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ITDR

Installing a Server Agent

This article provides instructions for installing a server agent on a domain controller.

Prerequisites

Before installing a server agent, ensure that your domain controllers have the following:

  • Operating System: Windows Server 2012 R2 or later with an active Domain Controller or a Read-only Domain Controller
  • .NET Framework version 4.8 or later
  • Free memory: 4 GB
  • Disk space: 500 MB (5 GB for Password Analysis)
  • Internet bandwidth: 256 Kbps (1 Mbps for Password Analysis)
  • Connectivity over HTTPS (port 443) to the following domains:
    • ib.smokescreen.io
    • Zscaler Deception Admin Portal

Installing a Server Agent

You can install a server agent on a single or multiple domain controllers.

To install a server agent:

  1. Download the Windows EXE installer file from the ITDR Admin Portal.
  2. Open the Command Prompt as an administrator.
    1. Click Start.
    2. In the Start Search box, enter cmd, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER.
    3. When the User Account Control (UAC) dialog box appears, click Yes.
  3. In the command prompt, choose a command as per your installation requirements:
    • To install the agent without proxies:

      ZSServerAgentInstaller.exe /qn /CMC=<instance name> /REGKEY=<Registration Token>
    • To install the server agent with a proxy:

      ZSServerAgentInstaller.exe /qn /CMC=<instance name> /REGKEY=<Registration Token> /PROXIES=<proxy list comma separated>

      The server agent is a proxy-aware application. It can automatically detect and apply the proxy configurations if they are already available in the domain controller.

The following table describes the installation parameters:

ParameterDescriptionRequired
/qnEnables silent mode installationYes
/CMC=<instance name>The hostname of the ITDR Admin PortalYes
/REGKEY=<Registration Token>The Server Agent Registration TokenYes
/PROXIES=<Proxy String>Proxies to connect to the ITDR Admin Portal. If there is more than one proxy, separate them with a comma. Make sure that there are no white spaces in the PROXIES parameter.No

After you run the command, the server agent is installed on a domain controller and appears in the Agents table (Settings > Server Agents Settings > Agents).

The domain you selected to install a server agent appears in the Domains table (Settings > Server Agents Settings > Domains).

Configuring Proxies

The server agent is a proxy-aware application. It can automatically detect and apply the proxy configurations if they are already available in the system.

You can use the PROXIES parameter in the installation command to configure multiple proxies. The PROXIES parameter consists of a list of proxies separated by commas. When the server agent starts, it attempts to connect to the ITDR Admin Portal using the list of proxies in a sequence from left to right. If the proxy is not configured, the agent attempts to connect to the ITDR Admin Portal directly, or it uses a proxy configured for the SYSTEM user.

To configure multiple proxies, open the command prompt and enter the following command:

ZSServerAgentInstaller.exe /qn /CMC=<instance name> /REGKEY=<Registration Token> /PROXIES=http://proxy-server/proxy.pac,http://user:password@proxy-server:8888,http://proxy-server:3128

After you run the command, the server agent connects to the ITDR Admin Portal using one of the following methods:

  • Downloads the PAC file from http://proxy-server/proxy.pac and uses the PAC file configuration to establish the connection.
  • Connects via http://user:password@proxy-server:8888/proxy.
  • Connects via http://proxy-server:3128/proxy.

If all of the above methods fail, the agent attempts to connect to the ITDR Admin Portal using the SYSTEM users proxy. If this also fails, the agent attempts a direct no-proxy connection.

You can configure proxies using the following URL format:

http://[username:password]@<ip/host>:<port>

If the username and password have special characters (e.g., Username = user#2211 and password = pass@123), you must URL-encode them. For example:

http://user%232211:pass%40123@proxy-server-1:8888

You can perform URL encoding using the following PowerShell function:

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Web; [System.Web.HttpUtility]::UrlEncode(<string>)

URL encoding using the PowerShell function

Example proxy URLs:

  • http://192.0.2.2:3128/: Connect to a proxy server with an IP address = 192.0.2.2 and port number = 3128.
  • http://proxy-server:8888/: Connect to a proxy server with the DNS name = proxy-server and port number = 8888.
  • http://proxyuser:proxypassword@192.0.2.18:3128/: Connect to a proxy server with an IP address = 192.0.2.18, port number = 3128, username = proxyuser, and password = proxypassword.
  • http://user%232211:pass%40123@proxy-server-1:8888/: Connect to a proxy server with the DNS name = proxy-server, port number = 8888, username= user#2211, and password = pass@123.

Configuring Proxies to Use a PAC File

To configure a proxy to use a PAC file, you must direct the server agent to a URL where the PAC file is hosted.

You can configure a proxy using the following URL format:

http://<ip/host>/<pacfile>.pac

Example PAC file URLs:

  • http://192.0.2.6/proxy.pac: Connect to an HTTP server with an IP address = 192.0.2.6 and download the proxy.pac file.
  • http://pac-server/proxies.pac: Connect to an HTTP server with the DNS name = pac-server and download the proxies.pac file.
  • http://pac-server:33234/proxy.pac: Connect to an HTTP server with the DNS name = pac-server, port number = 33234, and download the proxy file.
Related Articles
About Server AgentsViewing the Server Agent Registration TokenDownloading a Server AgentInstalling a Server AgentExporting Server Agent ConfigurationsDownloading Server Agent LogsUninstalling or Deleting Server Agents