Windows
FlexxAgent supports 64-bit Windows operating systems; it cannot be installed on 32-bit systems. The installation binary is available with and without a graphical interface, making it fully compatible with unattended deployment mechanisms and the installation wizard.
FlexxAgent consists of a Windows service called FlexxAgent Service, which manages two processes: FlexxAgent (process), which runs at the system level, and FlexxAgent Analyzer (process), which starts for each user session.
This structure enables FlexxAgent to address multiple session devices, such as terminal servers, Citrix, or AVD, and acquire detailed metrics to enhance diagnostic capabilities.
For example, if a person is working on their laptop, the FlexxAgent process would run at the system level, and the FlexxAgent Analyzer would run from the user's identity. If the device hosts multiple user sessions, in addition to FlexxAgent at the system level, FlexxAgent Analyzer will run for each user session on that device.
In terms of resource requirements, FlexxAgent has very modest consumption, hovering around the following values:
- Disk space used: < 200 MB
- CPU: < 0.5%
- RAM: 100-200 MB
FlexxAgent Service (system)
- For resource consumption information, including performance counters, hardware, sessions, profiles, disks, partitions, and Windows services, the default value is 60 seconds.
- Event log error events are sent every 10 minutes.
- User profile information is obtained every 15 minutes.
FlexxAgent Analyzer (user)
- Includes application usage analysis, diagnostic data, and user experience.
- Data is collected locally every 15 seconds.
- The report is sent to the service every 5 minutes, although this metric can change in specific functionalities.
These values can be adjusted in Settings
on the different consoles, providing flexibility to meet specific needs.
Supported versions
The operating systems compatible with FlexxAgent are those still within the manufacturer's support cycle. Although installation is allowed on versions without such support, certain functionalities might not be available.
Microsoft operating systems with full support and compatibility are:
- Microsoft Windows 10 or later
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later
FlexxAgent can also be installed on Windows 7 and 8.1 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, and Windows Server 2012, but it will be subject to some limitations.
Software Requirements
FlexxAgent also requires certain software components:
- .NET Framework 4.6.2 or later, Flexxible recommends installing
.NET Framework 4.8
. - Windows PowerShell 4.0 or later (Windows PowerShell 5.1 recommended)
- Note: The Azure PowerShell execution policy must be set to Unrestricted.
Considerations for Windows versions in EOL
Windows versions in EOL (End of Life, meaning they are out of support) have certain limitations when running FlexxAgent, which might cause certain functionalities to not be supported.
Limitations
Some limitations might disable its functionalities when using FlexxAgent on older Windows operating systems that are out of support:
- User Surveys
- GPU consumption metric collection
- Flow execution
- User microservices execution
- Storage unit information is not displayed.
- In the case of virtual machines, broker and hypervisor detection is not available for all providers.
- There is no UID (User Input Delay) data as this counter does not exist in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
Broker detection might not work for all brokers. There is no user input delay performance data as this counter does not exist in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
Windows 7 and 2008
The installation of FlexxAgent supports the Windows 7 x64 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 operating system under the following conditions:
- The update KB4474419:
SHA-2 code signing support update for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008: September 23, 2019
must be installed. - The update KB3140245:
Update to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows
must be installed, and follow the instructions in theHow to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows
section of the Microsoft support page. - For IoT Hub and Service Bus URLs,
TCP ports 5671 and 5672
on the Windows firewall must be opened from the device. Note: Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 use the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) instead of AMQP over WebSockets as the transport protocol. - Requires at least .NET Framework 4.6, but Flexxible recommends installing
.NET Framework 4.8
. - PowerShell 2.0 with Windows 7 is not compatible with the TLS 1.2 version required to install FlexxAgent. You must install
Windows Management Framework 5.1
, which installs PowerShell 5.1.
Windows 8 and 2012
The installation of FlexxAgent supports the Windows 8 operating system under the following conditions:
.NET Framework 4.6.2
is required, Microsoft blocks the installation of later versions of .NET Framework on Windows 8.0.- All Windows security updates are required to ensure
compatibility with TLS 1.2 and SHA-2 code signing
.
