New preview capability - Track your hard-to-reach assets using IT Agent, the future of LsAgent

[Gilian]

Hi everyone!

Lansweeper is delighted to announce the availability of its new IT Agent in your Lansweeper Site, now in Preview. Track your hard-to-reach assets using the IT Agent which tracks the details of a single computer running Windows, Linux, or Apple MacOS and sends these directly to your Lansweeper Site.

How to access IT Agent in your Lansweeper Site

1. Open a browser and navigate to https://app.lansweeper.com.
2. Choose the Lansweeper Site to which you want to link the IT Agent Discovery. 
3. Go to Scanning > Discovery sources > Download installers/packages > IT Agent Discovery

A brief explanation

• Learn how to install/deploy IT Agent here.

• After a successful installation, the IT Agent(s) will be shown in your Lansweeper Site in Scanning > Discovery sources

• When you keep that page open, it auto refreshes and the total assets will change from 0 to a higher number (usually 1 but can be higher if monitors are connected to the asset). To see the asset data you can click on the “Total assets” number and open the specific asset details. Some data might still be missing we’re continuously mapping and expanding our global data model.

• Logs can be found here by default:
  • Windows Installer:
    • "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\Lansweeper_IT_Agent_Discovery_installer.log"
      "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\Lansweeper_IT_Agent_Discovery_uninstaller.log"
    • "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\Lansweeper.IT.Hub.log"
  • Components:
    • Windows:
      • "C:\Program Files\Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery\sensor\logs\Lansweeper.IT.Sensor.log"
      • "C:\Program Files\Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery\sensor\logs\Lansweeper.Discovery.Hub.log"
    • Linux:
      • "/opt/lansweeper-it-agent/sensor/logs/Lansweeper.IT.Sensor.log"
      • "/opt/lansweeper-it-agent/hub/logs/Lansweeper.Discovery.Hub.log"
    • macOS:
      • "/Application Support/Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery/hub/logs/Lansweeper.IT.Sensor.log"
      • "/Application Support/Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery/sensors/IT/logs/Lansweeper.Discovery.log"

FAQs

Lansweeper Network Discovery vs Lansweeper IT Agent (Portable) Discovery

Topic	Lansweeper Network Discovery	Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery	Lansweeper IT Agent Portable Discovery
Summary	Discover all IT (and later OT) assets in your network	Get all details of the computers you know that have IT Agent Discovery installed and running as a background service or daemon.	Planned, not available yet. Get all details of the computers on which you run IT Agent as a foreground application. Ideal to be included in a logon script
Asset reach	Tracks both the machine running Network Discovery and discovers IT (and later OT) assets remotely	Local computer tracking where the IT Agent Discovery is running	Local computer tracking where the IT Agent Discovery is running
Credentials	Requires credentials to get all asset details remotely	Does not require credentials	Does not require credentials
Network access	Requires specific ports to be open on the assets to discover. See Ports scanned or used by Lansweeper	Few connectivity requirements. See Install IT Agent	An encryption key from a Lansweeper Network Discovery - Hub component. Either direct access to the hub or a location to store the discovery result file in, for later import.

