Agent

Installation

Warning:

If you wish to use the Agent on Windows 95/98/ME, you need to install the Agent version 5.0! - please refer to the Computers Register 5.0 Manual for more information on Agent 5.0 installation. The Windows 2000 operating system requires Agent v5.10 or lower too.

Tip:

Before you install the Agent, please read chapter Select the Detection Method which will provide you with more information on how to use the Agent.

Run AlvaoAssetAgent.msi on the workstations where you wish to install the Agent. Please make sure you have administrator permissions if you install the Agent on machines running under Windows 2000 or later.

If the installation finishes correctly, you should be able to find the C:\Program Files\ALVAO Asset Management Agent folder on your hard drive. This folder contains Agent executables. The system service ALVAO Asset Management Agent X.X.X must exist in the system.

Note:

If you experience any problems with the Agent, the log file that is generated automatically while the Agent is running can help with troubleshooting. Log writing is disabled by default. You can enable it by running AMAgent.exe from within the application folder. Then select Settings on the first page and Generate log file on the next page. Set the log detail level to Detailed. The service log will be then saved to the file agsvc.log.

Warning:

If you set the log detail level to Detailed, the Agent will send large amounts of data to the log file. This will slow down the detection process considerably. We therefore recommend using the Detailed level for troubleshooting purposes only. This option should be disabled during normal operation.

Command Line

The Agent can be run from the command line with specified parameters. This chapter includes a detailed description of all available command line parameters.

Parameters:

/dd: Instant device detection on the machine where the Agent is running. (only works together with the parameter /df)
/dsw: Instant software detection on the machine where the Agent is running. This option will run a complete detection, including the files on all hard drives with no exceptions. (only works together with the parameter /df)
/dssw: Instant software detection on the machine where the Agent is running. This option will run a normal software detection process. (only works together with the parameter /df)
/df: Executes the selected detection methods (parameters /dd, /dsw, /dssw) and saves the resulting detection files to the folder from which the Agent has been launched, or to a folder specified behind the parameter /f.
/f [path]: Path to a shared folder or the path to a folder where the selected detections will be saved (parameter /df). Specifies the shared folder path which saves the detection requests. If left blank, the path specified in the Agent settings will be used instead (option Settings when the Agent is launched from the - Start menu). If this parameter is left blank and no path is specified in the Agent settings, the server installation path\Share folder will be used by default.
/a: The Agent will execute detection requests saved in the shared folder and then stops its operation.
/l [path]: The Agent will write its log entries into the file specified behind this parameter.
/v [number]: This parameter sets the logging detail level (only works together with the parameter /l). Logging detail levels: 0 = Status and Errors, 1 = Normal, 2 = Full.
/s: The Agent will run in the background. No information window will display on the screen.
/h: Opens a Help window for command line parameters.

Tip:

If you wish to run full software detection while ignoring some drives or paths, run the Agent without the command line and set up the software detection details in the Wizard correctly.

Example 7. Agent – example of device and software detection

We need to run the Agent in such a way that it immediately performs both the device detection and normal software detection; we also want the Agent to save the detection files to the D:\Detections folder

AMAgent /dd /dssw /df /f D:\Detections

Note:

If you use the Agent to create detection files, the detection file names will be created automatically according to the computer name and will include the _SW extension for software detections and the _HW extension for device detections.

Example: For a computer with the name JOHNPC, the Agent will create the following files: JOHNPC_SW.cxm and JOHNPC_HW.cxm.