INSTALLATION GUIDE

Network Topology Mapper

Version 2.2.2

Last Updated: June 11, 2019

INSTALLATION GUIDE: NETWORK TOPOLOGY MAPPER

© 2019 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents
NTM installation overview 4

Stand-alone installation 4

Evaluation installation 5

NTM requirements 6

Port requirements 7

Network device requirements 7

Installation preflight check 8

Install NTM 10

Install an evaluation copy of NTM 12

Steps to take after SolarWinds NTM is installed 13

Enable FIPS for security 14

Uninstall NTM 15

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INSTALLATION GUIDE: NETWORK TOPOLOGY MAPPER

NTM installation overview

Supported Version: Network Topology Mapper 2.2.2
This guide supports the following installation scenarios:

 l Stand-alone installation
 l Evaluation installation

SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper (NTM) shows nodes on your network, indicates and updates status
both for the nodes and the network connections between them in interrelated, scalable maps with
customizable icons.

The topological overview of NTM complements your network monitoring system [SolarWinds Network
Performance Monitor (NPM)], by showing how an issue with a particular node impacts larger aspects of
your network. NPM lists alerts in order or urgency and NTM distributes alerts on a map. For example, NTM
indicates if a particular switch sits in the path of all other alerting nodes.

Stand-alone installation
For a stand-alone installation of Network Topology Mapper, install the product on a dedicated server. This
installation assumes you have not installed any other SolarWinds Orion Platform products on the server.

Network Topology Mapper does not support integration with SolarWinds Orion platform products.

To integrate NTM maps into the Orion Web Console, export maps from NTM, and import them into
Network Atlas.

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Evaluation installation
Network Topology Mapper supports an evaluation installation with a trial period. This installation is a full
installation of the product with a 14-day license. To continue with a full product license, contact
SolarWinds Sales.

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INSTALLATION GUIDE: NETWORK TOPOLOGY MAPPER

NTM requirements
The following tables provide the minimum requirements for SolarWinds NTM.

HARDWARE/
REQUIREMENTS
SOFTWARE
   l Microsoft Windows 10, 8.1, 8, and 7

   l Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2 and R2 (32/64-bit)

 l Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
 
 l Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and R2
   l Microsoft Windows Server 2016
  NTM supports FIPS.
Operating
System Languages:

 l English
 l German
 l Japanese
 l Chinese

CPU Speed 2.66 GHz or faster

Device discovery and map rendering are CPU-intensive. SolarWinds recommends

installing NTM on the fastest CPU PC available.

Hard Drive 10 GB
Space

Memory 500 MB

Application .NET 3.5 SP1

Framework
.NET 4.0

.NET 4.5

If .NET is missing, NTM installs .NET.

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Port requirements
SERVICE
PROTO-
PORT OR DIRECTION DESCRIPTION
COL
PROCESS

161 UDP SolarWinds Bidirectional The port used for SNMP statistics collection.
Network
Topology Job
Scheduler

443 TCP SolarWinds Bidirectional The port used to communicate with VMware
Network Virtual Center or ESX server.
Topology Job
Scheduler

17778 HTTPS SolarWinds Outbound The port used to access the SolarWinds
Network Information Service (SWIS) API for exporting
Topology Job maps from a scheduled discovery to Network
Scheduler Atlas.

1024 and TCP/UDP SolarWinds Bidirectional WMI communications use a port between 1024
65535 Network and 65535. See Microsoft Windows for
Topology Job specifications.
Scheduler Create firewall exceptions that allow TCP/UDP
traffic on ports 1024 - 65535 to enable
mapping monitored objects that use WMI.

Network device requirements

The following table describes the requirements for optimal device discovery:

NODE TYPE REQUIREMENT

Network Device SNMPv2c or SNMPv3 enabled

Windows Device WMI enabled

ICMP Only Devices Must not block ICMP requests

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INSTALLATION GUIDE: NETWORK TOPOLOGY MAPPER

Installation preflight check

Before you install, complete the pre-installation checklist below. This checklist helps you:

 l Verify that system requirements are met, all required software is installed, and required roles and
features are enabled.
 l Gather the information required to complete the installation.