Can I use a single command to deploy IT Agent to multiple computers over an extended period of time?	Yes, we've extended the linking code duration so you can choose how long a single linking code should remain valid (1 day, 1 month, 3 months, ...) Go to Scanning > Discovery sources > Link discovery source. Select Create new code, set an expiration and select Copy code.
When should I use IT Agent over LsAgent?	-IT Agent can send the discovery results directly to your Lansweeper Site (without the need of an LS scan server on prem) -IT Agent auto-updates itself on Windows (like LsAgent) but also on Linux and macOS -IT Agent gathers extra data on the devices (such as user info on macOS) which will be mapped in your Lansweeper Site and made visible. -IT Agent can be installed silently on Windows (like LsAgent) but also on Linux and macOS -IT Agent for Windows was built on .NET 6.0 which has a reduced vulnerability risk in comparison to LsAgent for Windows (built on .NET FW 4.8) -IT Agent can be instructed to scan its asset(s) on demand using the Lansweeper Cloud API. To this with LsAgent, you'd have to force start a scan (see https://community.lansweeper.com/t5/quick-tech-solutions/force-start-an-lsagent-scan/ba-p/71844)
During the installer I get the message: “There has been an error. Could not start Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery Hub Service. The application will exit now.” How can I solve it?	If you receive this message during the installation, you can follow this procedure to resolve it: Press Windows + R to open Run Type regedit to open the Registry Editor. Navigate to the location below or copy-paste the location in the navigation bar. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control Now the Control registry folder is selected. Move to the right side and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value called ServicesPipeTimeout Now in the Edit Value window, change the Base to Decimal. Enter a value of 600000 in the Value Data field. Click on OK to save the changes. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your system. (You need to restart, otherwise, the change doesn’t work.) After restarting, run the IT Agent installer again. We’ve noticed this on machines being a bit slower but haven’t figured out the root cause yet (slow hard disk, low memory, low CPU,…)
What are the installer return codes and possible error messages?	When the installer terminates with an exit code during the pre-installation phase, it ensures that no actions have been executed, with no files or changes left behind. In the event the installer terminates during the installation, a rollback will occur, and no files or changes will be left behind. The ranges are the following: 0 (zero) will be returned when the installer finished as expected, without issues. 20-39 range: issues regarding OS, installer or current installation (pre-installation) 40-59 range: issues regarding user input (pre-installation) 60-79 range: issues during installation (removing the installation) 80-99 range: warnings during installation (keeping the installation) Exit code Description Position Exit code Description Position 0 The installer finished with success. 20-39 Issues regarding OS, installer or current installation Pre-installation 20 Another installation is already in progress. Please finish that installation before starting a new one. 21 This installer is being run on an unsupported operating system. Please update your OS if possible. 22 The existing installation is newer than the version you want to install. Installer will be closed. 40-59 Issues regarding user input Pre-installation 40 You must accept the terms of use before continuing with the installation. Please use the accepteula parameter for this. 41 A valid linking code to your Lansweeper Site is required to continue. Please use the cloudtoken parameter for this. 42 A valid proxy configuration is required to continue with the installation. Please use both the proxyserver and proxyport parameters (or none). 43 A valid proxy port is required to continue with the installation. Please use the proxyport parameter correctly. 44 No module was selected to be installed. Installer will be closed. 60-79 Issues during the installation (installation will be rolled back) Installation 60 PowerShell script execution is not enabled on your computer, make sure your computer is configured to allow PowerShell script execution. 61 A link to your Lansweeper Site could not be made. (IT Agent only) 62 A required component service could not be started. 80-99 Warnings during installation (installation will be kept) Installation 80 The installation succeeded but a link your Lansweeper Site could not be made. (Network Discovery only) Note: When using the MacOS PKG, the installer command only returns 0 (success) or 1 (general error). To get the specific exit code (from the list above), this extra log file is available : /tmp/Lansweeper-IT-Agent-Discovery_exitcode.log. This file only contains the specific exit code (integer value).
Why is the size of the IT Agent installer rather big?	Currently, the IT Agent installer has all the core next-generation discovery components, resulting in a bigger installer. To cater to mass deployments, over metered connections, we're looking to decrease this size by stripping redundant parts and keeping only those required for local computer scanning.
What is the scan frequency of the IT Agent?	The IT Agent does a daily scan of the computer it’s installed on. You can change this frequency of 24h in your Lansweeper Site > Scanning > Discovery actions. See https://community.lansweeper.com/t5/cloud/configure-it-agent-discovery/ta-p/72780
Can I force the IT Agent to do an ad hoc rescan of the asset(s), now?	IT Agent does a rescan every 24 hours by default. You can also force a scan using the API, see https://docs.lansweeper.com/docs/api/actions#request-the-scan
How many IT Agent installations can I link to my Lansweeper Site?	As many as you like, there's no limit.
Can I use another service account to run the IT Agent services(s) instead of Local System?	Yes, you can. Go to Windows > Services > double click on either Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery Hub/Sensor/Update Service(s), go to tab "Log On", Choose "This account" and fill in the new service account. This account needs to be a local administrator on the machine running IT Agent (in order to retrieve all asset details). You can also use a least privileged account instead (see link) but it won't be able to get all asset details as mentioned in the link.
Why am I not seeing all asset data (yet)?	We’re remapping all data to a universal data model. As we’re doing this in phases, you’ll only see certain data sections available on the asset page of assets discovered by IT Agent. Currently, these sections are available: HW Operating System Software Monitor And this list is continuously being extended.
How do I solve duplicate issues?	You can resolve duplicate assets by opening Scanning › Discovery sources and unlinking the IT Agent installation(s), and removing all related data.
Can I disable the auto-update behavior?	Auto update is enabled by default in an 8-hour time window varying between 08:00 am and 06:00 pm (18:00). Though not recommended, you can still disable the auto-update behavior after installation by running the following command on the machine running IT Agent: sc config "Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery Update service" start= disabled sc stop "Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery Update service" Be aware that your Lansweeper Site does require a minimum version of your IT Agent(s) to keep syncing so it's advised to re-enable the auto-update behavior when you can to ensure correct inventory data.
Can I unlink the IT Agent installation from my Lansweeper Site?	Yes, you can by going to Scanning › Discovery sources > choosing the IT Agent and clicking “UNLINK” in the top right. After confirming with your site name, the data of the assets it discovered will no longer be added to your inventory. Remark: After unlinking, IT Agent is still scanning and trying to send its data to your Lansweeper Site. To avoid this from happening, we recommend you uninstall the IT Agent on the machine it was installed on. We’re looking to automate this process so you don’t have to manually uninstall IT Agents you no longer want to track. When doing an auto uninstall of the IT Agent on Linux, it won't delete the new user and group added as its required to correctly remove the other data. You can still cleanup this user and group manually.
If I uninstall IT Agent on the asset, could you also unlink the installation in your Lansweeper Site?	We like to promote centralized management from within your Lansweeper Site. When you decide to unlink the IT Agent installation, we plan on auto-uninstalling IT Agent to keep a clean system. If you still do a manual uninstall on the machine itself, we could go for a global option in your Lansweeper Site that auto-archives installations of type IT Agent and/or IT and keeps/deletes data (ls-to-do). Currently, unlinking from your Lansweeper Site means the asset data is also removed but we plan on offering you the option to choose whether or not to keep the data when unlinking the IT Agent from your Lansweeper Site (ls-to-do)

