KACE as a Service 7.1 - Administrator Guide

Communications between the appliance and Agents installed on managed devices include inventory reports, alerts, patches, scripts, and crash logs. You can configure and view communications that are queued, or pending.

Configure Agent communication and log settings

Agents installed on managed devices periodically check in to the K1000 to report inventory, update scripts, and perform other tasks.

You can configure the Agent settings, including the interval at which the Agents check in, messages displayed to users, and log retention time, as described in this section. If you have multiple organizations, you configure Agent settings for each organization separately.

To reduce the load on the K1000 appliance, limit the number of Agent connections to 500 per hour. The number of connections that appears next to the inventory, scripting, and metering intervals, applies to the current organization only. If the Organization component is enabled on your appliance, the total number of Agent connections for all organizations should not exceed 500 per hour.

◦

If the Organization component is enabled on your appliance, log in to the K1000 System Administration Console, http://K1000_hostname/system, or select System in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page next to the login information. Then click Organizations. To display the organization’s information, click the organization’s name.

The Organization Detail page appears.

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, select Settings > Provisioning. Then click Communication Settings on the Provisioning panel.

The Communication Settings page appears.

In the Communications Settings section, specify the following settings:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Logging	Enabled	Whether the K1000 appliance stores scripting results provided by Agents installed on managed devices. Agent logs can consume as much as 1GB of disk space in the database. If disk space is not an issue, enable Agent Logging to keep all log information for Agent-managed devices. These logs can be useful during troubleshooting. To save disk space, and enable faster Agent communication, disable Agent Logging.
Agent Debug Trace	Enabled	If selected, this option allows you to record the Agent's debug trace. This information allows administrators to monitor the Agent's performance, and to diagnose common problems.
Agent Inventory	12 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Agentless Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which Agentless devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Catalog Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which managed devices report inventory to the Software Catalog page.
Metering	4 hours	The frequency at which managed devices report metering information to the K1000 appliance. Requires metering to be enabled on devices and applications.
Scripting Update	4 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices request updated copies of scripts that are enabled on managed devices. This interval does not affect how often scripts run.
Max Download Speed	As required	The maximum download speed, as required. Choose from the available options.
Disable Wait for Bootup Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the Agent from executing boot-up tasks.
Disable Wait for Login Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from executing login tasks.

In the Notify section, specify the message to use for Agent communications:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Splash Page Message	Default text: KACE Systems Management Appliance (K1000) is verifying your PC Configuration and managing software updates. Please Wait...	The message that appears to users when Agents are performing tasks, such as running scripts, on their devices.
Agent Splash Bitmap	As required	The path to an existing .bmp file that you want to use as the splash logo.
Disable Bootup Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the boot-up splash logo.
Disable Login Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the login splash logo.

In the Schedule section, specify the Communication Window:

You can set the communications window to avoid times when your devices are busiest.

The period during which Agents on managed devices are allowed to connect with the K1000 appliance. For example, to allow Agents to connect between the hours of 01:00 and 06:00 only, select 01:00 from the first drop-down list, and 06:00 from the second drop-down list.

In the Agentless Settings section, specify communications settings for Agentless devices:

Option	Description
SNMP Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
SSH/Telnet Timeout	The time, in seconds, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
WinRM Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
Maximum Attempts	The number of times the connection is attempted.

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, specify Agent settings.

NOTE: If the Organization component is enabled on your appliance, these Agent settings are located on the appliance K1000 System Administration Console General Settings page.

This value indicates the date and time when the appliance task throughput was last updated.

The value in this field depicts the load on an appliance at any given time. For the appliance to run normally, the value in this field must be between 0.0 and 10.0.

The value that controls how scheduled tasks, such as inventory collection, scripting, and patching updates, are balanced by the appliance.

NOTE: This value can be increased only if the value in the Current Load Average is not more than 10.0 and the Last Task Throughput Update time is more than 15 minutes.

Click Save.

The changes take effect when Agents check in to the appliance.

