In SolarWinds, the “engine ID” refers to a unique identifier assigned to each monitored network device or SNMP agent within the network. It is an essential component of the SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) system, which is used for network monitoring and management.

When SolarWinds collects data from network devices using SNMP, it uses the engine ID to identify and differentiate between different SNMP agents. Each SNMP agent (device) is assigned a specific engine ID, which acts as a unique identifier similar to an IP address or hostname.

The engine ID is exchanged during the SNMP discovery process when SolarWinds first communicates with a device. Once the engine ID is known and mapped to the device, SolarWinds can effectively manage and monitor the device using SNMP.

The engine ID is a critical piece of information for SNMP communication, as it helps ensure that SNMP data is correctly associated with the correct device. It helps prevent data mixing or misinterpretation when multiple devices are sending SNMP data to SolarWinds.

If the engine ID of a device is not configured or is unknown to SolarWinds, SNMP communication and monitoring for that device may not function correctly. This can result in errors like “engine ID that was not configured” or incorrect data representation within SolarWinds.

To resolve such issues, the correct engine ID must be configured for each SNMP-enabled device in SolarWinds to establish a proper association between the device and the SNMP data collected by the monitoring system.

The error message “engine ID that was not configured” in SolarWinds is related to SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) configuration. This message indicates that the SolarWinds server received an SNMP trap or poll from a device with an unknown or unconfigured engine ID. An engine ID is a unique identifier used by SNMP to identify the SNMP entity (device) in the network.

Troubleshooting this issue typically involves capturing and analyzing SNMP traffic using PCAP (Packet Capture) analysis. Below is an example of how you can perform PCAP analysis to troubleshoot the “engine ID that was not configured” error in SolarWinds:

Step 1: Enable SNMP Trap Debugging in SolarWinds:

1. Log in to the SolarWinds server.
2. Open the SolarWinds Orion Web Console.
3. Go to “Settings” > “All Settings.”
4. Under “Product Specific Settings,” click on “SNMP Trap Service Settings.”
5. In the “SNMP Trap Debugging” section, enable “Log packets to disk for later analysis.”

Step 2: Capture SNMP Traffic Using PCAP:

1. On the SolarWinds server, use a PCAP capture tool like Wireshark to capture SNMP traffic:

tcpdump -i <interface> -s 0 -w snmp_traffic.pcap udp port 161

1. Replace <interface> with the network interface where SNMP traffic is expected (e.g., eth0).
2. Leave the PCAP capture running for a sufficient time to capture SNMP traffic that triggers the “engine ID that was not configured” error in SolarWinds.

Step 3: Reproduce the Issue:

During the time you are capturing SNMP traffic, trigger the SNMP trap or poll that causes the “engine ID that was not configured” error in SolarWinds. This could be done by rebooting a device, sending a test SNMP trap, or polling a specific OID.

Step 4: Stop the PCAP Capture:

Once you have reproduced the issue or captured enough SNMP traffic, stop the PCAP capture by pressing Ctrl+C.

Step 5: Analyze the PCAP File:

Open the captured PCAP file (snmp_traffic.pcap) using Wireshark or any other PCAP analysis tool.

1. Filter SNMP traffic: Apply a filter to display only SNMP traffic by entering udp.port == 161 in the Wireshark filter box.
2. Look for SNMP traps or polls: Analyze the captured SNMP traffic to identify SNMP traps or polls that have an unknown or unconfigured engine ID.
3. Check for SNMP engine IDs: Look for the “SNMP Engine ID” field in the SNMP packets. Compare these engine IDs with the configuration in SolarWinds to identify the devices with unknown engine IDs.

Step 6: Configure SNMP Engine IDs in SolarWinds:

Once you have identified the devices with unknown engine IDs, you can configure these engine IDs in SolarWinds:

1. Log in to the SolarWinds Orion Web Console.
2. Go to “Settings” > “All Settings.”
3. Under “Product Specific Settings,” click on “Manage SNMP Credentials.”
4. Edit the SNMP credentials for the affected devices and enter the correct engine IDs.

Step 7: Verify and Monitor:

After configuring the correct engine IDs in SolarWinds, verify that the “engine ID that was not configured” error no longer occurs. Monitor SNMP traps and polls to ensure the issue is resolved.