6.2.1. Soluble Agent - Introduction

The Soluble Agent functions by extracting information from the device on which the application is running, providing visibility into its configuration. This agent version operates on a one-time basis, sending information only once during the execution of the application. Upon launching the agent, the user is prompted to accept the terms of use, after which the device scan begins. The scan results are then securely transmitted to the Core server through a single HTTPS request.

6.2.1.1. Technical Architecture

  • Type of process: The openNAC Agent extracts information from the system through Microsoft files and commands, and communicates the tasks carried out to the openNAC Core.

  • Major components: The major component of this application is a core server that receives data from the Agent. In addition, this server executes an API that contains one of the necessary calls for the agent, which is to post the information obtained from the device.

  • Data collected and managed: The information that the soluble agent collects is that of the device, such as its hardware and operating system details, its network interfaces, its security status, the installed softwares, the processes running, and the certificates.

This information is collected internally and sent to the OpenNAC Core server when the application is executed.

  • Application architecture: Two-tier architecture, as the Agent is a console application and a core server stores this information.

  • Programming language: The Agent application is built on .NET framework using the C ++ and C# programming languages.

  • Hardware platform: Any processor that executes the Windows operating system.

  • User interface: As the soluble Agent is designed as a console application that will only run once, there is no user interface available for it. Once the user accepts the terms of use and conditions, the scan begins without any interaction with the user or display of information on the console.

  • Network architecture: The soluble Agent works as a client that extracts and sends information to the OpenNAC Core server that may be located in a different network.

  • System host: OpenNAC datacenter.

  • Maintenance: Maintenance is carried out by the Open Cloud Factory developer team.

6.2.1.2. Windows-Specific Requirements

On Windows-based systems, the OpenNAC Agent can collect information about Pending System Updates.

For this to work, Windows clients (where the Agent is installed or runs the Soluble version) need access to the Windows Update server at update.microsoft.com/.