Installing the audit agent for FTP delivery

Updated in 2022.2

After you have created an FTP Audit Source, take the next steps: install the audit agent on your computers. This article describes how to create an audit agent installer for Windows and macOS and install the agent on computers you want audited.

Creating audit agent installers

TIP: If you want to customize the process of Windows audit agent with post-processing actions, edit the PrepareAuditAgent.cmd before creating the installer. For details, see Customizing the audit agent installer.

To prepare the installable agent for an FTP Audit Source:

1. Open the properties window for the Audit Source:

1. In the Sidebar, right-click the Site that contains this source, and select Properties from the pop-up menu.

2. In the grid under Audit Sources, double-click the desired Audit Source. The properties window for this audit source opens.

2. Make sure that all FTP settings are specified as needed. When the agent is installed, it will use those settings to transfer audit snapshots back to Network Inventory.

3. On the General tab, under Audit Agent Installer, view and optionally change the schedules for the audit agents you are planning to install.

4. Click Create Installer, select the audit agents (Windows and/or macOS), and specify where to save the installation package.

5. Click Deploy.

6. Click OK to close the properties window for this Audit Source.

IMPORTANT: Any changes made in the Audit Profile or updated versions of the installable agents have to be manually re-deployed.

What does an installation package include?

Windows audit agent installer

• AlloyAuditAgent.msi - a Windows installer package file

macOS audit agent installer

• AlloyMacAuditAgent.zip - the ZIP package containing the following:
  • AlloyAuditAgent.pkg - the package of compressed files used to install the audit agent on macOS computers
  • com.alloy.AuditAgent.plist - the property list file with the audit schedule
  • ina_mac - the audit agent
  • ina_mac.ini - the configuration file

Installing the audit agent

• Windows audit agent

  When the audit agent installer for Windows is created, deploy it to target computers.

  In a Windows domain environment, we recommend you to use Group Policy to distribute the agent installer. If this does not work for you, it is possible to install the agent manually from a command line in the unattended mode:

  msiexec /i AlloyAuditAgent.msi /qn

  NOTE: By default, the Windows Task Scheduler starts the audit on time only if the network connection is available. Otherwise, the audit will be postponed until the connection is restored.

  TIP: If the audit fails, the error details will be available in the audit log file: C:\ProgramData\Alloy Software\Audit Agent\Log.

• Mac audit agent

  When the audit agent installer for macOS is created, transfer the ZIP file to target computers.

  Unzip the archive and run the AlloyAuditAgent.pkg package to install the agent. By default, the files are placed to the /Library/AlloyAuditAgent folder.

  The audit will start automatically according to the specified schedule and transfer the audit data back to Network Inventory via FTP/SFTP using the settings specified in the audit source properties.

  You may want to use the following command to install the audit agent non-interactively:

  sudo installer -verboseR -pkg {Path}AlloyAuditAgent.pkg -target "/Library/AlloyAuditAgent/"

  IMPORTANT: Using SFTP may require additional configuration steps on macOS computers. For details, see How to transfer macOS snapshots via SFTP.

Related Information:

How to transfer macOS snapshots via SFTP

Preparing Inventory Analyzer packages for FTP Audit Sources

Windows Inventory Analyzer

Mac Inventory Analyzer

Configuring FTP Audit Sources