Request for feedback

It's time for us to let you try and test this new feature. We hope this first version will give you an easy-to-deploy agent-based discovery.

Finally, we're all ears! Your feedback is valuable, and we'd love to hear it.

Feel free to share in the comments or share your logs and screenshots privately to preview@lansweeper.com

Kind regards,

Gilian De Raes
Product Manager | Lansweeper

[Gilian]

Hi @CloudFire 
We released a new version 0.15.7 today which you can download here:

https://download.lansweeper.com/stable/windows/it-agent-discovery/latest,
https://download.lansweeper.com/stable/MAC/it-agent-discovery-dmg/latest,
https://download.lansweeper.com/stable/MAC/it-agent-discovery-pkg/latest

These should already resolve most scenarios but our team is still working out on resolving the last ones for which a new patch version will be made available soon.

[CloudFire]

Hi @Gilian ,
unfortunately even the 0.15.8 (which I believe is the current latest version) has the same rescan issue... Let me know if you have an ETA for a solution.

Thanks!

[eputz]

@Gilian My Windows computer downloaded the 0.15.7 version yesterday lunchtime but following restarts appears to have not updated the running version which is still 0.15.2 - should it have auto-updated in light of the download? 

[eputz]

@Gilian - following up on Tuesday we can report that we're now seeing ITAgents auto-update to 0.15.7 and now hoping that scan dates and scan information will start updating in our cloud site soon.

[Gilian]

@eputz thanks for sharing. Meanwhile the team is working on a newer patch version which will contain a fix for the last scenarios where the data isn't being refreshed. Hopefully 0.15.7 does already cover yours and keeps updating the asset data. Otherwise could you let us know and share a log file ("C:\Program Files\Lansweeper IT Agent Discovery\sensor\logs\Lansweeper.IT.Hub.log") of your IT agent to preview@lansweeper.com ?

[avillarreal]

Hello @Gilian,

Is there a way to "relink" a computer that was removed from the scanning targets? or do I need to do a reinstall and remove the asset from the console?? 

It happens to me that on my test computer I install/uninstall several times the client... but it was added several times on the scanning targets page, so I delete them, but it didn't appear again after a reinstall... Any idea?

[Gilian]

@avillarreal ,

@avillarreal In Scanning > Discovery sources, you'll see a row for each time you install the client/IT Agent.
If you remove the source, the asset will still remain in your inventory.
During this preview phase, you could remove the asset(s) from your inventory, reinstall the IT Agent client and see a new record in Scanning > Discovery sources and in Inventory > Assets

Once the reconciliation engine is more finalized, these multiple asset records in your inventory will be merged into 1 and you'll see which of the sources brought in the data at what time.

The assets from deleted sources, can be found in your inventory, having the "unlinked" icon in the first columns

[avillarreal]

The weird thing is that it doesn't appear on the scanning targets... But on the computer (even after I manually delete the assets and check that there wasn't on the scanning agents was marked as if there was another installation there:

Let me know if you need any information about it.

[Gilian]

@avillarreal IT Agents are visible in Scanning > Discovery sources, not in scanning targets. The instruction when the scanning should happen is configured in Scanning > Discovery actions

[avillarreal]

@Gilian Correct, but it's not shown at that part either... It appears on the inventory, but not on the discovery sources... But from yesterday until now is still not shown... The number of current sources wasn't changed from yesterday...

I just try a resync and no luck either 😞