Download
The installation binary download for FXXOne is available with and without graphical interface.
INSTALLATION BINARY DOWNLOAD WITH GRAPHICAL INTERFACE
BUTTON TO DOWNLOAD FLEXXAGENT
In Portal
-> Home
, the Download agent
button will allow you to download FlexxAgent to the device. This option is available to all Organization Administrators
users of any type of organization.
If the organization has more than one report group, clicking on the Download agent
button will change the interface to the Report groups
section to download FlexxAgent in the chosen report group.
A few seconds after the installation, the device will be visible in Workspaces. All functionalities for controlling, monitoring, and automating tasks on your devices will be activated from that moment.
BUTTON TO GENERATE A MAGIC LINK
The Generate magic link
button optimizes the access to download FlexxAgent on the devices. It allows users with the Organization Administrator
role within a partner-type organization to generate and send a link to users so they can download the agent on their devices without being logged in.
Create magic link
The Generate a magic link
button is located on the Portal home page in the consoles of users with the Organization Administrator
role within a partner-type organization.
Clicking the button opens a form where you should specify which report group the link will be assigned to and for how long it will be active.
Next, a window will indicate that the link has been created. And it will allow you to copy it directly to share it.
By clicking Accept
, the console will automatically go to the detail view of the selected report group. From there you can check the magic link just created, as well as others that have been created earlier.
Use a magic link
To use the link just copy and paste it into the browser's address bar. At that moment, FlexxAgent will show the following screen, indicating that it has been downloaded on the device.
Revoke a magic link
A Magic link
can be revoked from Portal
-> Settings
-> Report groups
. In the list view, click on the report group where the Magic link
you want to revoke is located. And then, in the Action
field of the table, choose the Revoke
option.
A window will appear to confirm the action.
By clicking Accept
, a message will appear for a few seconds in the report group table informing of the action: "The magic link has been successfully revoked."
It is not possible to use a Magic link
that has been revoked or has expired again.
INSTALLATION BINARY DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GRAPHICAL INTERFACE
The download of FlexxAgent without a graphical interface is done from Workspaces
-> Level 2
-> Reporting Groups
.
In the list view table, you must select the report group for which you want to download the agent and click on the Download FlexxAgent
button.
A window will open to download the FlexxAgent installer.
-
If the
Generate standalone installer (offline)
option is selected, during installation, the binary will not require internet access for verification or downloading binaries. -
If, on the contrary, the
Generate standalone installer (offline)
option is not selected, the minimum installation package will be downloaded. In this manner, the binary will access the internet to verify and download the latest binaries.
Unattended Deployment
The agent supports being launched using unattended deployment methods, such as distribution by GPOs, Intune, SCCM, and many more tools.
Installation
Unattended installation is performed through PowerShell.
Start-Process "<ruta>\FlexxAgent-Installer.exe" -ArgumentList "<agregar parámetro>" -WindowStyle Hidden -Wait
Example of unattended installation adding an installation parameter:
Start-Process "<ruta>\FlexxAgent-Installer.exe" -ArgumentList "-repairAgent true" -WindowStyle Hidden -Wait
Uninstall
To uninstall unattended:
"C:\Program Files\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\VDIServiceUpdater.exe" /Uninstall "C:\Program Files\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\FlexxAgent.exe" /quiet
The Microsoft Windows installer used to uninstall FlexxAgent does not delete all files, folders, registry keys, or registry values created during the installation of FlexxAgent. If you need a clean system image, you can safely delete the following files, folders, registry keys and registry values.