If you have multiple organizations, repeat the preceding steps for each organization.

View Agent task status

You can view the status of tasks that are currently running, or that are scheduled to run, on Agent-managed devices.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

If the Organization component is enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 System Administration Console, http://K1000_hostname/system, or select System in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page, then click Settings.

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click Display Agent task status to display the Agent Tasks page.

By default, In Progress tasks are listed. To view other tasks, select different filtering options in the View By drop-down list, which appears above the list on the right. Task information includes:

Column	Description
Device Name	The name of the device that is the target of the task.
Type	The type of task. Depending on appliance configuration, task types include alerts, inventory, kbot, krash upload, and scripting updates.
Started	The start time of the task.
Completed	The completion time of the task.
Next Run	The next scheduled run time for the task.
Run Time	How long it took to run the task.
Timeout	The time limit for completing the task.
Priority	The importance or rank of the task.

The options displayed depend on type of tasks available on your appliance. Typical options include:

◦

Ready to Run (connected): Tasks that are connected through the messaging protocol and about to run.

◦

Ready to Run: Tasks that are queued to run when an messaging protocol connection is established.

◦

Longer than 10 minutes: Tasks that have been waiting longer than 10 minutes for a protocol connection.

To view details about a device, click its name in the Device Name column.

The Device Detail page appears.

View the Agent Command Queue

The Agent Command Queue list shows messages, such as pop-ups and alerts, that have been queued for distribution from the appliance to Agent-managed devices.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click View Agent command queue to display the Agent Command Queue page.

Pending messages appear in this queue only during continuous connection between the Agent and the appliance.

NOTE: Pending alerts appear on the Agent Command Queue page even if there is no connection between the Agent and the K1000.

The Agent Command Queue page contains the following fields:

Option	Description
Device Name	The name of the device. Click a name to view device details.
Type [Plug-in, Source]	The type of message, such as Run Process.
Command	The content and information contained in the message.
Expiration	The date and time when the message expires, also called Keep Alive time. Messages are deleted from the queue automatically when they expire.
Status	The status of the message, such as Completed or Received.

Delete messages from the Agent command queue

You can delete messages that are no longer needed from the Agent command queue.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click View Agent command queue to display the Agent Command Queue page.

Select the check box next to one or more messages.

Select Choose Action > Delete, then click Yes to confirm.

Configure Agent communication and log settings

Managing Agent communications

View the Agent Command Queue

View Agent task status

Agents installed on managed devices periodically check in to the K1000 to report inventory, update scripts, and perform other tasks.

Configure Agent communication and log settings

◦

The Organization Detail page appears.

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, select Settings > Provisioning. Then click Communication Settings on the Provisioning panel.

The Communication Settings page appears.

In the Communications Settings section, specify the following settings:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Logging	Enabled	Whether the K1000 appliance stores scripting results provided by Agents installed on managed devices. Agent logs can consume as much as 1GB of disk space in the database. If disk space is not an issue, enable Agent Logging to keep all log information for Agent-managed devices. These logs can be useful during troubleshooting. To save disk space, and enable faster Agent communication, disable Agent Logging.
Agent Debug Trace	Enabled	If selected, this option allows you to record the Agent's debug trace. This information allows administrators to monitor the Agent's performance, and to diagnose common problems.
Agent Inventory	12 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Agentless Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which Agentless devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Catalog Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which managed devices report inventory to the Software Catalog page.
Metering	4 hours	The frequency at which managed devices report metering information to the K1000 appliance. Requires metering to be enabled on devices and applications.
Scripting Update	4 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices request updated copies of scripts that are enabled on managed devices. This interval does not affect how often scripts run.
Max Download Speed	As required	The maximum download speed, as required. Choose from the available options.
Disable Wait for Bootup Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the Agent from executing boot-up tasks.
Disable Wait for Login Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from executing login tasks.

