SysAid Agent Deployment Guide

Introduction to the SysAid Agent

Part of SysAid Asset Management, the SysAid Agent is a client side application that resides on each of your computers and runs quietly in the background (you will not notice any performance difference after it's been installed). Once deployed, the SysAid agent has many benefits:

The SysAid Hotkey

Installing the SysAid Agent enables the SysAid hotkey. Assigned by default to F11, pressing the SysAid Hotkey takes a screenshot of your screen and opens the End User Portal. When submitting a service record in this manner, the screenshot is attached to the service record, thereby allowing the administrator who handles the call to easily see the exact situation where the problem occurred and to see any error messages that appeared on the user's screen.

Automatically import all computers into SysAid

Once you've installed the SysAid Agent on a computer, the agent sends a complete computer profile to the SysAid Server. SysAid then creates an asset record for that computer, complete with full hardware and software details. These details can then be viewed at any time from within SysAid.

Automatically update your computers' profiles

The SysAid Agent communicates regularly with the SysAid Server, and any time a hardware or software change is detected on a computer, the agent sends SysAid a record of all changes. In this way, your computer assets are always recorded in SysAid with the most up-to-date hardware and software details. This is helpful for tracking purposes, including tracking software license compliance.

Perform a remote control session

You can perform a remote control session to any computer that has the SysAid Agent installed, giving you My Desktop to unmanned computers and allowing you to provide remote assistance to users located anywhere in the world. For more information about SysAid Remote Control, please see our full Remote Control Guide.

Enable monitoring of your computers (with the SysAid Monitoring module)

SysAid allows you to monitor network services for your computers, and gives a full suite of computer-by-computer monitoring for all of your Windows based machines. Consolidate your monitoring and helpdesk softwares into one with the SysAid Agent and the SysAid Monitoring module. Read more about SysAid Monitoring here.

View Online Users

The SysAid Agent allows you to see which users are logged on to a computer, and you can see a list of all online users under Asset Management --> Online Users. This list allows you to initiate chat and remote control with your users, and to send a broadcast to your users to inform them of any real-time IT events. Read more about the Online Users list here.

The rest of this guide explains the different methods for deploying the SysAid agent throughout your network.

Deploying the SysAid Agent

In order to take full advantage of SysAid Asset Management, you must deploy the SysAid Agent.

You may deploy the SysAid Agent in the following ways:

Each of the following sections discusses a different method of deploying the SysAid Agent.

Network Discovery Tool

The Network Discovery Tool allows you to push the Agent out to your network from one central location. This tool is built into the SysAid server. Go to Asset Management --> Network Discovery --> Deploy Agents (tab), and you will see the deploy agents portion of the network discovery tool. This will allow you to deploy the SysAid agent either by domain or by IP range. Click here for full instructions for using the Network Discovery tool.

Note: If you need to deploy to a remote location that does not have direct access to the SysAid Server, you can use the Remote Discovery Service, which will allow you to deploy the agent remotely.

SysAid Administrator Tools

SysAid includes an external deployment tool that can be installed onto any computer and used to deploy the agent. The Deployment Tool is included in the SysAid Administrators Tools. Go to Preferences --> Downloads, and you will see a link to download the Administrator Tools. For installation instructions for the Administrator Tools, go here.

Before deployment

Before deploying the Agent using the SysAid Deployment Tool, the following ports must be opened between the deploying computer and the target computers: TCP 139, TCP 445, UDP 137, UDP 138, and UDP 8193. After the Agent is deployed, only port 8193 needs to be kept open*. The other ports are only used in the deployment process. You must also ensure that the following three services are running on each computer you are deploying to:

• Server (on by default)
• Remote Procedure Call (RPC) (on by default)
• Remote Registry

Please note that remote registry starts by default in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, but not in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008.

*The Agent will work if this port is closed, but you will lose certain functionality.

Using the SysAid Deployment Tool

After installing the Administrator Tools, open the Deployment Tool. If you did not change the defaults during installation, the Deployment Tool can be accessed from the Windows start menu under Programs --> SysAid --> Deploy SysAid.

 SysAid Deployment Tool

When you first open the Deployment Tool, you will see a network browser. The network browser detects your network in real-time as you open each individual branch of your network tree. Open the appropriate branch, and you will see a list of your domains. Open a domain and you will see a list of computers on the domain. For each computer, you will see the computer name and either what version of the SysAid Agent is running or a message indicating that the Agent is not running.

Before performing a deployment or undeployment, you must first select the desired computers:

• Select one computer by clicking on it.
• Select a group of computers by clicking the first computer, holding Shift, and clicking the last computer.
• Select multiple individual computers by holding Ctrl while clicking on each computer.
• Deselect a computer that's already selected by holding Ctrl while clicking on it.

All actions and functions in the Deployment Tool are performed via the upper menu bar.

