Agent Manager can automatically deploy agents on computers that you identify. You can use the Agent Administrator to select these computers individually, or you can select multiple computers based on common characteristics using discovery rules.
Discovery rules are rules that identify computers. Agent Manager deploys a managed agent to a discovered computer and monitors it. Agent Manager evaluates discovery rules during a managed computer scan. Managed computer scans occur daily at 2:05 AM. You can manually run a managed computer scan.
Use discovery rules to identify multiple computers with similar characteristics. The central computer periodically scans all managed Windows computers assigned to it and uses device grouping rules to determine whether to place a computer in a device group. central computers then install or update managed agents on computers as necessary.
central computers install managed agents only when a computer matches the criteria for inclusion in a device group. You can configure central computers to automatically install agents or to wait for your approval.
To deploy managed agents, the service account used to run Agent Manager must be a member of the local Administrators group on the central computer and all agent computers that the central computer will manage in the domain. If you want the service account to have rights to install agents in other trusted domains, the service account must be a member of the local Administrators group on all agent computers that the central computer will manage in the trusted domain.
NOTE:Agent Manager uses NetBIOS to identify computers. Any computer on which you want to install a Windows agent must have a NetBIOS‑compliant name.
For more information about configuring the heartbeat interval for agents, see Configuring General Agent Settings.
Agent Manager cannot deploy managed agents on computers outside a firewall or on a non‑Windows platform. For more information about manually installing unmanaged Windows agents, see Understanding Unmanaged Windows Agent Installation.
When assigning agents to computers, ensure that you assign no more agents to the central computer than it can handle. If you want to rebalance the distribution of agents across central computers, use the Agent Administrator to assign an agent to a different central computer.
Use this procedure to deploy managed agents on Windows computers you want to monitor.
After the central computer installs a managed agent, you may need to restart the computer before the managed agent can start. If the central computer logs an event with an event ID of 21116, 21118, or 21169, you must restart the computer.
To immediately deploy a managed Windows agent:
Log on to the Agent Manager Console computer using an account that is a member of the OnePointOp ConfgAdms group.
Start the Agent Manager Console in the NetIQ Sentinel Agent Manager program group.
In the Navigation pane, click Configuration.
Select the appropriate configuration group in the Results window.
On the Tasks menu, click Global Tasks > Launch Agent Administrator.
In the Agent Administrator window, click the Managed Agents tab.
In the right pane, click Deploy Agents.
Click Add.
Specify a computer you want to monitor, and then click OK.
If you want to deploy the managed agents at the next scan, click Finish.
If you want to deploy the managed agents immediately or add them to the Pending Agents Installation list, complete the following steps:
In the Deploy Action column, click the row corresponding to an agent.
Select one of the following options:
To deploy the managed agent immediately, select Deploy now.
To add the computer to the Pending Agents Installation list, select Add to pending list. Depending on your settings, Agent Manager either approves and deploys agents during the next managed computer scan, or places them in the list pending your approval.
Click Finish.
For more information about deploying an agent at the next scan, see Scanning Managed Computers.
For more information about deploying agents added to the Pending Agents Installation list, see Handling Pending Installations.
You can create discovery rules to define which Windows agent computers you want to discover. Agent Manager applies the discovery rules every time it runs the daily managed computer scan.
You can use string matching or Active Directory Light Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) queries to discover multiple computers with common attributes. Because Agent Manager runs the discovery rules at every scan, Agent Manager discovers any new computers you have added to your network that fit the rule criteria.
Depending on your settings, Agent Manager installs managed agents on discovered computers, or adds them to the pending Agents Installation list to be approved or installed at the next managed computer scan. For more information about pending installations, see Handling Pending Installations.
After the central computer installs an agent on a Windows computer, you might need to restart the computer before the managed agent will start. If the central computer logs an event with an event ID of 21116, 21118, or 21169, you need to restart the computer.
To discover and deploy Windows agents:
Log on to the Agent Manager Console computer using an account that is a member of the OnePointOp ConfgAdms group.
Start the Agent Manager Console in the NetIQ Sentinel Agent Manager program group.
In the Navigation pane, click Configuration.
Select the appropriate configuration group in the Results window.
On the Tasks menu, click Global Tasks > Launch Agent Administrator.
In the Agent Administrator window, click the Managed Agents tab.
In the right pane, click Configure Agent Discovery Rules.
Click Add.
Select Include Computers, and then click Next.
Complete the rules creation wizard, specifying parameters that select the computers you want to discover. For more information about fields on a window, see the Help.
Select the check box and row corresponding to the rule you created.
Click Next.
To discover computers at the next managed computer scan, click No.
To immediately discover computers, click Yes.
(Conditional) If you clicked Yes, select the central computers that will manage the computers you discover.
Click Next.
(Conditional) To deploy agents immediately, click Yes.
(Conditional) To add agents to the list of computers pending deployment, click No.
Click Next.
(Conditional), To approve deployment, select Approved for each discovered computer to which you want to deploy a managed agent, and then click Next.
(Conditional) To not approve deployment at this time, clear Approved for each discovered computer you want to place in the Pending Agent Installation list, and then click Next.
NOTE:If you do not approve deployment to a computer, Agent Manager places the computer in the Pending Agent Installations list until you approve deployment.
Specify whether to immediately deploy agents to approved computers or to deploy the agents at the next managed computer scan.
Click Finish.
NOTE:If you discover agents using a discovery rule, modify an existing rule or create a new discovery rule, and run the modified or new discovery rule, the Agent Administrator may display previously-discovered computers in both the Discovered Computers list and Agent Summary View.
If you want to only display computers discovered by a modified or new discovery rule, remove any previously-discovered computers from both the Manage Pending Actions list and Agent Summary View before using the discovery rule.
For more information about deploying an agent at the next managed computer scan, see Scanning Managed Computers.