N-central Modern Agent FAQ

Why another Agent?

The new agent is part of our agent modernization efforts. The modern agent sits side-by-side with existing agents for now. As we modernize aspects of the agents, their corresponding components will be updated to run as part of the modern agent and deprecated from the existing one. The advantages of modernization include faster updates of functionality, optimized performance of capabilities, and support of the overall health of agents.

What can the modern agent do?

The modern agent powers our new set of N-able Ecoverse features. One such feature is the new Assets View in N-central. The agent collects device details, basic metrics, and acts as an interface to other functions which we call components. While the agent may be polling information regularly, it only sends messages when it has detected information to be sent to the cloud. If there is no internet connection, the message is queued for delivery when a connection is available, no error occurs, and no corrective action is required.

What operating systems gets this agent?

Currently, the agent is installed on Microsoft Windows and Linux based systems. Apple macOS versions are in development.

Supported versions of Microsoft Windows are:

  • Windows 10, Windows 11

  • Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022

Supported Linux Versions are:

  • RedHat RHEL8

  • Debian 11, Debian 12

  • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Where are the service executables installed to?

Windows:

  • The executables and supporting files are installed to the %programfiles(x86)%\Msp Agent folder.

Linux:

  • The executable and supporting files are installed to the /opt/msp-agent folder.

Any installed components are added to their respective folders in the components directory under the agent folder.

What is the service called?

Windows:

The binary appears as a service in Task Manager:

  • serviceName = "MSPAgent"

  • serviceDisplayName = "MSP Agent"

  • serviceDescription = "MSP Agent by N-able"

  • ExecutableName = “msp-agent-core.exe”

Linux:

The binary appears as a process in the system:

  • Executable Name = “msp-agent-core”

  • Systemd Service = “MspAgent.service”

  • Systemd Service Description = “Msp Agent by N-able”

Components are executed by the core agent as child processes and may be seen in the process lists.

Where does the agent communicate to?

The agent reaches out to the following URLs hosted by N-able:

  • *.prd.cdo.system-monitor.com

  • cdn-component.fusion.prd.cdo.system-monitor.com

  • cdn-notary.pub.prd.cdo.system-monitor.com

On Microsoft Azure instances, the modern agent connects to the Azure Instance Metadata Service (IMDS) hosted on the local instance at:

  • http://169.254.169.254/metadata/instance

This URL is the same on every Azure instance and is accessible only from within the instance.

Is there an additional cost for this agent?

There are no additional charges for the modern agent.

What do I need to do to activate the agent?

For hosted N-central partners, the activation process is handled in the background with no N-central administration necessary. To make sure that the modern agent activates and operates successfully, please make sure your networks allow communication to the above listed URLs.

Is this replacing the existing N-central agent?

Currently the modern agent is designed to work side-by-side with the current agents. As we progress with our modernization efforts, functions will migrate from the current agents to the modern agent.

No date has been set for deprecating the existing agents.

Is there an impact from running alongside the existing agent?

The modern agent is designed to run side by side with the current N-central agent without impacting each other. The modern agent will complement and provide additional stability and value to the existing agents as we migrate functions to it. Currently the existing N-central agent only checks for the existence and operation of the modern agent.

What N-central versions are supported?

The modern agent is included in N-central agent versions 2023.5 and later. To activate the modern agent, N-central server version 2023.8 and later is needed.

Please subscribe to our Release Notes page to stay up to date on all changes for N-central:

N-central Release Notes page