Menu bar icons

Deploy agents icon

Click this button to deploy the Agent to the selected computers. Make sure you've entered the correct Login Settings under the Edit menu (see below).

Undeploy agents icon

Click this button to undeploy the Agent from the selected computers. Make sure you've entered the correct Login Settings under the Edit menu (see below).

Action menu

Deploy to selected computers

This has the same function as the Deploy agents icon.

Undeploy from selected computers

This has the same function as the Undeploy agents icon.

Add Network Scan

Rather than scanning your network by domain, you may prefer to scan by IP address. Choose this option to open a screen where you can input a starting and ending IP range. You can also choose the Timeout, which is the amount of time the Deployment Tool will try to access an unreachable IP address before moving to the next one.

 Adding a network scan


Once you've added a network scan, it will show up under the bottom item of the network tree. Click on the scan to open it and view all detected computers in the selected IP range. You may then deploy to them normally.

 Viewing a network scan

Remove Network Scan

Click on any network scan you've added (i.e. click on the IP range) and then select Remove Network Scan to delete this scan from the tree.

Exit

Click here to close the Deployment Tool.

Edit menu

Settings

Agent Settings allow you to specify how the agent behaves after it's been installed on a computer in your network. Because these settings are stored locally per computer, they can be different for each of the computers in your network. See the table below for a description of each of the settings.

Note: You must make changes to these settings before deploying the agent. If you change these settings after deploying the agent, you must redeploy the agent for them to take effect.

 Choose your agent settings

Agent setting	Description
Account	This is your SysAid Account ID. You entered this during installation of the Admin Tools.
Source Directory	This is the location of the Administrator Tools (including the Deployment Tool). There shouldn't be any need to change this.
Destination Directory	When the Deployment Tool deploys the SysAid Agent, it will deploy to this directory on the destination computer.
Server URL	This is the URL of your SysAid Server. You entered this during installation of the Admin Tools. There is no need to change this unless you change the URL for your SysAid Server.
Message URL	This is the URL the Agent connects to when it contacts the SysAid Server. There is no need to change this unless you change the URL for your SysAid Server.
Proxy Server	If your agents will be communicating to the SysAid Server using a proxy, please enter the proxy server hostname/IP address here.
Proxy Port	This is the port number used to access the proxy server.
Shortcut Name	After deploying the SysAid Agent to a computer, a shortcut icon to access the SysAid Server will be added to the desktop on that computer. You can use this field to choose the name of the shortcut.
Hot Key	Choose the key combination for the SysAid Hotkey. The default hotkey is F11. Read more about the hotkey in the introduction to the SysAid Agent Deployment Guide.
Log Level	Determines how much detail is recorded in the SysAid Agent log. There is no need to change this unless instructed to by SysAid Support.
Custom Shortcut Icon	After deploying the SysAid Agent to a computer, a shortcut icon to access the SysAid Server will be added to the desktop on that computer. You can choose the icon that will display for this shortcut. Click Upload icon to select an icon. Click Remove custom icon if you've uploaded an icon but would like to return to the default SysAid shortcut icon.
Run as Service, Refresh Interval	If this option is selected, the Agent runs on each computer as a service. Every X seconds, it contacts the SysAid Server briefly to check if there are any waiting requests. Requests can be for remote control, for chat, etc. It's recommended to keep the number of seconds at 30. If you increase this number too much, remote control sessions or chat sessions initiated by an administrator can take a long time to start.
Run using Task Scheduler, every day on	If this option is selected, the Agent contacts the SysAid Server once a day at the time you select. This option will ensure that your inventory information is always up-to-date, but will prevent you from using peer to peer remote control and initiating chats with end users, as well as other Agent features that require regular communication between the Agent and the SysAid Server. This option is not recommended.
Run during login process	If this option is selected, the Agent contacts the SysAid Server when the computer logs onto the network. This option can ensure that your inventory information is always up-to-date, but will prevent you from using peer to peer remote control and initiating chats with end users, as well as other Agent features that require regular communication between the Agent and the SysAid Server. Also, if the computer never logs off, this option may result in long periods of time without any update to asset data. This option is not recommended.
Install Submit Service Record Shortcut	This allows you to choose whether or not to install a shortcut on the desktop of each computer you deploy to. The shortcut opens the SysAid End User Portal so that end users can submit service records, check the FAQ, etc. If this is checked, you can select the shortcut name and icon using the appropriate settings above.
Install SysAid Password Services Credential Provider	(Password Services Module) If you would like your users to be able to access Password Self Service from the Windows login screen, you must install this component. This box is unchecked by default. Read more about this feature in our Password Services Guide. Password Services must be enabled for this option to appear.
Generate Random Asset ID	By default, SysAid uses the computer serial number as the asset ID when it automatically creates an asset for a computer with the agent installed. There may be instances where multiple computers on your network have the same serial number. In this case, SysAid would only create one asset entry for all of these computers. To prevent this from happening, select Generate Random Asset ID. When this option is selected, each time an agent runs for the first time on a computer, a new asset entry will be created in SysAid with a random Asset ID.
Remote Control Settings	Please see the Additional Remote Control Settings section of the Remote Control Guide for an explanation of these settings.

