About the Author Mark Gaydos is the Marketing Director for Nylte. Agent or no agent? Such is the question. When choosing a data center solution, there are many components to consider, and one of the most difficult decisions is whether to install agents. Having a technology agent on clients raises many concerns, including ongoing maintenance, the amount of resources they absorb, and the security risks inherent with untested or unapproved agents. It goes without saying that in some cases the agents are unavoidable, but they are limited.
where agents fall
Traditional discovery solutions rely on tools such as agents installed on all hardware assets. The problem is that they need to be installed on every end device running on the network to get a complete inventory list. This means that the agent cannot control itself or discover the technological assets and, therefore, it is not a reliable tool for its intended use. The main problem for agents is that there are many circumstances in which they cannot be installed. For example, if there are non-Windows computers, Android or Apple iOS mobile devices, specialized endpoints are just examples, making the average agent obsolete. When there are so many areas where so many endpoints can be missed or unknown, the inventory list is full of holes and therefore completely inaccurate. The solution that some companies have turned to is a network agent. However, these types of agents bring a whole host of new problems, mainly related to security risks and disruptions to the network itself. So what is the solution here? A lightweight, agentless solution is essential to creating a secure and monitored environment. A modern technology asset management (TAM) solution can take away all the pain and uncertainty of an agent solution by enabling discovery of any type of technology on the network. You can then display an easy-to-use dashboard that clearly outlines what's connected and creates a custom report for any changes within the network.
Low impact and high reward.
When installing traditional agent solutions, the result can be a significant loss of resources. Agents can cause unnecessary stress on servers. Basically, this means to the client that the server becomes heavy and that the additional demand can degrade its performance, the opposite reason why an agent is installed. An agentless solution eliminates the need for customer resources. The solution can monitor the server and the network without affecting its capabilities. Next-generation agentless discovery solutions alleviate network bandwidth anxiety and administrative access to clients. By only sending incremental changes from clients, monitoring the network, and communicating when network traffic is low, this means that resources are not overloaded.
Agents? Why would you want to have them...
There are certain circumstances where an agent solution is essential, but it is very limited. Next-generation solutions like Software Asset Management (SAM) and Technology Asset Management (TAM) can easily discover hidden assets and explore their configuration. However, if you really want to determine software and hardware usage on clients, agents are needed. In this situation, the network could never capture information from intermittently connected devices without using an agent. This ensures the installation of an agent because its size and its impact on the client's overall resources are minimized.
So which solution should you choose?
When choosing a solution, there is a lot to consider. Once the balance sheet is established, there are only a few cases where agents are needed; it's a waste of time for customers, a waste of time and resources. By choosing an agentless solution, you can immediately set up and monitor a client. Additionally, maintenance when using an agentless inventory discovery approach is minimal compared to an agent solution. By completely eliminating compatibility testing, the agentless solution transparently monitors your customer. Mark Gaydos is Nylte's Director of Marketing.