Deploying a WhatsUp Gold Agent to a log data source

The Agent can be deployed either automatically by WhatsUp Gold or manually by the user. This selection is made when selecting a device on which to deploy an Agent using the Automatically deploy Agent on selected devices control. When this option is enabled, newly-added devices will have the Agent deployed to them without further user interaction. When this option is not selected, WhatsUp Gold creates an entry for the selected device or device(s) in the Agent Library, however, it is the responsibility of the admin to download a manual deployment package and manually install the Agent on each device.

Important: The Manual deployment package is unique to the device for which it was generated. Do not use a deployment package on a device it was not generated for.

About Automatic Deployment

SMB Admin Shares (C$) are used to copy the installer package and configuration files to the target device. After the files are copied, WhatsUp Gold connects to the device using WMI, launches the installer, then waits for installation to complete. Automatic Agent deployment fails if:

• SMB or WMI access is not available to the device, the deployment fails. SMB uses TCP ports 139 and 445. These two ports are blocked by-default in Windows firewall for incoming connection
• The Windows credentials assigned to the device do not have administrator level permissions.

WhatsUp Gold attempts to automatically deploy the Agent two additional times, waiting five minutes between each attempt. If all attempts fail, the Agent's state is set to Fault and no additional deployment attempts will be made. The administrator can trigger another deployment attempt by selecting the Agent and clicking Deploy in the toolbar at the top of the Agent Library interface after resolving the issue which prevented automated deployment from succeeding initially. Please note, deployment status and any error messages generated will be displayed in the Agent Library.

Automatic deployment, installation, and startup of the WhatsUp Gold Agent on network devices can be initiated from the WhatsUp Agent Library. To access the library, select SETTINGS > Agent Settings > Agent Library. When viewing the WhatsUp Agent Library user interface, the following Agent-specific information is presented:

• Agent device/system name. The device name of the network device on which the Agent client is installed.
• IP address. The IP address of the network device on which the Agent client is installed.
• Version. The version number of the Agent installed on the device.
• Client Status. The current status of the Agent client.
• Agent status info. Additional details regarding the current status of the Agent client.
• Enabled. Indicates if the Agent client is currently enabled. To disable an Agent, select the applicable checkbox to the left of its Agent device/system name, then click the Disable control at the top of the WhatsUp Agent Library user interface.
• Last update time. The date and time when the Agent client most recently provided status information to WhatsUp Gold.

In addition, the WhatsUp Agent Library provides direct access to the Device Properties interface and the Device Status dashboard for any network device on which an Agent client is deployed. Either view can be selected by clicking the menu options icon (...) to the left of the target device's Agent device/system name. Similarly, you also have direct access to both the Log Data Source Setup and the WhatsUp Gold Agent General Settings interfaces by clicking Go to library, then clicking the applicable interface name from the options provided.

To deploy a WhatsUp Gold Agent:

1. Click the add icon in the upper-left corner of the interface to launch the device selection dialog.
2. Browse the device/device group structure at left to locate the network device or devices to which you want to deploy the Agent, then click the device name(s) or IP address(es) at right.

   Note: Ensure Automatically deploy Agent on selected devices is enabled if you want WhatsUp Gold to deliver the Agent to the target device without any further user interaction. If you disable this option before proceeding, you'll need to manually select the applicable Agent device/system name, then click Deploy Agent in the WhatsUp Agent Library interface.

3. Click Select.

At this point, the device selection dialog closes and the WhatsUp Agent Library displays the target device with an initial status of "To be deployed". Momentarily, WhatsUp Gold begins deploying the Agent and the client status is updated to "Deploying". When deployment and installation is complete, the client status should be "Normal".

About Manual Deployment

Manual deployment is an option to consider when something prevents automated deployment from succeeding.

To perform a manual deployment:

1. Select a device in the Agent Library, then click Manual Deployment package. This triggers a download of a .zip file in your browser.
2. Copy the download to the target system, then extract the contents of the .zip file.
3. Launch the setup.exe file found in the extracted folder. Please note, attempting to run the installer from inside the .zip file may result in a failed install.

Important: There are several files contained inside the .zip other than the installer. These files are necessary for the Agent to work correctly and should not be modified or deleted until after the setup process is complete.

After the setup process is complete, you can verify the Agent was installed successfully by checking that the Agent status shown in the Agent Library is 'Normal'.

Removing Agents

To remove a WhatsUp Gold Agent:

1. Select the checkbox to the left of the Agent device/system for the Agent client you'd like to remove.
2. Click the delete icon in the upper-left corner of the interface to launch the Agent removal dialog.

   Note: Ensure Uninstall client(s) before removal is enabled before continuing. Disabling this control will deregister the client from the host device, but leave the actual software installed.

3. Click Remove.

At this point, the device removal dialog closes and the WhatsUp Agent Library displays the target device with an initial status of "To be uninstalled". When the Agent has been successfully deregistered (and uninstalled, if applicable) from the host network device, you'll no longer see the Agent in the WhatsUp Agent Library.

Redeploying Agents Following Upgrade

If Agents were deployed and in use prior to upgrading WhatsUp Gold, they must be redeployed to apply any available fixes or updated functionality. To redeploy agents and fully complete your upgrade of WhatsUp Gold:

1. Ensure you are logged in to WhatsUp Gold using an admin account with permissions to deploy WhatsUp Gold Agents.
2. Navigate to SETTINGS > WhatsUp Gold Agent > Agent Library from the main menu.
3. Select all existing agents displayed in the library, then click Deploy Agent.

Note: This process updates agents in batches of five. If you have a large quantity deployed, this process can take several minutes to complete.

See Also WhatsUp Gold Agents WhatsUp Gold Agent Overview Important Considerations and Planning for WhatsUp Gold Agent Deployment and Usage Configuring WhatsUp Gold Agent General Settings