In the Notify section, specify the message to use for Agent communications:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Splash Page Message	Default text: KACE Systems Management Appliance (K1000) is verifying your PC Configuration and managing software updates. Please Wait...	The message that appears to users when Agents are performing tasks, such as running scripts, on their devices.
Agent Splash Bitmap	As required	The path to an existing .bmp file that you want to use as the splash logo.
Disable Bootup Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the boot-up splash logo.
Disable Login Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the login splash logo.

In the Schedule section, specify the Communication Window:

You can set the communications window to avoid times when your devices are busiest.

In the Agentless Settings section, specify communications settings for Agentless devices:

Option	Description
SNMP Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
SSH/Telnet Timeout	The time, in seconds, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
WinRM Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
Maximum Attempts	The number of times the connection is attempted.

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, specify Agent settings.

NOTE: If the Organization component is enabled on your appliance, these Agent settings are located on the appliance K1000 System Administration Console General Settings page.

This value indicates the date and time when the appliance task throughput was last updated.

The value in this field depicts the load on an appliance at any given time. For the appliance to run normally, the value in this field must be between 0.0 and 10.0.

The value that controls how scheduled tasks, such as inventory collection, scripting, and patching updates, are balanced by the appliance.

NOTE: This value can be increased only if the value in the Current Load Average is not more than 10.0 and the Last Task Throughput Update time is more than 15 minutes.

Click Save.

The changes take effect when Agents check in to the appliance.

If you have multiple organizations, repeat the preceding steps for each organization.

View Agent task status

You can view the status of tasks that are currently running, or that are scheduled to run, on Agent-managed devices.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click Display Agent task status to display the Agent Tasks page.

By default, In Progress tasks are listed. To view other tasks, select different filtering options in the View By drop-down list, which appears above the list on the right. Task information includes:

Column	Description
Device Name	The name of the device that is the target of the task.
Type	The type of task. Depending on appliance configuration, task types include alerts, inventory, kbot, krash upload, and scripting updates.
Started	The start time of the task.
Completed	The completion time of the task.
Next Run	The next scheduled run time for the task.
Run Time	How long it took to run the task.
Timeout	The time limit for completing the task.
Priority	The importance or rank of the task.

The options displayed depend on type of tasks available on your appliance. Typical options include:

◦

Ready to Run (connected): Tasks that are connected through the messaging protocol and about to run.

◦

Ready to Run: Tasks that are queued to run when an messaging protocol connection is established.

◦

Longer than 10 minutes: Tasks that have been waiting longer than 10 minutes for a protocol connection.

To view details about a device, click its name in the Device Name column.

The Device Detail page appears.

View the Agent Command Queue

The Agent Command Queue list shows messages, such as pop-ups and alerts, that have been queued for distribution from the appliance to Agent-managed devices.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click View Agent command queue to display the Agent Command Queue page.

Pending messages appear in this queue only during continuous connection between the Agent and the appliance.

NOTE: Pending alerts appear on the Agent Command Queue page even if there is no connection between the Agent and the K1000.

The Agent Command Queue page contains the following fields:

Option	Description
Device Name	The name of the device. Click a name to view device details.
Type [Plug-in, Source]	The type of message, such as Run Process.
Command	The content and information contained in the message.
Expiration	The date and time when the message expires, also called Keep Alive time. Messages are deleted from the queue automatically when they expire.
Status	The status of the message, such as Completed or Received.

Delete messages from the Agent command queue

You can delete messages that are no longer needed from the Agent command queue.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click View Agent command queue to display the Agent Command Queue page.

Select the check box next to one or more messages.

Select Choose Action > Delete, then click Yes to confirm.

View Agent task status

Managing Agent communications

View the Agent Command Queue

View Agent task status

Agents installed on managed devices periodically check in to the K1000 to report inventory, update scripts, and perform other tasks.

Configure Agent communication and log settings

◦

The Organization Detail page appears.

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, select Settings > Provisioning. Then click Communication Settings on the Provisioning panel.

The Communication Settings page appears.

