Install Workstation Agent

To collect application process data from end-user machines, install the Workstation Agent on them. It sends the data to OpenLM Platform through the Agents Hub.

You install the agent once on each machine, with the authorization file of your OpenLM Platform account. The agent then runs for each user who signs in to the machine, and appears in Agent Activity in OpenLM Platform.

Before you begin

Confirm these prerequisites:

• Verify that the target machines meet the system requirements.
• Confirm you have the authorization file for the Workstation Agent. You can use one file per machine or a shared file, depending on your deployment strategy. Generate it in Identity with the client type Agent. The installers accept the plain file and the file of an Encrypted authorization client. Identity names the file agent-authorization.json.
• Confirm that the machines have internet access (port 443).
• Sign in with an administrator account on Windows. On Linux and macOS, you need sudo rights.

Install the agent in four steps

To install the Workstation Agent, follow these steps:

• Download the installer

  Download the Workstation Agent installer for your operating system from the Downloads page.

• Run the installer

  Run the installer on the end-user machine. Follow the on-screen prompts. On Windows, the installer asks how the agent connects to OpenLM Platform. On Linux, you install a DEB or RPM package, or add your authorization file to the tar.gz archive and run its installation script. On macOS, you open the package.

• Import the authorization file

  Import the authorization file generated in the Authorize components step. On Windows, the installer imports it. With the Linux packages and on macOS, you copy it over the placeholder file in the installation folder. With the Linux tar.gz archive, you copy it into the extracted folder before you run the installation script.

• Verify the connection

  After installation, the agent connects to OpenLM Platform automatically. Open Navigation (the grid icon in the header) and select Agents, then Agent Activity, then confirm the agent appears in the list with an online status.

Choose your operating system

Each operating system has its own installation page. Follow the page for the operating system of the end-user machines:

• Install Workstation Agent on Windows: the installer, a self-hosted OpenLM Platform, silent installation, and deployment to many machines with tools such as Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Configuration Manager (SCCM), or Group Policy.
• Install Workstation Agent on Linux: the DEB package, the RPM package, or the tar.gz archive, for 64-bit x86 machines.
• Install Workstation Agent on macOS: the package for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, on one Mac or across a fleet with MDM.

After the installation, these pages help you keep the agent running:

• Change, upgrade, or uninstall Workstation Agent: change the agent settings, give the agent a new authorization file, upgrade it, or remove it.
• Troubleshoot Workstation Agent: find the logs, and fix rejected authorization files and agents that don't start or don't appear in Agent Activity.

For an interactive walkthrough of the Windows installation, see Install and configure OpenLM components. To see what changed in each release, see the Workstation Agent changelog. For what the agent does and which agent types exist, see Workstation Agent. If you run OpenLM Version 26, see End-User Services and Workstation Agent installation guide.

Check the agent in Agent Activity

To confirm that the agent connects, check Agent Activity. An agent that runs and connects appears there, with one row for each machine and user. To check it:

1. Open Navigation (the grid icon in the header), and select Agents, then Agent Activity.

2. Select the Refresh icon.

   The list doesn't update by itself, so a new agent appears only after you refresh it.

3. Find the row with the host name of the machine.

   Check that Online has a check mark while the agent is connected, that Username is the user the agent runs for, and that Agent Version is the version you installed.

   A new agent in Agent Activity

If the agent doesn't appear, see Why doesn't the agent appear in Agent Activity? For the columns, filters, and the actions you can take on agents, see Agent Activity.

Open the Personal Dashboard

Users see their own license activity in the Personal Dashboard, which they open from the Workstation Agent on their machine:

• Windows: select Start, and then select OpenLM Personal Dashboard. The installer adds this shortcut, and opens the dashboard at the end of the installation, when you select Use End-User Services.

• Linux: run this command as the user:

  /opt/openlmagent/OpenLM.Agent.Linux --signin

  The installation opens the dashboard for the users who are signed in to a desktop session.

• macOS: open OpenLM Agent in the Applications folder.

For the details, see Open the Personal Dashboard on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Next step

The agent reports the applications that OpenLM Platform asks it to monitor. To select them, open Navigation, select Agents, then Process Manager, and add the processes of your licensed applications, as described in Process Manager.

After that, continue the setup with Install the Directory Synchronization Agent (DSA) to synchronize user and group data from your directories.