App Control: How to Upgrade Agents Using the Console

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Environment

• App Control Agent: All Supported Versions
• App Control Console: All Supported Versions

Objective

Upgrade Agents using the Console either manually or automatically.

Resolution

Automatically Upgrading Agents:
Agents that are in a Policy with the option Allow Upgrades (Server 8.9 or Earlier) or Automatically Upgrade Agents (Server 8.10 and Higher) turned on will be automatically upgraded after the Console Upgrade feature is turned on.

1. Log in to the Console and navigate to Rules > Policies.
2. Click Show Columns > Automatically Upgrade Agents (or Allow Upgrades) > Apply.
3. Edit the relevant Policies accordingly.

 

Manually Upgrading Agents:
Agents that are in a Policy with the option Allow Upgrades (Server 8.9 or Earlier) or Automatically Upgrade Agents (Server 8.10 and Higher) turned off can be manually upgraded after the Console Upgrades feature is turned on.

1. Log in to the Console and navigate to Assets > Computers.
2. Check the box next to the relevant Computer(s) then: Action > Upgrade Computers.

 

Turning Console Upgrades On:
When a new Agent Installer is uploaded to the Server the ability to upgrade Agents (manually or automatically) via the Console is turned off automatically. Before turning this feature on verify your Policy is configured for either Automatic or Manual Agent Upgrades accordingly.

1. Log in to the Console and navigate to Settings > System Configuration > Advanced Options > Edit.
2. Locate the section Carbon Black App Control Agent > Automatic Agent Upgrades (or Allow Agent Upgrades)
3. Choose Enabled and click Save.

Additional Notes

• App Control Server 8.10 included an update to the wording of these settings to clarify their use.
• Upgrades done via the Console will allow for the upgrade to be completed without the need to disable Tamper Protection.
• Tamper Protection should not be disabled to "force" the upgrade through.
• By default the App Control Server will attempt to upgrade 1 Agent every 10 seconds when Automatic Upgrades is enabled.
• On average, total upgrade pacing is ~360 per hour assuming no errors occur. This pacing helps prevent unnecessary load on the App Control Server.
• The Agent will not receive any new Config List changes once it has entered the upgrade cycle.
• Anytime the App Control Server or Agent Installer is upgraded the Console Upgrade feature will be automatically turned off.
• Major Agent Upgrades (such as 7.x to 8.x) involve the same activity as Agent Initialization.

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