SolarWinds Observability-Self-Hosted-Fundamentals - SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted Fundamentals

When new users are added to the SolarWinds Platform, they are typically granted a "Standard User" baseline of permissions to ensure they have immediate visibility without administrative risk. According to theSolarWinds Platform User Account Managementguides, the two primary default rights arelog into web console (B)andview existing reports (D).

The ability to log into the web console is the fundamental prerequisite for any user interaction with the platform. Once logged in, the "View Existing Reports" permission allows the user to navigate the report manager, search for historical data, and run or export reports that have been shared with them. These permissions are considered "safe" or "read-only" baseline rights. In contrast,Edit Views (A)andManage Reports (C)are administrative-level permissions that are disabled by default. "Edit Views" allows a user to change the dashboard layout for everyone, and "Manage Reports" allows for the creation, deletion, and scheduling of reports. By restricting these to an "opt-in" basis, SolarWinds protects the integrity of the monitoring configuration while ensuring that every team member can access the information they need to perform their daily duties.

The Custom Property Import tool is designed to help administrators bulk-update metadata for hundreds or thousands of nodes simultaneously. According to theSolarWinds Platform Administrator Guide, maintaining data integrity is a priority during this process.

A critical feature supported during the import is thatincoming values are validated before being written (D). When an administrator uploads a CSV or Excel file containing custom property values, the platform performs a validation check against the defined "Type" of each property in the database. For example, if a custom property InstallDate is defined as a "Date" type, and the import file contains a text string like "Last Tuesday," the validation engine will flag an error and prevent the import from corrupting the database. This validation also checks for character limits and ensures that values for restricted "Drop-down" properties match the predefined allowed list. This safeguard is essential for ensuring that automated alerts and reports, which rely on this metadata, function correctly without being disrupted by malformed data entries.

The SolarWinds Agent is a versatile polling tool, but it must be compatible with the underlying Operating System (OS) to function correctly. According to theSolarWinds Platform Agent requirements, the agent software is designed to run on a wide variety of modern Windows and Linux distributions.

For the Windows ecosystem, the agent supports both server-grade and enterprise-grade workstation operating systems.Windows Server 2022 (D)is fully supported, allowing for deep monitoring of the latest Microsoft server environments, including support for AppInsight applications. Similarly,Windows 11 Enterprise (C)is a supported platform, which is particularly useful for monitoring high-end workstations, jump boxes, or remote endpoints that act as critical nodes in the network.

While SolarWinds does support various Linux distributions (such as RHEL, CentOS, and Ubuntu),Debian 11andFedora(Options A and B) are often not listed as "officially primary supported" in the same tier as the Windows or main enterprise Linux distributions in current HCO documentation. The Windows agent remains the most feature-complete version of the software, supporting a broader range of monitoring types (like Quality of Experience and deep application analysis) compared to its Linux counterparts. Therefore, for an HCO deployment focusing on the latest infrastructure, Windows Server 2022 and Windows 11 are the verified answers.

In the SolarWinds alerting workflow, "Acknowledgment" is a critical state change that coordinates the human response to an incident. According to theSolarWinds Platform Alerting Guide, acknowledging an alert communicates to the rest of the team that a specific technician has taken ownership of the issue.

The formal definition of acknowledgment is thatthe issue is being worked on and the alert will not be escalated. This is the most important functional result of the action: it halts the automated escalation chain. If an alert was configured to email a manager after 30 minutes of inactivity, acknowledging the alert at the 15-minute mark cancels that pending manager email. It signals to the system—and other operators—that active troubleshooting is underway and further automated "noise" is unnecessary.

It is important to note that acknowledgmentdoes notmean the issue is resolved (Option A); the alert remains active in the "All Active Alerts" list (though often filtered into an "Acknowledged" category) until the underlying trigger condition is cleared by the monitoring engine. It is a procedural tool for incident management, ensuring that once a human engages with a problem, the platform's automated notification logic steps aside to let them work without further distraction.

In the SolarWinds Platform, data visibility is controlled at the account level through a security feature known as Account Limitations. According to theSolarWinds Platform User Account Managementdocumentation, when a single user has restricted visibility while others do not, it points to a specificAccount Limitationapplied to that user's profile.

