Updated: November 3, 2020

Silent command prompt install of Windows agent or probe

You can use command line syntax to install a Windows agent or probe. A silent install is a non-intrusive method of installing the agent software on devices. That is, there are no messages or windows displayed to the user during the installation. This also ensures that the correct settings are applied to all devices.

Customer-specific installation programs already contain preset parameters and so the only parameter that can be used from the command line is /quiet to indicate a silent installation. As a result, we recommend that you should start customer-specific installation programs from the N-able N-central UI rather than from the command prompt.

Due to the restrictions placed by Windows installation software and InstallShield, special characters are not supported on the command line. User name and password parameters must only contain alphanumeric characters. Do not use spaces, a backslash (\), quotation marks ("), or other special characters in the parameters of an installation command.

Syntax

When writing an installation command, parameters can be sent to both the Windows installation software and the InstallShield application. In the case of a silent installation, parameters must be sent to both.

InstallShield Command Parameters	Details
`/quiet`	Indicates a silent installation to the InstallShield application.
`/v`	Directs values to the Windows installation software. These must be contained within quotation marks. Spaces must be inserted after the first quotation mark and before the last quotation mark. This indicates the separation of parameters within the command.

Windows install parameter switches

Windows Install Parameters	Details
/qn	Indicates a silent installation to the Windows installation software.
/L*v LOG_FILE_NAME	Logs all installer messages into the specified file (LOG_FILE_NAME).
AGENTACTIVATIONKEY	The key generated by N-able N-central that is required in order to install generic system agent software. If the AGENTACTIVATIONKEY parameter is used in an installation command, you do not need to use the CUSTOMERID, CUSTOMERNAME or REGISTRATION_TOKEN parameters. Similarly, if the CUSTOMERID, CUSTOMERNAME and REGISTRATION_TOKEN parameters are used in an installation command, you do not need to use the AGENTACTIVATIONKEY parameter.
AGENTPROXY (optional)	The information required if a proxy server is used. The proxy string must be provided in one of the following formats: Non-authenticating Proxy - `<server FQDN or IP address>:<port number>` Authenticating Proxy - `<proxy user>:<proxy password>@<server FQDN or IP address>:<port number>` ISA 2000/2004 - `<proxy domain>\\<proxy user>:<proxy password>@<server FQDN or IP address>:<port number>`
CUSTOMERID	The numeric identifier of the customer on the device where you are installing the agent or probe.
CUSTOMERNAME	The name of the customer device where you are installing the probe. If used in an installation command, the CUSTOMERID and CUSTOMERNAME parameters must both be included together. If the customer name includes a space, the name must be enclosed with `\"` characters. For example, `CUSTOMERNAME=\"ACME Corp\"`
CUSTOMERSPECIFIC	Identifies a N-able N-central generated agent or probe installer for a customer. 1= installer generated for a specific customer 0= generic installer not specific to a customer
REGISTRATION_TOKEN	The registration token (string) credentials for agent self-registration. For more information, see Registration tokens for agent installation.
SERVERPROTOCOL	Identifies the protocol that the probe will use to communicate with the central server as one of HTTP or HTTPS.
SERVERADDRESS	The IP address or FQDN of the central server.
SERVERPORT	The numeric port number that the probe will use to communicate with the central server. For example, 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS. If used in an installation command, the SERVERPROTOCOL, SERVERADDRESS, and SERVERPORT parameters must all be included together.
PROBETYPE	Identifies the type of probe to be installed as one of: Local_Windows: For local machine-related actions such as local discovery, local script execution, etc. Cannot perform remote actions. Network_Windows: For network-related actions, remote machine discovery, remote script execution, etc. User must provide correct credentials with privilege to perform remote actions. For the Network_Windows probe type, include the AGENTDOMAIN, AGENTUSERNAME, and AGENTPASSWORD parameters. Workgroup_Windows: For workgroup-related actions that allow for managing a workgroup. For the Workgroup_Windows probe type, include only the AGENTUSERNAME and AGENTPASSWORD parameters must all be included together. This parameter is only used for Windows probes and not for Windows agents.
AGENTDOMAIN	The domain of the user account that will access the probe. This parameter is only used for Windows probes and not for Windows agents.
AGENTUSERNAME	The user name of the user account that will access the probe.This parameter is only used for Windows probes and not for Windows agents.
AGENTPASSWORD	The password of the user account that will access the probe. This parameter is only used for Windows probes and not for Windows agents.
AMT_USER (optional)	The user name required to use Intel Active Management Technology (AMT). N-able N-central supports Intel AMT (Active Management Technology) 4.0.
AMT_PASSWORD (optional)	The password required to use Intel Active Management Technology (AMT). If used in an installation command, the AMT_USER and AMT_PASSWORD parameters must both be included together.

Installation commands can use either customer identification or activation keys as shown in the examples below:

Example 1 - Installing a Windows Probe Using Customer Identification

WindowsProbeSetup.exe /quiet /v" /qn CUSTOMERID=<customer ID> CUSTOMERNAME=<customer name> REGISTRATION_TOKEN=<registration token> SERVERPROTOCOL=<protocol> SERVERADDRESS=<server address> SERVERPORT=<port number> PROBETYPE=<type of probe> AGENTDOMAIN=<domain name> AGENTUSERNAME=<user name> AGENTPASSWORD=<user password> "

Example 2 - Installing a Windows Agent Using Customer Identification

WindowsAgentSetup.exe /quiet /v" /qn CUSTOMERID=<customer ID> CUSTOMERNAME=<customer name> REGISTRATION_TOKEN=<registration token> SERVERPROTOCOL=<protocol> SERVERADDRESS=<server address> SERVERPORT=<port number> "

Example 3 - Installing a Windows Probe Using an Activation Key

WindowsProbeSetup.exe /quiet /v" /qn AGENTACTIVATIONKEY=<key> "

Example 4 - Installing a Windows Agent Using an Activation Key

WindowsAgentSetup.exe /quiet /v" /qn AGENTACTIVATIONKEY=<key> "

Example 5 - Installing a Windows agent using a registration token

WindowsAgentSetup.exe /quiet /v" /qn CUSTOMERID=<customer_id> CUSTOMERSPECIFIC=1 REGISTRATION_TOKEN=token_guid SERVERPROTOCOL=HTTPS SERVERADDRESS=<server_ip> SERVERPORT=443 "