Nodeware Agents

Agents are a great way to extend visibility to assets that are transitory, off-site, or otherwise difficult to scan with a Nodeware Sensor. Agents neither require credentials nor remote access (WinRM or SSH) to be enabled. Agents perform single-machine scans and do not perform any scanning of the network environment where the machine resides.

Local scans are run using the latest benchmarks generated for the specific operating system and require no additional configuration. The scans provide the highest fidelity fingerprint and vulnerability information with visibility into software and services that are not remotely detectable, such as web browsers, PDF readers, and messaging clients.

The agent runs as a background system service and can be installed manually or mass deployed via Mobile Device Management (MDM) software or admin tools, such as PowerShell and group policies. See the Agent Deployment article in the deployment section of the knowledge base for more information.

Note: Agents cannot be installed on the device where the Sensor is installed. The Sensor will function as an Agent on the host machine.

Requirements

Apple macOS

• macOS Monterey (12) or later
• 2 GB of storage
• 4 GB memory, 8 GB recommended

Microsoft Windows and Windows Server

• Windows 10 (Home, Pro, Enterprise) 64-bit or Windows Server 2016+
• 2 GB of storage
• 4 GB memory, 8 GB recommended

The recommended minimum for the Nodeware Agent is 4 GB. It is recommended that 8 GB is used to ensure smooth operation during scans. Storage requirements vary based on the benchmarks being used which increase as additional vulnerability checks are added.

Fingerprints

The Nodeware Agent collects system information about the version of the operating system as well as installed patches at system boot, including reboots after updates install.

Agents & Sensors

Nodeware Agents are designed to work in tandem with Sensors. When agents are on hosts on a network that is monitored by a Nodeware Sensor, an automated matching process ensures that the agent’s host machine is scanned and counted only once. This process frees up Sensor resources to focus on unmanaged assets, such as IoT and BYOD, and further reduces network overhead.