Configuring Distributed Monitoring with Remote Network Agents on Linux

This guide explains how to install and configure the IPNetwork Monitor Remote Network Agent on a Linux machine. This allows you to monitor servers and network resources within a remote network from your central IPNetwork Monitor server. For Windows agent installation, please refer to the Windows Remote Agent documentation.

Installing Remote Network Agents on Linux

Installation Steps

1. Download the appropriate Remote Network Agent package for your distribution from the download page (Linux tab).
2. Install the package on the target machine:

Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./ipnetwork-agent_<version and distro>.deb

RHEL-based distributions:

sudo dnf install ./ipnetwork-agent_<version and distro>.rpm

sudo dnf install epel-release

sudo dnf install epel-release

sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-$(arch)-rpms
sudo dnf install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm

sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-$(arch)-rpms
sudo dnf install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm

When installation completes, it prints its current configuration:

IPNetwork Monitor Agent installation (version 1.0.189) completed successfully.

Configuration Summary:
- Agent Mode: Active
- Main Service Host: 
- Main Service Port: 3459
- Connection ID: c851dcec616176152ae41c769cc373eb

Next Steps:
- Configuration can be modified via the agent GUI: '/opt/ipnetwork-agent/bin/NMSAgentGUI'
- Documentation for initial setup: /help/remote-network-agents-linux.html
- To work with 'IPNetwork Monitor Agent' under the desired user, please add this user to group: ipnetwork-agent
  (Note that ipnetwork-agent already includes: user; please login again if necessary)
- Required firewall configuration:
 - Allow outbound connection to main service (TCP/3459)
 - Open the following inbound ports for passive monitoring:
   - SNMP Trap Receiver: UDP/162
   - Syslog Receiver: UDP/514

Additional Commands:
- Start/Stop/Restart Service: Use 'systemctl'

Note: The agent service has been automatically started and enabled to run at boot.

The same information is saved to /opt/ipnetwork-agent/install.log. After installation, the monitoring service starts automatically. Service logs are located in /var/log/ipnetwork-agent/.

Post‑Installation Configuration

To change the configuration, use the agent GUI. You can launch it either from the application menu under System Tools (search for “IPNetwork Monitor Agent”):

or from the command line:

/opt/ipnetwork-agent/bin/NMSAgentGUI

The Linux agent GUI is identical to the Windows version:

By default, after installation the Remote Agent is configured in Active mode. To launch the agent GUI, the user must belong to the ipnetwork-agent group. Add the user with:

sudo usermod -aG ipnetwork-agent <username>

For this change to take effect, either log out and log back in, or run the GUI in a new shell with:

newgrp ipnetwork-agent
/opt/ipnetwork-agent/bin/NMSAgentGUI

After launching the agent GUI, you can configure the following settings:

• • Agent mode: Active or Passive
  • For Active Agent mode:
    • Main Service Host: Domain name or IP address of the IPNetwork Monitor server
    • Main Service Port: Communication port (default: 3459)
  • For Passive Agent mode:
    • Network interface: Specify which network interface to listen on (use `0.0.0.0` to listen on all interfaces)
    • Listening TCP Port: the port where the agent will wait for connections from the main service (default: 3457)
  • SNMP traps receiver UDP port: UDP port number to receive SNMP traps
  • Syslog receiver UDP port: UDP port number to receive syslog messages
  • Path to python interpreter: python interpreter used by Python script monitor

Choosing Agent Mode

Select the agent mode based on your network security policies:

Active Agents

• Open the specified port for incoming connections on the IPNetwork Monitor server.
• Open the specified port for outgoing connections on the Remote Network Agent machine.

Passive Agents

• The Remote Network Agent listens for incoming connections from the IPNetwork Monitor server on a specified TCP port (default: 3457).
• The IPNetwork Monitor server initiates outbound connections to the agent.
• Use this mode when the remote network restricts outbound connections but allows inbound connections to specific ports.

Security Configuration

The Remote Network Agent automatically generates a self‑signed certificate and secret key during installation to establish TLS‑protected connections. You can replace these with custom certificates if needed. The certificate fingerprint serves as the agent’s Connection ID, which also lets you move agents between hosts without reconfiguring monitors.

To configure SSL certificates:

1. Copy the main service’s SSL certificate (e.g., service.crt) from %PROGRAMDATA% on the monitoring service computer.
2. Place it in /etc/opt/ipnetwork-agent on the agent computer.
3. Edit the agent’s /etc/opt/ipnetwork-agent/nma.ini file:

   [SSLSettings]
   ServiceCertificatePath="/etc/opt/ipnetwork-agent/service.crt"

4. Restart the agent service:

   systemctl restart ipnetwork-monitor-agent

Service Configuration

The Remote Network Agent runs as a background daemon managed by systemd. It is configured to start automatically at boot. You can manage it with standard systemctl commands (administrative privileges are not required):

• Disable and stop the service:

  systemctl disable --now ipnetwork-monitor-agent

• Start the agent:

  systemctl start ipnetwork-monitor-agent

• Stop the agent:

  systemctl stop ipnetwork-monitor-agent

• Restart the agent:

  systemctl restart ipnetwork-monitor-agent

• Check the agent’s status:

  systemctl status ipnetwork-monitor-agent

Agent Connection and Activation

After configuration, the agent status is shown in the upper‑left corner of the Remote Network Agent GUI. Use the control buttons (Start, Stop, Restart) in the upper‑right corner to manage the agent.

When an Active agent connects successfully, IPNetwork Monitor displays a dialog with agent information. Click Enable to activate monitoring through this agent.

Managing Remote Network Agents

Open the agent management panel via Tools → Settings → Remote Network Agents (or click the Settings toolbar button). From this panel, you can:

• Create new agents
• Delete existing agents
• Enable or disable monitoring
• Configure network discovery settings
• Initiate network discovery
• Remotely upgrade agents to newer versions (available only for Windows remote agents)

Passive Agent Setup

The setup for Passive agents requires a specific sequence:

1. Install the agent on the remote Linux computer but do not start it yet.

2. Configure the agent in Passive mode:

   • Launch the agent GUI: /opt/ipnetwork-agent/bin/NMSAgentGUI

   • Select Passive mode

   • Configure the Listening TCP port (default: 3457)

   • Configure Network Interface (use 0.0.0.0 for all interfaces)

   • Review and adjust Ports for passive monitors if needed

   • Click Apply changes

3. Configure firewall rules on the remote machine to allow inbound connections on the configured ports.

4. On the main IPNetwork Monitor server, create and configure a Passive agent entry in the agent management panel (Tools → Settings → Remote Network Agents).

5. Start the passive agent on the remote computer.

Once configured, Active and Passive agents function identically.

Configuring System Limits

To set system limits for a remote agent:

1. Select the agent from the list.
2. Click the Settings button.
3. Configure limits as needed (see the Monitoring page for details).

Monitoring Resources on Remote Networks

When you create and enable a Remote Network Agent, IPNetwork Monitor automatically creates an entry named
“Monitored by [Agent name] ([Agent IP]) agent” in the Main view tree. This entry groups all hosts and monitors managed by that agent.

Adding Monitors

Add monitors for Remote Network Agents using either method:

Manual creation

• Select File → New Monitor or click the New Monitor toolbar button.
• Configure the monitor settings manually.

Automatic network discovery

• Select Tools → Discover Network or click the Discover Network toolbar button.
• Alternatively, select the agent in the management panel and click Discovery.

Note: The main IPNetwork Monitor installation is referred to as the Local Agent.