Review release Review Network Topology Mapper release notes and available documentation in
notes the Success Center.

Review system Make sure your environment has all of the hardware, software, and database
requirements requirements for your installations.

Review device Make sure the devices you want to see on NPM maps correspond with device
requirements requirements.

Run all Windows Check for and run all Microsoft Windows Updates on all servers. As you
updates install, if a Windows update runs, your system may reboot as needed by
Windows.

Prepare licenses Review your current product licenses and determine if you need to make any
changes. You can download updated license keys through the Customer Portal.

If you need to modify your licenses, contact your SolarWinds account manager
or SolarWinds.

Gather credentials Use the Local Administrator Account for installation.

The Local Administrator Account is not the same as a domain account

with local admin rights. A domain account is subject to your domain
group policies.

To download SolarWinds products and licenses, you need a SolarWinds

Customer Portal account. To create your SolarWinds account, see Access the
Customer Portal.

Schedule the Set up the maintenance window, preferably during off-peak hours. Depending
installation on the number of products, size of databases, and size of environment, you may
need hours to complete your installation.

Notify your Send a message to your company about the installation schedule and
company maintenance window. If you need additional help, contact and allocate staff to
be available.

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As part of your preflight, prepare the SolarWinds environment:

1. Build the Prepare the servers based on your deployment size and system requirements.
environment

2. Run all OS Before installation, check for and run all OS updates on all servers. As you
updates install, if an OS update runs, your system may reboot as needed. These include
Microsoft Windows, Linux, and others as specified in requirements.

3. Open ports For your server ports and firewall, open ports according to the system
according to requirements. SolarWinds uses these ports to send and receive data.
requirements

4. Check for Determine if any antivirus software is installed on the server or servers where
antivirus software you plan to install. To ensure the installation goes smoothly, exclude the
SolarWinds directory. For example, on Windows Server 2012 R2, exclude
C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\. For a full list of antivirus exclusions, see Files
and directories to exclude from antivirus scanning.

Do not exclude executable files. SolarWinds assumes that C:\ is the

default volume.

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INSTALLATION GUIDE: NETWORK TOPOLOGY MAPPER

Install NTM
These instructions provide installation steps for installing Network Topology Mapper (NTM). For advanced
configuration requirements and steps, see the NTM Administrator Guide.

1. Download the If you have not yet created a SolarWinds account, see Access the
installation files Customer Portal to create an account.
and license from
 1. Go to customerportal.solarwinds.com.
the Customer
Portal  2. On the Log In tab, enter your organization's SWID and your
email address.
 3. Click Downloads > Download Product.
 4. Select Network Topology Mapper, and click Download.

2. Run the  1. Log in as an administrator to the server.

installation file  2. Extract the contents of the downloaded installation ZIP file to
the server.
 3. Run SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper.exe.

To install on Windows Server 2008 or later, right-click

SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper.exe
and select Run as Administrator.

3. Complete the  1. Enter an email address used to register the product
Installation wizard download.
 2. If you agree, accept the terms of the license agreement.
 3. Enter licensing information.
 4. To help us improve NTM, confirm participation in our
improvement program.
 5. When the installation completes, click Close.

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 4. Add license key  1. In the Customer Portal, click Licenses > Manage Licenses.
 2. Select the product.
 3. Copy the license key.

After you copy the license key, activate your NTM license:

 1. Click Enter Licensing Information.
 2. On the Activate NTM screen, select I have internet access,
enter the license key, and click Next.

To activate the license offline, see Activate licenses

offline.

 3. Enter your name and contact information, and click Next.
 4. Click Finish.

Your license is activated and you can begin using NTM.

