How Agents are Installed Using Discovery

All agents installed on domain machines using Discovery are installed using a single agent install package specified for each domain.

Since different types of machines may require different agent settings, Kaseya recommends specifying a "generic" agent install package for Discovery agent installs. Change the agent settings after the install, as appropriate, for each type of machine. Agent settings can be changed manually using machine ID templates and Agent > Copy Settings or by importing agent settings using Agent > Import / Export.

Discovery uses two methods for installing agents.

Method 1 - Agent Installs Using Kconnect

Applies to both network installs and domain installs.

This method is successful most of the time and installs the agent immediately without requiring a reboot of the machine. It is the same technology used by By Network to remotely install an agent. The agent install package is downloaded from the Kaseya Server to the agent probe computer. The agent probe computer runs a Kaseya utility called Kconnect.exe. The agent probe machine uses its Active Directory domain credential to transfer the file to the target computer and install the agent.

Method 2 - Agent Installs using a GPO Script

Applies only to domain installs. Both method 1 and method 2 are initiated at the same time for a domain install. If an install using one method has already succeeded, any subsequent attempt to install an agent is canceled.

This method does not occur until the target computer is rebooted. A single copy of the agent install package for each domain is stored on the system hosting the Active Directory domain. A Group Policy Object (GPO) is created for the domain in Active Directory. When an agent is deployed using Discovery the GPO is assigned to that domain machine in Active Directory. If an agent is not already installed on the domain machine, the GPO triggers an agent install the next time the domain machine is rebooted. If the agent is deleted from the domain machine, the GPO method of installing the agent ensures that the agent is re-installed.

Updating the Install Package on the Domain Controller

The copy of the agent install package on the system hosting the Active Directory domain is not automatically updated when the agent install package is changed. For this release, to update the agent install package manually:

1. In Active Directory, locate the Features > Group Policy Management > <forest> > Domains <domain> > Group Policy Objects folder.
2. Right-click the ADAgentDeployGPO group policy object and select the Edit... option to open the Group Policy Management Editor dialog.
3. Locate the Computer Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Scripts folder.
4. Right-click the Startup script and select the Properties option to open up the Startup Properties dialog.
5. Select the InstallAgent.vbs script and click the Show Files... button to display a Windows explorer window.
6. A KcsSetup<number>.exe file displays in the selected file folder with a unique number added to the end of the filename. For example: KcsSetup35475311.exe.
7. Rename the old KcsSetup<number>.exe file and replace it with your updated KcsSetup.exe.

   Note: Ensure you rename the KcsSetup.exe file to the exact KcsSetup<number>.exe filename that was used before, including the unique number that was previously used.

New installs of the agent using the GPO method will now install using the agent settings in the new agent install package.

Note: When installing an agent to a Windows XP domain machine using the GPO method, installs may fail if the Security Center domain policy is disabled.