Login Settings

In order to deploy the SysAid Agent, you must have admin rights to the computers you are deploying to. If the user you have logged into Windows with has admin rights to the computers, then select the first option. If the user you are currently using does not have admin rights on the computers you are deploying to, choose the second option and enter a username and password that does have admin rights. You must do this before starting deployment.

Domain Query Options

This is the method by which the Deployment Tool discovers computers on the network. Domain Controller queries the domain controller for the domain, and Network Browser scans the network for computers. Only computers in groups with a domain controller will be visible if you search by Domain Controller only, and only computers connected to the network will be visible if you search by Network Browser only. If both options are unchecked, you will not find any computers. It's recommended to always leave both options checked.

Help menu

About

Click here for information about the SysAid Deployment Tool.

MSI Deployment Package Using Group Policy

One way to deploy the SysAid Agent throughout your network is group policy. This requires use of an MSI deployment package, which you can download from Preferences --> Downloads within your SysAid. For full instructions for using this deployment package, go here.

Network Login Script

The SysAid agent supports deployment using a network login script. In order to do so, you must first download the SysAid agent to a shared network location. You may download the SysAid Agent from Preferences --> Downloads.

The format of the login script is as follows. Replace the text in orange with the actual parameter value:

Here is a sample script:

Following is a table with all permitted parameters for the SysAid Agent deployment script.

Once you've created your script, make sure that all of your relevant computers run this script whenever they log onto your network. You can usually do this using group policy. Please note that this method requires you to log out and then log in on your computers in order for the Agent to be installed.

Deploying to a Computer Imported from WMI

If an asset has been imported into SysAid from a WMI scan, you can easily deploy the SysAid Agent to that computer. You may do this in one of two ways:

Option 1: Go to Asset Management --> Asset List. Using the tickboxes, select one or more assets with Source = WMI, and click the Deploy Agent icon.

Option 2: Open the asset form for any asset. If that asset was imported from WMI, the Source field will have a link to deploy the agent. Click on it. (If the source field is not displayed on the asset form, you may add it using the cogwheel icon .)

Manual Deployment (Windows, Linux, Mac)

You can manually deploy the SysAid Agent to any machine you choose. This includes Windows, Linux, and Mac computers. Go to Preferences --> Downloads, and select Download SysAid Agent for *operating system of your choice.*

• Instructions for installing the Windows agent can be found below.
• Instructions for installing the Linux agent can be found here.
• Instructions for installing the Mac agent can be found here.

Manually installing the SysAid Agent for Windows

There may be some cases where none of the other deployment methods are suitable for deploying the agent to a particular computer. In these cases, you may install the Agent manually. To manually install the SysAid Agent to a Windows computer:

1. Open SysAid and go to Preferences --> Downloads.
2. Choose Download SysAid Agent for Windows. This allows you to save the installer file locally on the computer you would like to install to.
3. Run the SysAidAgent.exe on the computer you are installing to. This opens the installer.
4. The installer will prompt you for your server details. Enter these as they are found under Preferences --> Downloads (the same place where you downloaded the SysAid Agent). Then click Next.
   
    Enter account information for your SysAid Server
   
    
5. Choose the installation directory for the SysAid Agent, and click Next. It's recommended to use the default directory.
6. You now see the install confirmation page. Verify the information you've entered, and then click Next to install the Agent.
7. The Agent is now installed. Click Finish to close the installer.

Post Deployment

Once you've deployed the Agent to your computers, SysAid will collect full hardware and software information for these computers. You can view this information from Asset Management --> Asset List by clicking on any computer in the list. (Note that it can take up to five minutes after deployment before computers begin to appear in the Asset list.) You also have access to all SysAid Agent functionalities described in the introduction to this guide.

Please consult the Getting Started Guide for an overview of what SysAid Asset Management offers you, and consult the Online Aid for an in-depth explanation of all SysAid Asset Management capabilities.

Contact Us

SysAid welcomes your questions and suggestions. We can be reached via phone and e-mail:

Toll Free phone center (U.S): 800-686-7047

Tel (U.S): +1 617-231-0124

Fax (U.S): +1 617 507 2559

Tel (Israel): +972 3 533 3675

Fax (Israel): +972 3 761 7205

E-mail: helpdesk@sysaid.com

SysAid community: http://www.sysaid.com/Sysforums/forums/home.page

You can also view our full support page at http://www.sysaid.com/contact_support.htm.