Do Infrastructure and database agents require sudo or root permissions? (4320538)

When you run the FGLAM Linux installation it says that "certain agents require elevated permissions in order to gather the required system metrics. This is achieved by having the Foglight Agent Manager launch these agents with root privileges". 

Some cartridges also include sections such as "Programs that should be configured to be run using sudo"

How do we determine which agents would require root privileges?

Do the infrastructure and database agents require sudo or root?

Infrastructure or database agents do not require root privileges to function, but certain metrics can only be collected by commands which must be run as root. 

As every environment is unique the best approach in troubleshooting permissions issues is to check the database and infrastructure agent logs for failed collections. For these failed collections, manually enter the command used by the agent using the same login id to see it is works outside of Foglight.

In general most environments do not require root access using a default installation of Redhat or Centos (for example) to run most commands. There are exceptions however, like being unable to run a ls –l command because the user does not have access to a folder; for additional information, refer to the following documentation:

• For Infrastructure agents, please refer to the Foglight for Infrastructure and Foglight Agent Manager guides for download from here for details on configuring secure launcher permissions to use sudo.
• For database cartridges, please refer to the Foglight for databases deployment guide available for download from here or the latest cartridge release notes.