How to install the agent and manage install keys
Get the agent on one machine or many with a client's install key. Regenerate or revoke a key.
Browse
On this page
How to do it
Open the client, then its Devices tab. Click Agent setup.
It is on the bar above the device list.
Make the default key for the client.
Click Generate default install key. The key is not made for you. Use this once, and it stays for good. Its row shows the raw key with a copy button. Three rows sit under it: EXE installer, MSI installer and Linux installer. Each has Download on the right and a caret on the left that opens the steps.
For one machine, download the EXE and run it.
Approve the admin prompt. A small window opens with your logo. It names the client and your company. Tick the box to say they are right, then click Install. It shows progress and an end result. Copy details hands you the log if it fails.
For many machines, open the MSI row and copy the command.
Push it with GPO, Intune or any silent install tool. Run it from an elevated prompt, or let a management tool run it as SYSTEM. Double clicking the MSI is not supported.
For Linux, open its row and run the one line command as root.
Run it on the Linux machine.
Watch for the new machine.
It turns up within a minute. If a device needs approval, it waits on the Unapproved tab.
To give out a key you can take back, click Add named key.
Use one per site or per contractor. Only named keys have Revoke. Regenerate retires a key and makes a new one with the same name. Revoke retires a named key with no replacement. Both ask you to confirm first.
What you will have
- Make an install key for a client.
- Install the agent on one machine in front of you.
- Push the agent to many machines.
- Regenerate or revoke a key that leaked or is done.
Why it works this way: How to install the agent and manage install keys
An install key is what an installer uses to enrol a machine. Each client has one default key.
The default key never expires. It takes as many machines as you point at it. It cannot be revoked.
If it did not work: How to install the agent and manage install keys
- A machine that already enrolled keeps working after a Regenerate or Revoke. A machine built from that key, but not yet enrolled, fails. Give it a live key.
- The default key has no Revoke. All you can do is Regenerate it.
- You need edit rights to see a raw key, and delete rights to revoke one.
- Running a client's installer on a machine you already manage moves it to that client. It keeps its history. It goes back to the pending queue.
- For a one off, use the one time install link below the keys. It works once and dies in 24 hours.
- The file name has the client and the agent version. An old download is easy to spot.
- On an agent row, Telemetry turns the readings on or off. Quarantine is the kill switch: the machine is refused on every call. Use it when a machine is stolen, hacked or retired.
Questions this page answers
How do I install the agent on a machine?
Open Agent setup on the client. Generate the default install key. Download and run the EXE. For many machines, use the MSI command.
How do I start the MSI installer?
Run the msiexec command from an elevated prompt. Or let a management tool run it as SYSTEM. Double clicking is not supported.
What do Regenerate and Revoke do to a key?
Regenerate retires the key and makes a new one with the same name. Revoke retires a named key with no replacement. Machines already enrolled keep working.
Was this helpful?