servers

Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2012 R2
Desktop OSs only for evaluations; NOT recommended for production environments
STIG- compliant OSs
FIPS-compliant OSs
Device Guard-compliant OSs

Supported SQL Databases

https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/Windows-Server-2012-2016-and-SQL-Server-2012-2014-
2016-and-2017-Support

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

Upgrading 2012 Servers

Reasons to Upgrade a Windows 2012 Infrastructure (Video)
https://video.solarwinds.com/watch/qoEysK6612Be16GGGDGHVf

Additional Links and Resources—Upgrading 2012 Servers

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/installation-and-upgrade#upgrade

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/Content/core-why-upgrade-orion-from-
2012.htm

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/Content/Migrate_upgrade_th
e_orion_SQL_server_without_migration.htm

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/Content/Orion_Platform_Migration_Gui
de.htm

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/Content/Migrate_the_SolarWinds_Orion
_SQL_database_to_a_new_server.htm
https://thwack.solarwinds.com/community/solarwinds-community/product-
blog/blog/2018/11/02/preparing-your-upgrade-to-orion-platform-20184-and-beyond-deprecation-other-
important-items

https://thwack.solarwinds.com/community/solarwinds-community/product-blog/blog/2018/10/30/how-
to-migrate-orion-to-a-new-server-hint-youre-doing-it-wrong

Install Orion Platform Products Via the Azure® Marketplace

Starting with Orion Platform 2019.4, you can deploy Orion Platform products using the Azure Marketplace.

Why use Azure with the Orion Platform?

• You can use Azure SQL Database or dedicated SQL database solutions for your deployment.
• Azure VMs are built dynamically on the fly using the latest versions and hotfixes available at time of
creation.
• The installation on Azure Marketplace is powered by the SolarWinds Orion Installer. Install the first Orion
Platform product using Azure Marketplace, and if necessary, install further products directly from the
Orion Web Console.

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

For more information, visit:

https://thwack.solarwinds.com/community/solarwinds-lab/installing-solarwinds-products-from-the-microsoft-
azure-marketplace

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/Content/install-orion-azure-azure-
marketplace.htm

Installing SQL Server

Prepare the Orion Database for a SolarWinds NPM installation
https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/orionplatform/Content/Orion_Platform_Installation_Gui
de.htm

SQL Server Configuration Best Practices

https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/SQL-Server-Performance-optimization-and-best-practices

Note: There is currently no standalone installer for the Orion Platform. It’s installed along with Orion
Platform products like Network Performance Monitor (NPM) or Server & Application Monitor (SAM).

Network Discovery
When you log on to the Orion Web Console for the first time, you’ll be directed to the Network Discovery
Wizard.

Welcome to the Orion Web Console

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

• Network Discovery walks you through adding devices to monitor in your application
• Additional discovery options become available in the wizard as you add more products
• You can run Network Discovery once, or on a set schedule
• You can create as many discovery jobs as you need
D iscover Your Network Using SolarWinds NPM
https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/NPM/Content/Onboarding/Discover/NPM-QS-Discover-
Your-Network.htm

Add Discovered Devices to SolarWinds NPM

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/NPM/Content/Onboarding/Discover/NPM-QS-Import-
Network-Elements.htm

Orion Web Console

The Orion Web Console is the web-based interface you’ll log in to for managing and monitoring your
devices or applications.

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

Navigating the Orion Web Console

https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/Navigating-the-Web-Console-Video

Troubleshooting Using the Web Console

1. Watch out for the icons and color coding.

2. Top 10 critical statistics across installed products can be found in the Home menu, while the Top
10 for NPM alone can be found in the Network menu.
3. C lick and drill to find more details about nodes, interfaces, and volumes.

4. Gauges gives you the current data as of the last polling, while C harts provide you with historical
data.

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

Orion Web Console Navigation

My Dashboards Menu Bar

When you have a list of items you want users to access from My Dashboards, create a menu bar:
1. Click My Dashboards > Configure.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click New Menu Bar and name it.
3. Drag items from the Available items column into Selected items and click Submit.

Assign Menu Bars to Users

1. Click Settings > All Settings in the menu bar.
2. In the User Account Settings, click Manage Accounts.
3. Select a user and click Edit.
4. Scroll down to D efault Menu Bars and Views and select top menu bars from the lists.

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

5. Select Y es for the items the user will see in Alerts & Activity.

Working With the Settings Menu

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/orionplatform/Content/Core-Administrative-Functions-
of-the-Orion-Web-Console-sw896.htm

Manage Accounts
You can create three types of accounts on the Orion Web Console:
• Orion individual account—stored in the Orion database
• Windows individual account—an Active Directory® account
• Windows group account—an Active Directory security group

SolarWinds can authenticate Active Directory users via MSAPI or LDAP.

Adding a New User Account

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Adding_a_New
_User_Account_-_Video

Account Permissions and Limitations

https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Account_Permi
ssions_and_Limitations_-_Video

Manage Alerts
https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Managing_Exist
ing_Alerts_-_Video

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

Manage Reports
https://support.solarwinds.com/Success_Center/Network_Performance_Monitor_(NPM)/Reports_-
_Video

Back-End Applications
Some back-end applications are integrated into the Orion Web Console.

Support for Amazon Web Services® Marketplace

Deploy SolarWinds Orion Platform Products to Amazon Web Services

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/Content/install-orion-aws.htm

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deploying the Orion Platform
Participant’s Guide

Useful Links

NPM Administrator Guide—Current admin guide for NPM.

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/NPM/Content/NPM_Administrator_Guide.htm

Planning and Installing SQL Server—Planning and installing SQL Server—Microsoft Document.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/install/planning-a-sql-server-installation

Installing SQL—This links to SQL 2012 but has links for other versions. Includes installation guides and
“How To” topics—Microsoft Document.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb500469(v=sql.110).aspx

SolarWinds Success Center—The Success Center is here to provide you with the information you need to
install, troubleshoot, and optimize your SolarWinds products.
https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/

THWACK® , the SolarWinds IT Community—Use it to learn more about SolarWinds products, participate in
discussions, and get help resolving issues.
https://thwack.solarwinds.com/welcome

SolarWinds Customer Portal—Manage your licenses and license keys, download SolarWinds software, and
attend live and on-demand training.
https://customerportal.solarwinds.com/

© 2020 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.