In the Communications Settings section, specify the following settings:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Logging	Enabled	Whether the K1000 appliance stores scripting results provided by Agents installed on managed devices. Agent logs can consume as much as 1GB of disk space in the database. If disk space is not an issue, enable Agent Logging to keep all log information for Agent-managed devices. These logs can be useful during troubleshooting. To save disk space, and enable faster Agent communication, disable Agent Logging.
Agent Debug Trace	Enabled	If selected, this option allows you to record the Agent's debug trace. This information allows administrators to monitor the Agent's performance, and to diagnose common problems.
Agent Inventory	12 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Agentless Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which Agentless devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Catalog Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which managed devices report inventory to the Software Catalog page.
Metering	4 hours	The frequency at which managed devices report metering information to the K1000 appliance. Requires metering to be enabled on devices and applications.
Scripting Update	4 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices request updated copies of scripts that are enabled on managed devices. This interval does not affect how often scripts run.
Max Download Speed	As required	The maximum download speed, as required. Choose from the available options.
Disable Wait for Bootup Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the Agent from executing boot-up tasks.
Disable Wait for Login Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from executing login tasks.

In the Notify section, specify the message to use for Agent communications:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Splash Page Message	Default text: KACE Systems Management Appliance (K1000) is verifying your PC Configuration and managing software updates. Please Wait...	The message that appears to users when Agents are performing tasks, such as running scripts, on their devices.
Agent Splash Bitmap	As required	The path to an existing .bmp file that you want to use as the splash logo.
Disable Bootup Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the boot-up splash logo.
Disable Login Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the login splash logo.

In the Schedule section, specify the Communication Window:

You can set the communications window to avoid times when your devices are busiest.

In the Agentless Settings section, specify communications settings for Agentless devices:

Option	Description
SNMP Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
SSH/Telnet Timeout	The time, in seconds, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
WinRM Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
Maximum Attempts	The number of times the connection is attempted.

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, specify Agent settings.

NOTE: If the Organization component is enabled on your appliance, these Agent settings are located on the appliance K1000 System Administration Console General Settings page.

This value indicates the date and time when the appliance task throughput was last updated.

The value in this field depicts the load on an appliance at any given time. For the appliance to run normally, the value in this field must be between 0.0 and 10.0.

The value that controls how scheduled tasks, such as inventory collection, scripting, and patching updates, are balanced by the appliance.

NOTE: This value can be increased only if the value in the Current Load Average is not more than 10.0 and the Last Task Throughput Update time is more than 15 minutes.

Click Save.

The changes take effect when Agents check in to the appliance.

If you have multiple organizations, repeat the preceding steps for each organization.

View Agent task status

You can view the status of tasks that are currently running, or that are scheduled to run, on Agent-managed devices.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click Display Agent task status to display the Agent Tasks page.

By default, In Progress tasks are listed. To view other tasks, select different filtering options in the View By drop-down list, which appears above the list on the right. Task information includes:

Column	Description
Device Name	The name of the device that is the target of the task.
Type	The type of task. Depending on appliance configuration, task types include alerts, inventory, kbot, krash upload, and scripting updates.
Started	The start time of the task.
Completed	The completion time of the task.
Next Run	The next scheduled run time for the task.
Run Time	How long it took to run the task.
Timeout	The time limit for completing the task.
Priority	The importance or rank of the task.

The options displayed depend on type of tasks available on your appliance. Typical options include:

◦

Ready to Run (connected): Tasks that are connected through the messaging protocol and about to run.

◦

Ready to Run: Tasks that are queued to run when an messaging protocol connection is established.

◦

Longer than 10 minutes: Tasks that have been waiting longer than 10 minutes for a protocol connection.

To view details about a device, click its name in the Device Name column.

The Device Detail page appears.

View the Agent Command Queue

The Agent Command Queue list shows messages, such as pop-ups and alerts, that have been queued for distribution from the appliance to Agent-managed devices.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click View Agent command queue to display the Agent Command Queue page.

Pending messages appear in this queue only during continuous connection between the Agent and the appliance.