Account limitations act as a persistent filter on the database queries performed by the Web Console during that user's session. If an administrator has configured a limitation based on a custom property like "Location" or "Region," the user will only see entities that match that specific criteria. For example, if the user's account is limited to Location = New York, they will be unable to see nodes, alerts, or reports associated with Location = London, even if those nodes are active and being monitored by the system.

This is a fundamental tool for multi-tenant environments or large enterprises where different teams are responsible for different geographic or logical segments of the network. It is more effective than "View Limitations" (Option D) because an account limitation follows the user across the entire platform, including search results, alerts, and reports, whereas a view limitation only affects a specific dashboard page. Options B and C are unlikely because they would typically affect multiple users or indicate a major monitoring gap rather than a user-specific visibility issue.

Once a SolarWinds agent is deployed, its communication mode (Active/Passive or Agent-Initiated/Server-Initiated) may need to be adjusted due to network changes or security requirements. According to theSolarWinds Platform Agent Managementguide, this is handled through a centralized administrative interface.

The correct method is toedit the agent in the "Manage Agents" page. By navigating toSettings > All Settings > Manage Agents, an administrator can select one or more agents and click "Edit Settings." Within this menu, the "Communication Mode" can be toggled. If the change is possible (i.e., the network allows the new path), the platform sends a command to the agent software on the remote node to switch its listening or polling behavior.

This process is designed to be seamless and does not require a fullredeploy(Option D) of the software, which would be time-consuming and disruptive. Modifying "Global Agent Settings" (Option A) would affect allnewagents but doesn't specifically target an existing agent's unique configuration. The "Manage Agents" page provides the granular control necessary to modify these communication parameters on a per-node or bulk basis.

In the SolarWinds Platform, "Administrator" rights in the Web Console grant extensive control over monitoring configurations, but they are distinct from "System Administrator" or "Security Administrator" roles. According to theSolarWinds Platform User Account Managementguide, a Web Console Administrator can manage nodes, create alerts , build reports , and customize dashboards.

However, for security reasons, the ability to managepasswords—specifically the credentials used for polling (SNMP strings, WMI service accounts, or external integration secrets)—is often restricted. While an admin canassignan existing credential to a node, the ability to add, edit, or view the clear-text/obfuscated passwords within the centralizedCredential Libraryis a separate, higher-level security permission. This prevents a standard Web Administrator from potentially harvesting sensitive service account passwords from the database. This "separation of duties" ensures that while a user can manage the monitoring environment, they cannot necessarily compromise the security of the underlying infrastructure accounts.

The ability to create or modify reports is a high-level administrative function in the SolarWinds Platform, distinct from the ability to simply view them. According to theSolarWinds Platform User Account Managementguide, this is controlled by theReport Managementright.

To restrict a specific group of users from creating or editing reports while still allowing them to view existing ones, the administrator mustremove the "Manage Reports" permissionfrom their user accounts. When this right is set to "No," the"Manage Reports" buttonis hidden from the "All Reports" view for that user. They can still click on and run any report they have access to, but they will lack the interface options to enter the "Report Builder," change schedules, or delete entries. This provides a secure way to delegate report consumption to the wider team while centralizing report creation within a smaller group of "power users" or administrators. Option D is incorrect as it refers toAlerts, which is a separate permission set entirely.

TheMy Deploymentpage is the centralized administrative hub for managing the health and scale of the SolarWinds Platform. According to theSolarWinds Platform Installation and Upgrade Guide, this page simplifies complex infrastructure tasks that previously required logging into the individual server consoles.

Centralized Upgrade (B): The "Updates & Evaluations" tab allows administrators to download and orchestrate the upgrade of the main polling engine and all additional polling engines from a single interface. This "Centralized Upgrade" feature ensures all components are updated in the correct order.

High Availability (HA) Pool Setup (D): The "High Availability" tab provides the wizard-driven interface to create and manage HA pools. This allows you to link a primary server with a standby server to ensure near-zero downtime in the event of a hardware or software failure.

While you canviewlicense status (Option A) or trigger diagnostics (Option C), license activation is typically handled via the License Manager, and diagnostic transmission is often a sub-function of the technical support workflow rather than the primary architectural focus of the "My Deployment" management page.