Enable your client

Before you can start with the Software Manager Tool, you’ll need to enable the client and the agents you want to manage. The client’s enable and disable feature will shut down all update and install activities across all enabled agents without disabling the agents first.

To enable or disable a client for the Software Management tool:

Using the Settings/Configure menu item, you are provided with 3 agent types supported by the software manager. Windows, Mac, and Linux agents are all supported by a single tool, the software manager. You can enable one agent type and not another if you desire to only manage a select group of agents.

Windows and Mac have sub-menus that allow you to manage different aspects of the configurations outside of the general client configurations needed for Linux agents.

To enable the client to manage Windows agents:

Select the Settings / Configure / Windows / Settings menu item.

You will be presented with a dialog box that will allow you to turn on or off, individually, Auto Installs and Auto Update. You can also manage the scheduling of automatic updates here, but we will dive deeper into that in the Update Scheduling documentation. Check or uncheck the provided boxes and save the changes.

To enable the client to manage Linux agents:

Select the Settings / Configure / Linux Settings menu item.

You will be presented with a dialog box that allows you to configure the actions of the client for the available Linux agents. Enable Client Scans, Auto Update Packages, and AutoInstall Packages to control whether the client is able to collect package data from the agents, install approved packages, or update existing packages. At a minimum, Enable Client Scans is required to enable agents whereas Auto Install and Auto Update are optional. You can also manage the Automated Update Schedules for the client here. We will go into more detail in the Update Scheduling documentation. Check or uncheck the provided boxes and save the changes.

To enable the client to manage Mac agents:

Select the Settings / Configure / Mac / Settings menu item.

You will be presented with a dialog box that allows you to configure the actions of the client for the available Max agents. Enable Client Scans, Auto Update Packages, and AutoInstall Packages to control whether the client is able to collect package data from the agents, install approved packages, or update existing packages. At a minimum, Enable Client Scans is required to enable agents whereas Auto Install and Auto Update are optional. You can also manage the Automated Update Schedules for the client here. We will go into more detail in the Update Scheduling documentation. Check or uncheck the provided boxes and save the changes.

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