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INSTALLATION GUIDE: NETWORK TOPOLOGY MAPPER

Install an evaluation copy of NTM

The evaluation version of this product is a trial version of the product, functional for 14 days. After the
evaluation period, you can easily convert your evaluation license to a production license by obtaining and
applying a license key.

The trial version only displays 70% of nodes discovered during the network scanning phase. In the
trial version, you cannot import, export, print, or save any maps.

To update your license, contact SolarWinds sales to purchase a full license of the product.

To install an evaluation copy of your product:

1. Download the Download the evaluation file SolarWinds-NTM-<version>-Eval for SolarWinds

evaluation file Network Topology Mapper from http://www.solarwinds.com/network-topology-
mapper.

2. Install using the Follow the standalone installation instructions.

stand-alone
instructions

3. Continue When prompted to activate your license, click Continue Evaluation.

evaluation

After the evaluation period, you can easily convert your evaluation license to a production license by
obtaining and applying a license key.

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Steps to take after SolarWinds NTM is installed
After you install SolarWinds NTM, there are a variety of resources you can access to learn about the
product.

 l The SolarWinds NTM Administrator Guide provides a deeper dive into SolarWinds NTM features.
See the Discovery section to learn how to find devices to be added into NTM maps
 l Access the SolarWinds Customer Success Center for all SolarWinds NTM documentation and
troubleshooting knowledge base articles.
 l Interact via THWACK with SolarWinds NTM pros who can provide answers to your questions and
share lessons learned.

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INSTALLATION GUIDE: NETWORK TOPOLOGY MAPPER

Enable FIPS for security

You can run your Network Topology Mapper product in FIPS-compliant (Federal Information Processing
Standard) mode to comply with computer security and interoperability standards used by non-military US
government agencies and contractors.

 l If FIPS compliance is required, SolarWinds recommends that you enable FIPS as part of a fresh
install instead of as part of an upgrade.
 l Before you enable FIPS ensure that the hardware is FIPS-compliant. See the Microsoft
Support knowledge base for more information.

You must choose to use FIPS-compliant polling methods, such as SNMPv3, to monitor and discover nodes.

FIPS-COMPLIANT METHODS FOR SNMPV3

Authentication SHA1

Privacy or encryption AES128, AES192, AES256

NTM 2.0 and later versions use FIPS-compliant encryption to secure map data in native NTM map files.

 l If you use maps from earlier versions of NTM, you are prompted to change all SNMP v3 credentials
that are not using FIPS compliant algorithms.
 l "Proxy maps" created in NTM 1.0.0.1 or later and Network Atlas are not compatible with NTM
running in FIPS mode. To use older maps, disable the FIPS requirement on the operating system.
 l If you change the FIPS requirement in your operating system, either by disabling or enabling FIPS,
you must restart NTM.

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Uninstall NTM
Uninstalling products may require uninstalling files and editing registries. For technical assistance,
contact Support.

You may need to uninstall NTM to reinstall for resolving issues or to move to a new server during a
migration.

Prior to uninstalling, SolarWinds recommends the following preparation:

Backup product Create copies and backups of your product folders. You may have
folders customizations in these folders specific to your installations.

Make a backup of your maps folder. The default location of your maps is
C:\programdata\SolarWinds\Network_Topology_Mapper\maps.

To remove Network Topology Mapper from a server, complete the following steps:

Remove product Follow the steps for your specific product to remove the SolarWinds
licenses product licenses.

 1. Start the stand-alone Windows License Manager.

 2. Select Network Topology Mapper, and click Deactivate.
 3. Complete the deactivation wizard.

See Deactivate and register licenses with the stand-alone Windows

License Manager.

2. Uninstall SolarWinds  1. Open Programs and Features in the Windows Control Panel.
products  2. Select the product(s) to remove one at a time and click Uninstall.
You may also need to uninstall the SolarWinds Job Engine and
SolarWinds Orion Information Service.

5. Restart and reinstall Restart the server. You can reinstall new products following this guide.

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