Install Rudder agent on Windows systems

Windows agents are only available with a subscription and can be downloaded on https://download.rudder.io/misc/windows/.

Installation

On Windows Server 2008R2 and Windows Server 2012 you may need to check the requirements sections before installing the agent. Desktop versions are not officially supported but should be mostly compatible as long as the requirements listed in the dedicated section are filled. The agent is currently distributed via an .exe installer which both support graphical and cli based installs.

The policy server configuration can be defined before installtion by writing its hostname or IP in the file:

C:\Program Files\Rudder\etc\policy-server.conf

Proxy options for the agent can be pre-configured if needed, see the dedicated documentation.

An inventory will be run after the installation to send an up-to-date inventory to the policy-server after each installation/upgrade.

Graphical Installation

Run the .exe file and follow the installer steps:

rudder-agent-dsc-<Rudder version>-<plugin version>.exe

CLI Installation

Add the /S switch option to make the installation in silent mode.

rudder-agent-dsc-<Rudder version>-<plugin version>.exe /S /POLICYSERVER=my.rudder.server

Installer options

Several options can be passed via the CLI to the installer:

  • /S: Silent install

  • /?: Open a graphical help page for the installer

  • /POLICYSERVER: If not empty, will override at install time the value of the policyserver.conf.

  • /SCHEDULEDTASKUSER: If not empty, will use the given user to run the Rudder scheduled tasks, responsible for the agent execution.

  • /SCHEDULEDTASKPASSWORD: Only neeed if /SCHEDULEDTASKUSER is used, password of the target user (required to define the scheduled task).

The SCHEDULEDTASK* options are only available through the CLI, and when used, the agent will not try to modify the defined task afterward without manual intervention. The scheduled tasks can be manually modified using the rudder command rudder agent check-scheduled-tasks. By default, if no user is given at install time, the scheduled tasks will be run as the SYSTEM user.

Requirements

The agent is written in PowerShell and requires it to be installed at least in the version 4. It is by default shipped in Windows Server 2012R2 and later. For Windows Server 2008R2 and Windows Server 2012 you can upgrade the PowerShell version by following for instance, this guide.

On desktop or old Windows versions you may need to activate the DSC features and WinRM features. Plase note that older desktop versions (Windows 7 and 8), you will need to install PowerShell 4 and make sure WinRM is activated with the following command:

Set-WSManQuickConfig DSC

Moreover, the Windows DSC agent comes without digital signature, you need to allow the unsigned source code execution on the Windows node. In some environment, this policy change can lead to security issues, please read the dedicated Microsoft Windows documentation. This can be done in powershell by executing the following command:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

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