KACE Systems Management Appliance 14.1 Common Documents - KACE Service Desk Administrator Guide

Table 21. Command line parameters for the Agent
Description	Parameter
Windows Installer Tool	msiexec or msiexec.exe
Install flag	/i Example: msiexec /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64
Uninstall flag	/x Example: msiexec /x ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64
Silent install	/qn Example: msiexec /qn /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64
Log verbose output	/Lv log.txt Example: msiexec /qn /Lv C:\temp\log.txt /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64
Auto set hostname: Rename the installation file to the name of the server name, which automatically sets the hostname	rename agent_installer.msi_hostname.msi Example: msiexec /qn /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64_kace_sma.example.com.msi
Set properties	PROPERTY=value (Must use ALL CAPS) Example: msiexec /qn /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64.msi HOST=kace_sma.example.com
Set server name	set KACE_SERVER=kace_sma_name Must be followed by an msiexec call to install Example: set KACE_SERVER=kboxmsiexec /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64
Prevent the installation of logon or bootup hooks, and preserve existing userinit.exe files	NOHOOKS=1 Example: msiexec /qn /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64.msi HOST=kace_sma.example.com NOHOOKS=1
Install the Agent but do not start the service. This enables the Agent to be imaged and cloned to other devices	CLONEPREP=yes/no Example: msiexec /qn /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64.msi HOST=kace_sma.example.com CLONEPREP=yes
Set the debug level for the Agent when it generates logs	DEBUG=true/all Example: msiexec /qn /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64.msi HOST=kace_sma.example.com DEBUG=true
Force the Agent to communicate through HTTPS only. It cannot fall back to HTTP if HTTPS is unavailable	SSLREQUIRED=true Example: msiexec /qn /i ampagent-6.x.xxxxx-x64.msi HOST=kace_sma.example.com SSLREQUIRED=true

The system looks for the value of host in these locations in the order shown:

The installer file

The HOST property value

KACE_SERVER (environment variable)

The amp.conf file

If you want to register the agent with the appliance:

•

Use the following parameters when starting the installer: HOST=<appliance_hostname> TOKEN=<agent_token>, or:

•

Manually change the installation file name using the following syntax: AMPAgent-xx.xx.xx-x86_<appliance_hostname>+<agent_token>.msi

You can obtain the agent token string from the Agent Token Detail page. For more details, see Registering KACE Agent with the appliance

CAUTION:

CAUTION: If you leave the host value empty, you must set the environment variable. Otherwise, the Agent will not connect to the appliance. Quest recommends that you use the fully qualified domain name as the hostname.

Manage the KACE Agent on Windows devices using the Windows system tray

You can view the status of the KACE Agent, force inventory, and display agent information using the Windows system tray.

To access the KACE Agent status using the system tray, you must enable the Agent Status On Device option in the Agent and Communication Settings section. For more information, see Configure Agent communication and log settings.

On the device where the KACE Agent is running, in the Windows system tray, click

The indicator in the bottom-right corner of the icon indicates if the agent status:

◦

: The agent is connected to the appliance.

◦

: The agent is snoozed.

◦

: The agent has pending actions.

◦

: The agent is disconnected from the appliance.

To find out if the agent is connected to the appliance, observe the Status icon in the menu.

This is the same indicator that appears on the Agent icon, that tells you whether the agent is connected, snoozed, has pending actions, or disconnected from the appliance, as described above.

To run the device inventory, click Inventory in the menu.

To restart the agent, click Restart Agent in the menu.

To temporarily suspend the agent's activity during a specific time period, click Snooze Agent, and select a time period in the menu. You can snooze the agent for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, or two hours.

NOTE: You can only snooze the agent if the Agent Snooze on Device option is enabled in the Agent and Communication Settings section on the appliance, and if the maximum number of snoozes is not reached. For more information, see Configure Agent communication and log settings.

Snoozing an agent does not stop any ongoing agent processes on the device. It only prevents the agent from starting a new process. If an agent snooze is not possible, for example, due to configuration, an error message appears.

To install the patches downloaded to the Agent device, click Deploy staged patches.

NOTE: This menu item only appears when a Detect, Stage and On-demand Deploy patch or Windows Feature schedule downloads all applicable patches to the Agent device. For more information, see Configure patch schedules.

To access any agent-related links, click Shortcuts in the menu, and then click a link, as applicable. Any standard Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) links are supported, such as https, ssh, and ftp URLs.

This menu item only appears when your system administrator specifies one or more links. For more information, see Configure Agent communication and log settings.

The link causes the OS to launch the application associated with the selected resource. For example, to open an HTTP link, your system opens the link in the default browser.

To find out more information about the agent application, click About.