NOTE: Pending alerts appear on the Agent Command Queue page even if there is no connection between the Agent and the K1000.

The Agent Command Queue page contains the following fields:

Option	Description
Device Name	The name of the device. Click a name to view device details.
Type [Plug-in, Source]	The type of message, such as Run Process.
Command	The content and information contained in the message.
Expiration	The date and time when the message expires, also called Keep Alive time. Messages are deleted from the queue automatically when they expire.
Status	The status of the message, such as Completed or Received.

Delete messages from the Agent command queue

You can delete messages that are no longer needed from the Agent command queue.

Go to the appliance Control Panel:

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on the appliance, log in to the K1000 Administrator Console, http://K1000_hostname/admin, then click Settings.

◦

On the left navigation bar, click Support to display the Support page.

In the Troubleshooting Tools section, click View Agent command queue to display the Agent Command Queue page.

Select the check box next to one or more messages.

Select Choose Action > Delete, then click Yes to confirm.

View the Agent Command Queue

Managing Agent communications

View the Agent Command Queue

View Agent task status

Agents installed on managed devices periodically check in to the K1000 to report inventory, update scripts, and perform other tasks.

Configure Agent communication and log settings

◦

The Organization Detail page appears.

◦

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, select Settings > Provisioning. Then click Communication Settings on the Provisioning panel.

The Communication Settings page appears.

In the Communications Settings section, specify the following settings:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Logging	Enabled	Whether the K1000 appliance stores scripting results provided by Agents installed on managed devices. Agent logs can consume as much as 1GB of disk space in the database. If disk space is not an issue, enable Agent Logging to keep all log information for Agent-managed devices. These logs can be useful during troubleshooting. To save disk space, and enable faster Agent communication, disable Agent Logging.
Agent Debug Trace	Enabled	If selected, this option allows you to record the Agent's debug trace. This information allows administrators to monitor the Agent's performance, and to diagnose common problems.
Agent Inventory	12 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Agentless Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which Agentless devices report inventory. This information is displayed in the Inventory section.
Catalog Inventory	1 day	The frequency at which managed devices report inventory to the Software Catalog page.
Metering	4 hours	The frequency at which managed devices report metering information to the K1000 appliance. Requires metering to be enabled on devices and applications.
Scripting Update	4 hours	The frequency at which Agents on managed devices request updated copies of scripts that are enabled on managed devices. This interval does not affect how often scripts run.
Max Download Speed	As required	The maximum download speed, as required. Choose from the available options.
Disable Wait for Bootup Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the Agent from executing boot-up tasks.
Disable Wait for Login Tasks	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from executing login tasks.

In the Notify section, specify the message to use for Agent communications:

Option	Suggested Setting	Notes
Agent Splash Page Message	Default text: KACE Systems Management Appliance (K1000) is verifying your PC Configuration and managing software updates. Please Wait...	The message that appears to users when Agents are performing tasks, such as running scripts, on their devices.
Agent Splash Bitmap	As required	The path to an existing .bmp file that you want to use as the splash logo.
Disable Bootup Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the boot-up splash logo.
Disable Login Splash	Disabled	If selected, this option stops the agent from displaying the login splash logo.

In the Schedule section, specify the Communication Window:

You can set the communications window to avoid times when your devices are busiest.

In the Agentless Settings section, specify communications settings for Agentless devices:

Option	Description
SNMP Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
SSH/Telnet Timeout	The time, in seconds, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
WinRM Timeout	The time, in seconds or minutes, after which the connection is closed if there is no activity.
Maximum Attempts	The number of times the connection is attempted.

If the Organization component is not enabled on your appliance, specify Agent settings.

NOTE: If the Organization component is enabled on your appliance, these Agent settings are located on the appliance K1000 System Administration Console General Settings page.

This value indicates the date and time when the appliance task throughput was last updated.

The value in this field depicts the load on an appliance at any given time. For the appliance to run normally, the value in this field must be between 0.0 and 10.0.