ACM agents¶
The ACM agents module declares and drives the ACM agents deployed on remote machines. An ACM agent runs as a Windows service on the machine and reaches the ACM service published by a CyberElements Edge Gateway to obtain the passwords the local applications need. An administrator uses it to create an agent record, deploy or remove the service remotely, and generate the configuration material to be embedded on the machine.
ACM availability
The ACM screen and its five modules only appear in the console when ACM is allowed: both a licence covering ACM and the Allow ACM usage option enabled for your tenant are required. If either is missing, the screen is hidden and every ACM operation is refused.
Agent list¶
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Unique agent identifier. |
| Description | Free text. |
| Host | Name of the machine where the agent is (or is to be) deployed. |
The toolbar search field filters on those three values at once. As long as no agent exists, the grid shows No agents.
Toolbar actions¶
Actions operating on an existing agent stay disabled until the selection allows them.
| Action | Availability | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| + — tooltip Add | Always | Opens the creation form (see chapter Add an agent). |
| Edit icon — tooltip Properties | Selection = 1 | Opens the same form, pre-filled. |
| × — tooltip Delete | Selection ≥ 1 | Asks for confirmation (see chapter Delete an agent). |
| Deploy Agent | Selection ≥ 1 | Installs the service on the machines of the selected agents (see chapter Deploy Agent). |
| Remove Agent | Selection ≥ 1 | Uninstalls the service remotely (see chapter Remove Agent). |
| Download configuration | Selection = 1 | Produces the agent configuration archive (see chapter Download configuration). |
Double-clicking a row is equivalent to Properties.
Add an agent¶
Click +. The Add ACM agent window opens. Every field is mandatory except the description.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Unique. Up to 1024 characters. |
| Description | Optional. Up to 256 characters. |
| Host | Name of the target machine. Up to 1024 characters. |
Click Validate. Declaring an agent deploys nothing: it only records the entry.
Name already used
If the name already exists, the server refuses the addition with the message An ACM agent already has this name.
Edit an agent¶
Select a row then click the Properties icon (or double-click). The Edit ACM agent window shows the same fields.
Delete an agent¶
Select one or several rows then click ×. A confirmation is requested.
Agent used by an ACM contract
An agent that appears in an ACM contract cannot be deleted. The operation is not cancelled altogether: unused agents are deleted, and an error message lists the agents that were kept — "The following elements is currently associated with one or more ACM contract, and thus cannot be deleted:" followed by their names. To delete them, first remove them from those contracts.
Deploy Agent¶
Select one or several agents then click Deploy Agent. The window of the same name asks for the deployment parameters. All fields are mandatory.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Host | Read-only. Machines of the selected agents, comma-separated. |
| Gateway | Edge Gateway driving the deployment. Only Edge Gateways with recording are offered. |
| Domain | Domain of the account used to open the remote session. |
| Username | Account allowed to install software on the machine. |
| Password | Matching password (masked). |
| Target drive | Letter of the installation drive. Default value: c. |
| Target directory | Path under that drive. Default value: Program Files (x86)\Systancia\ACMAgent. Up to 1024 characters. |
On submit, the grid locks on the Deployment in progress... message.
| Outcome | Feedback |
|---|---|
| A single agent | One message: Agent deployment succeeded, Deployment failed, Agent already present, or the permission refusal. |
| Several agents | The Agent deployment log window, one row per agent as name (host), with the status Success, Failure or Agent already present. |
Remove Agent¶
Select one or several agents then click Remove Agent. The form shows Host, Gateway, Domain, Username and Password — the two installation-specific fields are not requested. The grid shows Deletion in progress..., then the outcome is presented the same way: a message (The agent is not present on the server., or The agent is in use and can not be deleted.) for a single agent, the Agent removal log window beyond, where the status Agent not present replaces Agent already present.
The record remains declared
Removing the service does not remove the agent from the list: the record remains and can serve a fresh deployment. To erase it, use × (chapter Delete an agent).
Download configuration¶
Select exactly one agent then click Download configuration. The window only asks for
the Host (read-only) and the Gateway. On submit, the browser downloads an
<agent name>.zip archive containing:
| File | Content |
|---|---|
<agent name>.p12 |
Client certificate of the agent, generated on demand. |
ca.crt |
Certificate of the authority signing the ACM service. |
configuration.xml |
Path of the client certificate and fqdn:port addresses of the ACM service published by the chosen Edge Gateway. |
readme.txt |
The three operations to perform on the machine. |
This mode serves manual agent deployment, when remote installation is not possible. The
readme.txt states the procedure: import ca.crt into the trusted root certification
authorities of the local computer, copy the files into the agent installation folder,
then restart the Cleanroom Credentials Manager service.
Generation failure
If the archive cannot be produced, the message An error occured while generating configuration is displayed. The Edge Gateway must be online: it is the Edge Gateway that supplies the ACM service port.