Note: We've updated our pricing and packaging. The Discovery Agent feature is available on Garden, Estate, and Forest plans for customers who signed up before November 02, 2020.
This article contains the following topics:
Overview
The Discovery Agent can be installed on all Windows, Mac, and Linux machines. It collects the machine’s hardware and software information and updates Freshservice regularly without the need for further intervention from the respective user(s). Besides making asset discovery extremely easy, it helps you keep track of your assets better in the long run.
The Discovery Agent uses two update logics to send information to Freshservice:
- Dynamic Discovery: Every time the Agent detects a change in its host machine, including changes to hardware or software installation/uninstallation, it updates the data to Freshservice. This ensures that the database always represents your assets in the best possible way.
Periodic Discovery: The Discovery Agent updates Freshservice weekly to maintain an up-to-date record of all your assets. This is done regardless of whether changes were made to the asset.
Downloading the Discovery Agent
The Discovery Agent for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems can be downloaded directly from your Freshservice Portal.
1. Go to Admin > Global Settings > Asset Management > Discovery Hub.
2. Click Configure Agent and Probe in the Basic discovery section.
The Discovery page for setting up Agent and Probe opens in a new tab.
3. In the Agent tab, choose the required Operating system.
4. Click Download Agent.
Installing the Agent
There are multiple ways in which the Discovery Agent can be deployed for each operating system.
Windows
1. To install on a single machine.
2. To install on all machines in a domain, use Group Policy Object.
3. To install on all machines in a workgroup, use the PsExec tool.
Mac
To install on single or multiple machines, see Installing Discovery Agent (Mac).
Linux
To install on a Linux machine, run the script using the command: >sudo python FS-Linux-Agent.py
Supported Operating Systems
Windows | Mac | Linux |
---|---|---|
Windows 11 Windows 10 Windows 8 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Windows 2008 Windows 2008 R2 Windows 2012 Windows 2012 R2 Windows 2016 Windows 2019 Windows 2022 | macOS Catalina (10.15) BigSur 11.3.1 (compatible with M1 chipset also) Monterey Mac os(12.0.1) in M1 chipset Ventura Sonoma | Ubuntu 20.04 Ubuntu 19.04 Ubuntu 18.04 Ubuntu 22.04 CentOS 8 CentOS 7.1 CentOS 7.3 CentO 7.9 Debian 11.6 RedHat 7 RedHat 7.3 RHEL8 SUSE15.5 Oracle9.3 |
Note:
- Mac Agent does not work on Mac Arm64, as .NET Core 3.1 runtime is not supported in the architecture.
- Starting from Mac version 5.1.0 and Linux version 4.0.0, the Discovery Agent operates on the .NET 6 runtime. Use the attached script, if you wish to uninstall .NET Core 3.1.
Prerequisites
- For Windows: Microsoft .NET 4.6.
- For Linux: Python Version 3.8 or above.
- For OpenSSL: .Net runtime.
- For Apple Silicon devices: Install Rosetta.
.Net runtime library dependencies
- wget or curl
Specific to Linux agents
Linux packages
GNU C Library (glibc)
GNU C++ Library
GCC low-level runtime library
ICU
Kerberos
Open SSL
zlib compression library
Linux distribution-specific dependencies
Ubuntu
Libc6
Libgcc1
Libgssapi-krb5-2
libicu52 (for 14.x)
libicu55 (for 16.x)
libicu60 (for 18.x)
libicu66 (for 20.x)
libssl1.0.0 (for 14.x, 16.x)
libssl1.1 (for 18.x, 20.x)
libstdc++6
zlib1g
Alpine
icu-libs
krb5-libs
libgcc
libgdiplus (if the .NET app requires the System.Drawing.Common assembly)
libintl
libssl1.1 (Alpine v3.9 or greater)
libssl1.0 (Alpine v3.8 or lower)
libstdc++
zlib
CentOS
krb5-libs
libicu
openssl-libs
zlib
CentOS Stream and RedHat Enterprise Linux
krb5-libs
libicu
openssl-libs
zlib
Debian
libc6
libgcc-s1
libgssapi-krb5-2
libicu52 (for 8.x)
libicu57 (for 9.x)
libicu63 (for 10.x)
libicu67 (for 11.x)
libssl1.0.0 (for 8.x)
libssl1.1 (for 9.x-11.x)
libstdc++6
Zlib1g
Fedor
krb5-libs
libicu
openssl-libs
zlib
OpenSuse
krb5
libicu
libopenssl1_0_0
SLES
krb5
libicu
libopenssl1_1
Support for the following Windows OS versions/flavors is deprecated as of September 21, 2017.
- Windows: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2003.
Support for the following Mac and Linux OS versions/flavors is deprecated as of August 01, 2017.
- MAC: OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) and OS X Mavericks (10.9).
- Linux: openSUSE and Fedora.
FAQs
1. Does the Discovery Agent auto-update on the its own?
When an end user makes changes to any asset/device, and the device is online, the Discovery Agent detects this based on the unique identifier (Serial Number), and updates the corresponding asset in the Freshservice inventory.
2. Can the Discovery Agent sync be force-updated, similar to Probe?
As the sync with the Discovery Agent is automatic, the sync occurs only in scenarios mentioned in FAQ1. Alternatively, the Discovery Agent performs a scheduled sync of the device once every week, apart from the detected changes.
3. On what basis does the Discovery Agent create and update the assets in the inventory?
The Serial Number of the asset being scanned by the Discovery Agent is the primary and unique identifier for the asset import/update in the inventory. If there are no serial number matches, a new asset is created. If a serial number match is found, then the matched asset is updated.