Modern Agent

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 agent collects device details and basic metrics (CPU and Memory usage for example) every 5 minutes, and sends this information every 10 minutes. It also acts as an interface to components that form our new set of N-ableEcoverse features. One such feature is the new Assets view (preview).

The core agent service makes a ‘heartbeat’ call (host URLs listed below) to retrieve its core configuration once per hour and component configuration every 2 hours. These are set at random minutes within that schedule as defined by the device startup time.

While the agent may be polling information regularly, it only sends these 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.

An Apple macOS version is currently in development.

Supported Microsoft Windows versions

All currently supported Microsoft Windows versions as listed in N-sight RMM's Supported operating systems: Windows.

The modern agent may run on other versions of Microsoft Windows, but are not supported.

Supported Linux versions

All currently supported Linux versions as listed in N-sight RMM's Supported operating systems: Linux.

The modern agent may run on other Linux versions, but are not supported.

Where is the service executable installed to?

Windows

The executable and supporting files are installed to:

  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Msp Agent

Linux

The executable and supporting files are installed to the directory:

  • /opt/msp-agent

Any installed components are in their respective folders in the Components directory within msp-agent.

What is the service called?

Windows

The binary appears as a service in Windows 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?

The activation process is handled in the background with no N-sight RMM 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-sight RMM 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-sight RMM 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-sight RMM agent checks for the existence and operation of the modern agent.

How does the Modern Agent update?

As part of the 'heartbeat' functionality, the Modern Agent checks for the latest version, and auto-update as required.

What N-sight RMM versions are supported?

The modern agent is included in N-sight RMM Windows Agent version v8.13.0 and later, and Linux Agent versions 2.2.0 and later.

Please subscribe to our N-sight RMM Release Notes page to stay up to date on all changes for N-sight RMM.