Understanding network agents

Network agents are installed on your network for use in SSL web server certificate discovery and the automated request and installation of SSL certificates.

SCM uses network agents to do the following:

Discover SSL certificates — An agent installed on a web server, or any local computer on the network, scans external IP addresses for certificates and sends a report back to SCM.

SCM can only scan internal hosts if a network agent configured to communicate with the SCM servers is installed in the local network.
Automatically install SSL certificates — An agent periodically contacts SCM for requests for certificates that have been enabled for auto-installation. If a request exists, it generates a CSR on the web server and presents the request for administrator approval in SCM. On approval, the agent submits the CSR to Sectigo and tracks the order number. Once the certificate is issued by the CA, the agent downloads the certificate and enables the administrator to install it.

A network agent installed on a single server can be configured to communicate with, and install certificates on, other remote servers in the network. To execute certificate installation tasks, the auto-installer functionality must be enabled for your account.

Network agents can be managed on the Integrations Network Agents page.

The following table describes the settings and controls of the Network Agents page.

Column	Description
Name	The name of the agent
Organization	The organization associated with the agent By default, certificates discovered by the agent are assigned to this organization.
Department	The department associated with the agent By default, certificates discovered by the agent are assigned to this department.
Active	Indicates whether the agent is active
Status	The current connection status of the agent The possible values are: Connected — The agent is communicating with SCM Disconnected — The agent is not communicating with SCM Pending — No connection has been established
Version	The version number of the installed agent software
Table controls
Search	Enables you to search network agents by name
Filter	Enables you to sort the table information using custom filters
Group	Enables you to sort the table information using predefined groups
Refresh	Refreshes the information presented in the table
Manage Columns	Enables you to select which table columns to display
Agent controls
Add	Opens the Add Network Agent dialog where you can add new network agents
Delete	Removes the selected agent
Edit	Opens the Edit Network Agent dialog where you can manage agent properties, connected servers, and downloads
Nodes	Opens the Nodes dialog where you can view the nodes (for example, websites) discovered on the target servers that have been configured for the selected agent
Commands	Opens the Commands dialog where you can view commands executed by the selected agent
Discover Target Servers	Starts a discovery of servers for the selected agent
View Audit	Opens the Network Agents Audit dialog where you can view or download audit logs

Column

Description

Name

The name of the agent

Organization

The organization associated with the agent

By default, certificates discovered by the agent are assigned to this organization.

Department

The department associated with the agent

By default, certificates discovered by the agent are assigned to this department.

Active

Indicates whether the agent is active

Status

The current connection status of the agent

The possible values are:

Connected — The agent is communicating with SCM
Disconnected — The agent is not communicating with SCM
Pending — No connection has been established

Version

The version number of the installed agent software

Table controls

Enables you to search network agents by name

Filter

Enables you to sort the table information using custom filters

Group

Enables you to sort the table information using predefined groups

Refresh

Refreshes the information presented in the table

Manage Columns

Enables you to select which table columns to display

Agent controls

Add

Opens the Add Network Agent dialog where you can add new network agents

Delete

Removes the selected agent

Edit

Opens the Edit Network Agent dialog where you can manage agent properties, connected servers, and downloads

Nodes

Opens the Nodes dialog where you can view the nodes (for example, websites) discovered on the target servers that have been configured for the selected agent

Commands

Opens the Commands dialog where you can view commands executed by the selected agent

Discover Target Servers

Starts a discovery of servers for the selected agent

View Audit

Opens the Network Agents Audit dialog where you can view or download audit logs