Alloy Navigator Express Cloud (SaaS)

Updated in 2024.2

Alloy Navigator Express Cloud (or SaaS) is best for small, medium, and large companies of all industries looking for an all-encompassing solution accompanied by a powerful process automation system, third-party integration, and a flexible API. The cloud solution of Alloy Navigator Express can dynamically scale to meet the needs of your business. As a service provider, we supply all the essential hardware and software components, including data storage and backup solutions, web-based email services, database processing, managed technical support services, and more. This page provides an overview of the Alloy Navigator Express cloud (SaaS) solution, highlights the distinctions from the on-premises version, and lists the necessary open ports for seamless communication.

INFO: You can obtain additional information through the Alloy Support Portal.

Administrative tools and downloadable packages

In addition to links to your Alloy Navigator Express web apps in the cloud, you receive downloadable links to these tools and components:

Component	File Name
Alloy Administrative Tools installation package	AlloyAdminTools Express -24.2.x.exe
Alloy Audit Agent installation package	AlloyAuditAgent.msi
Alloy Snapshot Viewer installation package	AuditViewer-24.2.x.msi
Database Access Key	AlloyNavigatorExpressKey.zip

Alloy Administrative Tools

The Alloy Administrative Tools installation package (AlloyAdminToolsExpress24.2.x.exe) includes these administrative apps and tools:

Component	Description	Documentation	File and Location
Settings App	The Settings App is the administrative desktop app for advanced administrative tasks, such as deep customizations of business logic. Compared with web-based Admin Center, which gives access all the essential administrative tasks, such as creating and maintaining user accounts, setting up email integration, customizing your Self Service Portal, accessing logs, etc., this desktop app provides access to advanced administrative tasks.	Help: Settings App	\Bin\AlloyNavigatorExpressMngr.exe
Import tool	The Import tool that enables you to import data from external files and third-party database applications, such as CRM, HR, and network inventory systems, directly into Alloy Navigator Express cloud.	Help: Import	\Bin\ImportWizard.exe
Active Directory Import tool (Import Contacts)	The Active Directory Import tool that imports user data from the on-prem Active Directory or other directory services into your cloud-based Alloy Navigator Express in accordance with Active Directory Synchronization jobs that you create in the Settings App.	Help: Active Directory Import	\Bin\ImportContacts.exe
Scheduled Task Agent	The Scheduled Task Agent runs workflow Scheduled Tasks in your local environment, without the need to grant Alloy cloud applications access to your local resources that some Scheduled Tasks may need to access.	Help: Scheduled Task Agent	\Bin\ScheduledTask.exe

Alloy Audit Agent

The Audit Agent installation package (AlloyAuditAgent.msi) includes a preconfigured, ready-to-use audit agent for Windows computers. Once you install the agent on the computers you want audited, it will regularly run the audit and automatically deliver audit results to your cloud-based Alloy Navigator Express.

Alloy Audit Snapshot Viewer

The alloy Audit Snapshot Viewer package (AuditViewer-24.2.x.msi) installs the Audit Snapshot Viewer, a tool for viewing audit snapshots directly, outside of Alloy products. During the installation, keep the Associate .adt files with Alloy Audit Snapshot Viewer checkbox selected. For details on using the viewer, see Help: Audit Snapshot Viewer.

Database Access Key

Before you log in to Alloy Navigator Express Settings for the first time, you need to import the Database Access Key to your local computer. Typically, the key is delivered as a zipped .reg file (AlloyNavigatorExpressKey.zip).

For instructions on how to import your key, see Importing the Database Access Key.

Comparison of cloud and on-premises features

In comparison with our on-premises solution, the on-prem and cloud-based solutions have the following differences.

Feature	Configuration	Details
Integration with email
Sending automated notifications	Once a minute or less frequently	Settings App Help: Customizing global notification settings
Notification attachment limit	1 MB	Settings Help: Setting up outgoing email notifications
Incoming mail processing	Every 5 minutes or less frequently	Settings App Help: E-mail processing
Scheduled automated jobs
Sync with the Active Directory or other directory services	Every 4 hours or less frequently	Settings App Help: Integration with Active Directory and other directory services
Auto-sync with AlloyScan	Every 15 minutes or less frequently	Admin Center Help: Integration with AlloyScan
Recurring tickets	Every 15 minutes or less frequently	Web App Help: Managing Recurrent Tickets
Scheduled reports	Once a day or less frequently	Settings App Help: Scheduling reports
Scheduled workflow tasks	Every 60 min or less frequently	Admin Center Help: Scheduled Tasks
Logs
Automation & Workflow Log	Only failed executions are logged Retention period is 7 days	Settings App Help: Automation & Workflow Log
Other logs	Retention period is 30 days	Settings App Help: Configuring log settings
Miscellaneous
Attachment size limit	25 MB	Settings App Help: Attachments
While the cloud-hosted solution offers convenience and eliminates the need to manage infrastructure, a few features from the on-premises version are not available in the cloud: Force-sending outgoing notifications from the queue: Notifications in the cloud are automatically managed to ensure timely delivery. The on-premises Network Inventory module: Designed for local environments, Network Inventory is replaced in the cloud by AlloyScan, a cloud-based solution that offers seamless performance and scalability. Redeploying online documentation: In the cloud, documentation is always available online, eliminating the need for manual redeployment.

Ports

The following table describes network ports that must be opened to ensure proper communication of the Alloy Navigator Express Cloud components.

Port	Purpose
Port 80 (HTTP)	Standard port for HTTP traffic. Internally, all communication to this port is being redirected to port 443 to enforce encryption.
Port 443 (HTTPS)	Standard port for HTTPS traffic. Used by product’s web components, including Web Portal, Self Service Portal, API.
Port 51967 (custom port for SQL Server)	Custom port configured for SQL Server. Used by locally installed Windows applications, such as Settings.
Port 22 (SFTP)	Standard port for SSH (Secure Shell) communication, including SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol). Used by network inventory components for delivering audit snapshots to the product’s repository using the SFTP protocol.
Port 21 (FTP Secure)	Standard port for FTP Secure (FTPS) communication. Used by network inventory components for delivering audit snapshots to the product’s repository using the FTP protocol.
Ports 49152 - 65535 (Passive FTP)	Dynamic or ephemeral ports used for passive FTP connections, facilitating data transfer in passive FTP mode. Used by network inventory components for delivering audit snapshots to the product’s repository using the FTP protocol in passive mode.