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Install the agent

Snow Inventory Agent for Windows is installed using a prepared MSI installation package.

When the agent is installed, the environment variable %SNOW_AGENT%, pointing to the Snow Inventory Agent installation folder, is created. It can be used to dynamically reference the folder from scripts or to browse for the folder in Windows Explorer.

The installed agent is started by a Windows service named Snow Inventory Agent. The service starts automatically when the computer is started. The service will be run with the LOCALSYSTEM account.

The agent consists of one executable file named snowagent.exe 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:

snowagent.exe -?

If the agent files need to be copied, they can be found on a computer where the agent is already installed, see Default location of files.

Note

  • If you copy the agent configuration file, verify that the information in the SiteName, ConfigName, and Endpoint elements is correct for the target computer.

  • The only supported installation location is %ProgramFiles%.

Prepare an MSI 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.

Prepare one installation package for use on multiple sites

You may need installation packages for several sites, where the only differing content between the packages is the configuration file parameters SiteName, ConfigName, and Endpoint Address. In that case, you do not have to create one installation package for each configuration file variant. Instead, you can create only one installation package and change the parameters at the time of installation.

The only prerequisite is that the script Permit change of site name, configuration name, and endpoint address via MSI command line parameters is included in the agent installation package. The script is included by default.

At the time of installation, enter the following command at a command prompt to change the site name, configuration name, and endpoint address to the correct ones:

msiexec /i snowagent.msi SiteName="your site name" ConfigName="your configuration name" EndPointAddress="your endpoint address"

Install the agent using a prepared MSI installation package

Use one of the following installation methods:

  1. Deploy the MSI installation package by using your existing deployment infrastructure.

  2. Copy the MSI installation package to any folder on the target computer and run it locally.

  3. Deploy the MSI installation package using Active Directory Group Policy Object (GPO), see below.

  4. Deploy the MSI installation package using Windows logon scripts.

Deploy the MSI installation package using Active Directory GPO

The following steps will create a Group Policy that installs the agent on all computers within the Organizational Unit (OU) where the policy is created.

  1. Put the MSI package on a network share.

  2. Log on to a domain controller with a user account that has domain administrator rights.

  3. Start Group Policy Management from Start|ControlPanel|AdministrativeTools|Group Policy Management.

    If the option Group Policy Management is not available, the Group Policy Console is missing. The installation file (gpmc.msi) can be downloaded from the Microsoft webpage using the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0a6d4c24-8cbd-4b35-9272-dd3cbfc81887&displaylang=en

  4. Open Forest Name|Domains|DomainName|Group Policy Objects.

  5. Select Action at the top of the page, and then select New.

    Pick a name for the policy, for example, "Snow Inventory Agent Installation".

  6. Right-click the created policy in the list, and then select Edit.

    Modify the script to match the path to the network share and the MSI package names.

  7. Select Computer Configuration|Software Settings.

  8. Right-click Software Installation, select New, and then select Package.

    Select the MSI package to be installed.

    Press OK twice to apply the changes, and close the Group Policy Object Editor.

  9. Right-click the OU that contains the target computers for the deployment, or Domain Computers  for all computers. Select Link existing GPO and then pick the Group Policy that was created (in steps 5-8)

Uninstall the agent

As a general recommendation, use the same method for uninstalling the agent as was used for the installation.

Uninstall via Active Directory GPO

The method for removal of software using a Group Policy Object depends on the deployment tool that has been implemented in the organization. For removal of the agent, refer to the organization’s general process for software removal.

Uninstall via Windows Installer

The agent can be removed from a computer by using the Windows Installer. In this way, both the Windows service and all related files will be removed.

  1. On the computer, open the Control Panel and select Programs and Features.

  2. In the list of currently installed programs, select and hold Snow Inventory Agent and select Uninstall.

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