BaseAgent Service

Owned by Torben Busk Sørensen
Sept 10, 2020
2 min read

Introduction

The BaseAgent service is an HTTP service running on all CapaInstaller Clients and on CapaInstaller Distribution Servers.

Its core functionality is to provide files needed by the software package installation, i.e. the Agent-script in a way that is secured by encryption, verified by MD5 checksums, requires a minimum amount of bandwidth and that will put a smaller load on the Front-end Server as possible, enabling the Front-end Server to serve more clients.

This is done by reusing files (from the cache), sharing files (with other nearby clients), and centralizing downloads from the Front-end Server by utilizing the Distribution Server role of the BaseAgent Service.

Requirements

  • The BaseAgent Server is a Windows Service that runs on x64 and x86 processors. 
  • The service requires .NET Framework 3.5 to be installed. 

Locations

  • The Service is installed by deploying an agent from the Configuration Management plugin of the Console.
  • The Service is installed in C:\Program Files\CapaInstaller\Services\CiBaseAgent\<version>
  • The file cache defaults to C:\ProgramData\CiBaseAgent\Cache but can be configured differently in the agent configuration.
  • The log file defaults to C:\Program Files\CapaInstaller\Client\Logs\CapaInstaller BaseAgent.log but the base location can be changed in the agent configuration.

Command Line Interface

The service retrieves its configuration from the registry and directly from the Front-end server but it is possible to start the service via net.exe or sc.exe with arguments that change the log level of the service;

sc [\\computer] start cibaseagent [/info|/i] [/debug|/d] [/trace|/t]

Parameter

Meaning

/info or /i

Run the service in info mode (default)

/debug or /dRun the service in debug mode.
/trace or /tRun the service in trace mode.

The log level will be saved and used on the next service startup.

Web interface

The Base Agent has a web interface on port 7778 where it will show the status of the service, its log file, the progress of file transfers, the connections to other Base Agents, Distribution Servers, Front-end servers and if it has the role of Distribution Server it will show the status of that too. The web page does not supply a way to manipulate the service but is interactive (does not require a page refresh (F5) to update).

All variables (and values) of the web page have mouse-over tooltips that explain the variables.

Top Menu and bottom bar

The top of the page shows the navigation menu bar with 8 or 9 (DS) subpages and a status smiley that should be green

The bottom bar shows the Operating System on the client, the amount of CPU the service is using along with the amount of memory consumed. To the right, the connection interface (Ethernet/Wifi) is shown.

Each menu items is explained here;