Silent Mode Installation of the eG Agent on Windows

To install an eG agent on Windows in the silent mode, the following broad steps need to be followed:

  • Create the silent mode script for the agent installation;
  • Use the script along with the eG agent executable to install agents on other hosts

Each of these steps has been explained in-depth in the sections below.

Creating the Silent Mode Script for Agent Installation

The first step towards installing the eG agent in the silent mode is to create the silent mode script for an agent installation. The script file will carry the extension .iss, and will contain the inputs provided by the administrator while installing the eG agent in the normal mode. Before attempting script creation, ensure that the eGAgent_<OS>.exe is available on the local host. Then, to create the script, do the following:

  1. From the command prompt, switch to the directory in which the eGAgent_<OS>.exe resides.
  2. Next, issue the following command: eGAgent_<OS>.exe -a -r /f1”<Full path to the script file >”. For example, to create a script file named eGAgent_<OS>.iss in the c:\script directory, the command should be: eGAgent_<OS>.exe -a -r /f1”c:\script\eGAgent.iss”.
  3. The Normal mode agent installation will then begin. The inputs supplied during the normal mode will automatically be saved in the iss file that was created in step 2. Refer to the Installing and Configuring the eG Agent on Windows topic for the detailed procedure for installing an eG agent on Windows in the normal mode.

  4. Figure 1 depicts a sample script file and explains its key components.

    Figure 1 : Contents of the script file

Using the Silent Mode Script to Perform Subsequent Agent Installations

Once the silent mode script is created, you can use this script to perform subsequent agent installations. Before attempting to reuse a script file, you might have to decide on the following:

  1. Whether the target script file can be used as is;
  2. Whether the target script file can be used after minor changes;
  3. Whether a new script file is to be generated

This decision is typically based on the configuration you desire for the eG agent that you are about to install. Moreover, the process of installation may slightly vary depending upon this decision. The sections that follow discuss each decision and how it impacts the silent mode installation process.

Silent Mode Installation of an eG Agent without any Changes to the Script File

Sometimes, for some reason, you might just want to ‘reinstall’ an eG agent on a host where a script file pre-exists; the configuration of the old agent and the intended configuration of the new agent may be the same. In this case therefore, you can opt for (a) above - i.e., proceed to use a script file, without any changes, for agent installation in the silent mode. The procedure to reinstall an eG agent in the silent mode has been discussed below:

  1. Uninstall the eG agent on the host (if it already exists).
  2. Ensure that the eGAgent_<OS>.exe is present on the host, go to the command prompt, and then switch to the directory containing the agent executable.
  3. From that directory, execute the following command to install the eG agent in the silent mode: eGAgent_<OS>.exe -a -s /f1”<Full path to the script file containing the inputs for the installation>”. In other words, to extract installation inputs from the eGAgent.iss file that was created in our example above, the command will be: eGAgent_<OS>.exe -a -s /f1”c:\script\eGAgent.iss”.
  4. The eG agent installation will then begin and proceed in the silent mode. Setup will extract the required inputs from the iss file specified in step 3 above and perform the installation automatically, requiring no user intervention of any kind.

Silent Mode Installation of an eG Agent after making Minor Changes to the Script File

Note that all the eG agents deployed in a target environment will not possess the same configuration - at least, the nick name will be different for each agent. Since the .iss file holds a particular agent’s configuration, you cannot use the same script file, as is, for installing eG agents on multiple hosts. In such cases, besides the mandatory nick name change, a few/more minor changes to the script file may become necessary. The other changes that qualify as ‘minor’ changes have been listed below:

  • The manager IP and/or port
  • The agent install directory
  • The Proxy server IP and/or port
  • The user name and/or password for authenticating the Proxy server communication

To make these changes to a script file and then use it to install an agent in the silent mode, follow the steps given below:

  1. Copy the script file to the target host.
  2. Open the script file in an Editor.

  3. Change the values of the required configuration parameters. For instance, to assign a different nick name to the new agent, search the script file for the parameter, szEdit1; then, change the value of the last occurrence of this parameter to change the nick name.

    Figure 2 : Changing the nick name of an eG agent

  4. Finally, save the file.
  5. Once this is done, you can proceed to use the updated script file to install the eG agent on a host. The procedure for installation is the same as discussed in Silent Mode Installation of an eG Agent without any Changes to the Script File.

Silent Mode Installation of an eG Agent Using a Script File that is Newly Generated

Sometimes, the configuration you desire for the agent to be installed could be vastly different from the script file contents. This is possible in the following cases:

  • If an SSL-enabled agent is to be installed, but the script file is for a non-SSL agent, or vice-versa;
  • If the agent to be installed needs to communicate via a Proxy server, but the script file does not consist of a Proxy server configuration, or vice-versa;
  • If the agent to be installed communicates via a Proxy server with authentication, but the script file does not consist of any authentication information, or vice-versa;

In these cases, it is recommended that you generate a new script file that suits your specific purpose, using the procedure discussed in Creating the Silent Mode Script for Agent Installation, and then use it to install the eG agent. The procedure for installation is the same as discussed in Silent Mode Installation of an eG Agent without any Changes to the Script File above.

Uninstalling the eG Agent on Windows in the Silent Mode

Like installation, agent uninstallation might also need to be performed simultaneously, on multiple agent hosts, with little to no human interference. To achieve this, follow the steps below:

  1. First, ensure that an eG agent is operational on the target host.
  2. Next, make sure that the eGAgent_<OS>.exe is available on the local host.
  3. Then, from the command prompt, switch to the directory in which the eGAgent_<OS>.exe resides.

  4. Next, issue the following command to create a script file for the uninstallation:

    eGAgent_<OS>.exe –a –r /f1”<Full path to the script file >”

  5. For example, to create a script file named eGAgent_<OS>.iss in the c:\script directory, the command should be: eGAgent_<OS>.exe –a –r /f1”c:\script\eGAgent.iss”.
  6. The Normal mode agent uninstallation will then begin. The inputs supplied during the normal mode will automatically be saved in the iss file that was created in step 4. Refer to the Uninstalling an eG Agent topic for the detailed procedure for uninstalling an eG agent on Windows in the normal mode.

  7. Once the script is created, you can use the same script to uninstall agents in the silent mode, from multiple hosts. For this, do the following:

    • Ensure that the script file to be used for the silent mode uninstallation process is also copied to the host.
    • Next, go to the command prompt, and then switch to the directory containing the agent executable.
    • From that directory, execute the following command to install the eG agent in the silent mode: eGAgent_<OS>.exe –a –s /f1”<Full path to the script file containing the inputs for the installation>”. In other words, to extract installation inputs from the eGAgent.iss file that was created in our example above (see step 4), the command will be: eGAgent_<OS>.exe -a –s /f1”c:\script\eGAgent.iss”.
    • The eG agent uninstallation will then begin and proceed in the silent mode. Setup will extract the required inputs from the iss file and perform the uninstallation automatically, requiring no user intervention of any kind.