topic Re:How do you update a Client Agent? in Intel vPro® Platform

How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 11:02:05 GMT

We recently upgraded to 1.9 (from 1.7) and let the Server update the clients.

As EMA is now in production, we cannot do that for our upcoming 1.10.1 upgrade.

How do you update a client agent programmatically?

i.e. for a new installation our code is as follows:

emaagent.exe --fullinstall

what is the update equivalent? I was hoping for the below type of argument:

emaagent.exe --update

The only way I can see of doing this is as follows:

Stop emaagent service
copy emaagent to "c:\program files\intel\ema agent"
Start emaagent service

It would be nice if the Client Agent update mechanism was documented in one of your guides.

Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

MIGUEL_C_Intel — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 21:47:01 GMT

Hello, Jools86,

Please confirm if you are referring to the EMA agent files.

If this is the scenario, and the endpoints are provisioned; it is not necessary to re-run the EMA agent file manually in the endpoints, the process will be automatic. If the EMA profile is changing from Client control mode to Admin control mode, a restart of the endpoint will be necessary.

Look forward to your response; if there is no response to this email, we will send you a follow-up on 4/10/2023.

Regards,

Miguel C.

Re: Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 13:01:33 GMT

Hi Migel, A lot of companies (especially finance companies and others running a service, such as London Underground) are risk averse and don't like the idea of all endpoints in the companies being updated at the same time with no testing.

Ideally we want to roll out the endpoint in waves, i.e:

Wave 0 - Me and a couple of colleagues
Wave 1 - IT infrastructure
Wave 2 - Non traders
Wave 3 - Traders.

I did the automatic upgrade for my first EMA update (1.9), but now EMA is in production we have to be careful how we update our machines.

Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

MIGUEL_C_Intel — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 15:43:23 GMT

Hello, Jools86,

Thank you for your reply.

This is a custom update request. Before giving you the options or steps available. Please confirm the following:

The EMA Server is running version 1.9, and you want to update it to version 1.10.0

The Endpoints are running version 1.9

Endpoints will be updated in waves (groups)

Are all the endpoints in a single group?

How many Tenants do you have?

Are you using the Admin Client or Customer Client mode?

Regards,

Miguel C.

Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

MIGUEL_C_Intel — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:01:31 GMT

Hello, Jools86,

I hope this post finds you well.

By any chance, have you been able to work on my previous request?

Regards,

Miguel C.

Re: Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 11:50:34 GMT

Hi Miguel, Sorry for slow response. I have been on annual leave. Answers below:

The EMA Server is running version 1.9, and you want to update it to version 1.10.0 - Yes

The Endpoints are running version 1.9 Endpoints will be updated in waves (groups) - Yes

Are all the endpoints in a single group? Yes

How many Tenants do you have? 1

Are you using the Admin Client or Customer Client mode?

Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

MIGUEL_C_Intel — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 13:31:40 GMT

Hello, Julian,

Thank you for providing me with the answer. We are reviewing the options, an update will be provided soon.

Regards,

Miguel C.

Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

MIGUEL_C_Intel — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 15:24:54 GMT

Hello, Julian,

You mentioned you want to update the EMA software version of the endpoints in waves; however, I am wondering which EMA software version you want to keep running on the Server while you do the changes in the endpoints.

If you want to update the EMA version of the Server and keep using an old version in the endpoints; it is possible to de-activate the automatic Endpoint software update, this option allows you to install manually the new EMA agent file to the desired machines.

Open the EMA console with the Global credentials

Go to the settings tab>Server Settings>Swarm Server

Uncheck the option called: Agent Auto Update

Then, restart the service called Intel® EMA Platform Manager

Before doing the upgrade of the Intel® EMA software, backup the following files.

1- Backup EMA SQL DataBase

2- Backup MeshCertSettings

Both are outlined in the EMA installation guide section 1.4.1- Backup Important Data

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/software/manageability-products/intel-ema-server-installation-and-maintenance-guide.pdf#page=11

Regards,

Miguel C.

Re: Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:07:38 GMT

Hi Miguel,

We want to do the following:

Update the server to 1.10 (after Disabling Auto-Update - thanks for the instructions)
Update Wave 1 on the same day to 1.10
Update Wave 2 a week later
Update Wave 3 a week after that.

How do we do the Post-Server upgrade deployment of the agents?

Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

MIGUEL_C_Intel — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 17:47:38 GMT

Hello, Jools86,

In this case, it is necessary to install the new EMA agent file manually on each endpoint.

After finishing the EMA server update, create a new EMA agent file, download it, and install it on each endpoint. The ema agent file offers the option to update the previous version as soon as you run the installation.

Regards,

Miguel C.

Re: How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 08:32:40 GMT

Hi Miguel,

Thanks , but I am asking how to update an agent programmatically. Please see initial post.

Regards,

Julian.

Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

MIGUEL_C_Intel — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 18:05:20 GMT

Hello, Jools86,

I hope this post finds you well.

Intel® EMA was built with the idea of updating all the endpoints at the time after performing the Server update. The update option of the EMA agent programmatically is not available yet. The EMA software is kept and configured on the Server.

Regards,

Miguel C.

Re: Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 08:22:21 GMT

Thanks for confirming this Miguel.

Re: How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 15:15:05 GMT

My boss doesn't want to upgrade because of this, so we are stuck on EMA 1.9 (Which crashes randomly) until you can get a programmatic mechanism to update EMA Clients.

Re: Re:How do you update a Client Agent?

Jools86 — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 07:59:39 GMT

For those that are wondering how to upgrade an EMA agent via command line (Not documented), it is the following:

emaagent.exe -fullinstall

(I found this out from an Intel contact).