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Install the agent

Snow Inventory Agent for macOS can be installed either by using a prepared installation package, or by using copies of the binary files.

Prepare an installation package

As a Snow Atlas user, you can create your own installation packages by using Package Builder.

Otherwise, Snow Support will create the installation packages for you. See the article How to request agent on Snow Community for instructions on how to request an installation package. Note that you must first sign in to Snow Community to be able to access the article via the link.

The installation package can be copied to any folder on the target computer.

Install the agent using a prepared installation package

The installation can be run in two ways, either as a user interface or as a command.

Note

During the installation, an uninstall script is created.

User interface

  1. Run the package.

    An installation wizard starts.

  2. Follow the displayed instructions.

Command

  1. Start a terminal

  2. Run the following command:

    sudo installer –pkg <package name>.pkg –target /

Install the agent using copies of the binary files

The files are one executable file named snowagent and one configuration file named snowagent.config. These two files are by default located in the same directory. To see a command line summary of the executable, use the following command from a command prompt:

/opt/snow/snowagent -?

To install the agent:

  1. Start a terminal and use sudo for all commands.

  2. Copy the following files to the opt/snow directory on the computer:

    • snowagent

    • xMetering2 (optionally)

    • snowagent.config

  3. Copy the following files to the Library/LaunchDaemons directory on the computer:

    • com.snowsoftware.Inventory.plist

    • com.snowsoftware.Metering.plist (if xMetering2 is installed)

    • com.snowsoftware.Cloudmetering.plist

    • com.snowsoftware.Scanresult.plist

  4. Make snowagent and xMetering2 executable with the command lines:

    chmod +x /opt/snow/snowagent
    chmod +x /opt/snow/xMetering2
    
  5. Load and start the snowagent and xMetering daemon processes with the command lines:

    launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Inventory.plist
    launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Metering.plist
    

Uninstall the agent

If the agent was installed via a prepared installation package, run the uninstall.sh file located in the agent installation directory:

sudo ./uninstall.sh

If the agent was installed with copies of the binary files, follow these steps:

  1. Start a terminal and use sudo for all commands.

  2. Stop the snowagent and xMetering daemon processes with the command lines:

    launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Inventory.plist
    launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Metering.plist
    launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Cloudmetering.plist
    
  3. Delete all installed files, data files, and temporary files with the following command lines:

    sudo rm -fR /opt/snow
    sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Inventory.plist
    sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Metering.plist
    sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.snowsoftware.Cloudmetering.plist