Archivos (clic para expandir)
C:\Windows\Prefetch\FLEXXAGENT.EXE-XXXXXXXX.pf
– donde XXXXXXXX es una cadena de letras y númerosC:\Windows\Temp\FlexxAgentInstallation.log
Carpetas (clic para expandir)
C:\Program Files\Flexxible
C:\ProgramData\Flexxible
Supported Parameters
Parameter | Type | Caption | |
---|---|---|---|
RepairAgent | [bool] | Forces repair. Fails if the agent is not installed. | |
proxyAbsoluteUri | [string] | URI and port of the proxy. | |
proxyUser | [string] | User for authenticated proxy. | |
proxyPass | [string] | Password for authenticated proxy. | |
proxyPersistConfig | [switch] | If specified, the configuration is persisted in the registry. | |
configFilePath | [string] | Alternative directory for the FlexxAgent-Configuration.conf archive. | |
DebugMode | [switch] | When specified, creates a text file in the same folder with the script execution transcription. |
Proxy Configuration
FlexxAgent supports transparently configured proxies at the system level without configuring. Proxies with and without authentication are also supported. Proxy configuration can be done via the command line or by modifying registry keys that control this configuration.
Proxy configuration through command line
Installation with parameters:
FlexxAgent-Installer.exe -proxyAbsoluteUri ip.ad.dre.ss:port -proxyPersistConfig:$True
Where ip.ad.dre.ss:port refers to the IP or DNS plus the proxy port, or including credentials:
FlexxAgent-Installer.exe -proxyAbsoluteUri ip.ad.dre.ss:port -proxyUser ProxyUserName -proxyPass ProxyUserPassword -proxyPersistConfig:$True
Configuration through registry keys
The registry keys that store the proxy configuration for FlexxAgent are located:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications
Registry keys related to the proxy configuration:
Key Proxy_URL
- Key path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications
- Key Name: Proxy_URL
- Key type: REG_SZ
- Supported values: the URL and port; for example 'http://192.168.1.1:3128' or 'https://192.168.1.1:3128'
Key Proxy_User
- Key path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications
- Key Name: Proxy_User
- Key type: REG_SZ
- Supported values: the username to authenticate to the proxy; for example 'Administrator'. It can be bypassed for unauthenticated proxies.
Key Proxy_Pwd
- Key path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications
- Key Name: Proxy_Pwd
- Key type: REG_SZ
- Supported values: The password to authenticate to the proxy. It can be bypassed for unauthenticated proxies.
The value of the Proxy_Pwd key can be set in plain text (not recommended) or base64 encoded and enclosed by «&&&». For example:
&&&VGhpc0lzTjArQCQzY3VyZVBAJCR3MHJk&&&
for the “Proxy_Pwd” value. In either case, FlexxAgent encrypts the value as soon as FlexxAgent starts or tries to transmit information. You can use a site like https://www.base64encode.org/ to create the base64-encoded password string.
Update
FlexxAgent can be updated automatically or manually from Workspaces.
Auto update
This functionality is controlled with settings that are usually enabled in Workspaces. The path to view or change the configuration of this functionality is Workspaces
-> Level 3
-> Settings
-> Auto update
. Selecting True
will allow a new version of FlexxAgent to be detected and sent automatically to all active devices in the organization. This action will leave a Job
in Workspaces with all the operation details.
Manual Update
The path to manually update FlexxAgent is
Level 1
-> Workspaces
-> Operations
-> FlexxAgent
-> Update to latest version
.
The different installed versions are in the dropdown option for My filters
-> Predefined filters
-> FlexxAgent version summary
. This will generate a view of all devices grouped by the FlexxAgent version.
Once the update operation is executed, a Job
with all the details of the operation will be generated in the corresponding section.
Logs
FlexxAgent can generate three types of logs:
These records allow consulting information and diagnosing problems from the installation of FlexxAgent.
Installation and update logs
Inside the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Flexxible
folder, a text log is left containing information about the installation or update process, as well as dependency information and process details.
FlexxAgent Analyzer logs
FlexxAgent Analyzer logs are stored in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\FAAgent\Logs
directory. These can be configured to include or not include information by levels of criticality.
Change log level for FlexxAgent Analyzer
From Workspaces, it is possible to change the log level for one or more devices through the options available in the Operations
button.
FlexxAgent service logs
FlexxAgent service logs can be consulted in the Application
branch, within the Event Viewer
of Windows.