Installing the Remote Agent on Domain Computers

Use the network-monitor-agent.msi file to install the Remote Agent service on a computer. The service will collect data locally on that computer. The following files will be installed to the folder <drive>:\Program Files\10-Strike Network Monitor Agent\ on the computer:

1. NMAgent.exe
   The executable file of the Remote Agent service.
   The service's descriptive name to be displayed: 10-Strike Network Monitor Agent Service.
   The service's name: Svc10StrikeNMAgent.
   
2. NMAgentCfg.exe
   The executable file of the Remote Agent configuration tool.
3. Support libraries, registration tools, and configuration files.

In an environment with Active Directory, you can deploy the network-monitor-agent.msi file on the client computers by using the Software Installation and Maintenance feature in Group Policy. This section describes the deployment of network-monitor-agent.msi in an Active Directory domain on computers running Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 by using Windows Installer and Group Policies. It is assumed that you already know the list of computers on which you need to install the Remote Agent.

Using Group Policies is the recommended method of deploying applications in environments that do not use such corporate update management tools as SMS 2003 (Systems Management Server) or SUS (Software Update Services). Read more about Group Policy on the Microsoft website: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/grouppolicy/default.aspx.

Deploying network-monitor-agent.msi with Group Policy

To deploy the network-monitor-agent.msi package by using Group Policy, do the following:

1. Create a distribution point.
2. Create a Group Policy object (GPO) for the network-monitor-agent.msi instances.
3. Deploy network-monitor-agent.msi from the shared distribution point to the target computer.
4. If necessary, install network-monitor-agent.msi into separate security groups.

The target computers on which you are going to install network-monitor-agent.msi must be in the same domain as the server with the Windows installer (MSI) file. If you have assigned the package, Windows Installer will automatically install network-monitor-agent.msi the next time when the users who are connected to the network start their computers. To make sure that network-monitor-agent.msi has been successfully installed on all target computers, we recommend that you check the properties of each computer (see the Monitoring Service list). For the update to complete, it may be necessary to restart the target computer more than once.

Only a network administrator or a local user with administrator's privileges can remove the assigned software (network-monitor-agent.msi) from the target computer. The above actions are described in more detail in the following paragraphs.

Creating a Distribution Point

To assign the software, you need to create a distribution point on the server. To create a distribution point, do the following:

1. Log in to the server with administrator's privileges.
2. Create a shared network folder to keep the network-monitor-agent.msi file intended for distribution. The folder will be the distribution point for the software package.
3. Set access permissions for the shared network folder. The following user groups should be able to access the folder:
   • Administrators
   • Authenticated users
   • Domain users
   You can also configure Distributed File System (DFS) for the distribution point. We recommend that you do it because DFS provides greater flexibility. The distribution point will be available at all times, even if you need to replace the server. Besides, DFS makes it easier to place distribution points in multiple sites. Read more about Distributed File System on the Microsoft website: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34229 .
4. Copy the network-monitor-agent.msi file to the distribution point.

Creating a GPO to Deploy the Software

You can create a Group Policy object (GPO) and link it to any Active Directory container that contains the target computers to which you want to deploy the network-monitor-agent.msi package. The container can be a site, a domain, an organizational unit, etc. In the instructions below we assume that the container is a domain. Then the GPO will connect to the target computers based on Security Filtering. Depending on your environment, you may want to use other containers, for example, organizational units. You can link the GPO to any Active Directory container. Instead of creating a new GPO only to deploy the network-monitor-agent.msi package, you can edit an existing GPO. However, we do not recommend making changes to the Default Domain Policy or to the Default Domain Controller Policy.

Creating a GPO to Deploy network-monitor-agent.msi

To create a GPO for deploying the network-monitor-agent.msi package, you can use one of the following methods.

If you have Group Policy Management Console installed, do the following:

1. Open the Group Policy Management Console on the administrator's workstation.
2. In the console tree, right-click the domain for which you need to create a GPO.
3. Select Create and Link a GPO Here.
4. In the New GPO dialog box, give the new Group Policy object a name and click OK.

If you do not have Group Policy Management Console installed, do the following:

1. On a domain controller or administrator's workstation, open Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. Find the organizational unit that contains the computers to which you need to deploy the network-monitor-agent.msi package.
3. Right-click that organizational unit and click Properties.
4. Open the Group Policy tab and click New.
5. In the New GPO dialog box, give the new GPO a name and click OK.

Editing an Existing GPO to Deploy the Software

After creating the distribution point and the Group Policy object (GPO), you need to edit the created object by using the Software Installation and Maintenance feature of Group Policy. To deploy the network-monitor-agent.msi package, use the Computer Configuration node in the console tree of Group Policy Management Editor.

To edit an existing GPO in order to deploy the software, do the following:

1. Right-click the new GPO and click Edit.
2. In Group Policy Management Editor, click the Computer Configuration node in the console tree, click Software Settings, and then click Software Installation.
3. In the Action menu, select New, then click Package.
4. In the Open dialog box, enter the full Uniform Naming Convention (UNC) path of the installation package in the File name input box. When entering the path, use the following format: \\server_name\shared_folder_name\network-monitor-agent.msi or \\server_IP\shared_folder_name\network-monitor-agent.msi. When specifying the path of the shared package, you must use the UNC format!
5. Select the MSI package and click Open.
6. In the Deploy Software dialog box, select Assigned, and then click OK. The shared installer package will appear on the right pane of Group Policy Management Editor.

Note. server_name and server_IP are placeholders for the name and IP address of the computer with the shared folder containing the installer package. In place of shared_folder_name, enter the name of the shared folder on the server.

Deploying the Software to Specific Security Groups

Group Policy Security Filtering allows you to deploy the network-monitor-agent.msi package only to computers that belong to a specific security group. For example, when creating a Group Policy object at the domain level by following the instructions given in this article, you can use Security Filtering to install the Remote Agent on specific computers only. To do it, you need to create a security group and add specific computers to it.

To create a security group, do the following:

1. Right-click the domain or the Active Directory container, click New, and then click Group.
2. Give the security group a name.
3. Open the Members tab and click Add.
4. Enter the computer names and click OK.

Using Security Filtering to Deploy network-monitor-agent.msi

1. On the Group Policy Management Console, double-click Group Policy Objects.
2. Select a Group Policy object to which you want to apply the security filter.
3. On the results pane, click Add on the Scope tab.
4. Enter the name of the user, computer, or group that you want to add to the filter in the Enter the object name to select input box, and then click OK.
5. In the Security Filtering section on the Scope tab, the Authenticated Users group may appear. If it does, select it and click Remove. Doing that will guarantee that this GPO's settings apply to the selected users or groups only.

Note. The settings of the Group Policy object apply only to the following users and computers:

• Users and computers that belong to the domain or department(s) to which the Group Policy object is linked.
• Users and computers that are specified in Security Filtering or belong to the groups specified in Security Filtering.

The security filter of a single GPO may define multiple groups, users, or computers.