Automic Automation v26 Standard Administration – Agents

This course is Part 3 of 4 in the Automic Automation v26 Standard Administration learning path.

This course covers two agent administration topics in Automic Automation version 26 (Standard): Centralized Agent Upgrade (CAU) and Agent authentication.

The CAU section explains how the Automation Engine upgrades multiple agents through AWI. It covers uploading CAU agent packs in the Plug-in Manager on the Packs page of the Administration perspective, and sources for the packs: the installation package, the Broadcom support portal, and a Git repository. It describes the upgrade options, including limiting the upgrade to Agents managed by a Service Manager.

It also covers the automated distribution of self-signed TLS certificates and how to disable it for CA-signed certificates. The demonstration upgrades one Windows and one Unix agent from version 21 to version 26.

The Agent authentication section explains how the Automation Engine and agents secure their connection. It describes the authentication key, transfer key, and session key, and compares the three authentication methods: the default No method, Local, and Local-Remote.

It also explains how authentication differs for TLS Agents and for non-TLS Agents that require a key store. The demonstrations show how to set the method with the DB Load utility, restart the Automation Engine, download the key or the Agent-specific authentication package, and set the initial package in the agent INI file.

They also show how to withdraw or recreate an agent in AWI, start the Agent, and troubleshoot connection failures using the Agent and JWP logs.

Certification

Upon completion, you will receive:

• A certificate validating the course completion
• The Automic v26 STD Admin Agents Badge

Value: 400 points

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Execute Centralized Agent Upgrades (CAU) across multiple systems simultaneously via the Automic Web Interface (AWI).
• Manage CAU Action Packs within the Administration Perspective to ensure target Agents receive the correct version upgrades and automated TLS certificates.
• Evaluate the three Agent authentication methods (NO, LOCAL, LOCAL_REMOTE) and their respective reliance on Authentication, Transfer, and Session keys.
• Implement stricter authentication protocols (LOCAL or LOCAL_REMOTE) by executing the DB LOAD utility while the Automation Engine is safely shut down.
• Configure agent .INI files to properly point to downloaded authentication packages, establishing secure, authenticated connections to the Automation Engine.