Exploring an APM agent installation scenario with Smart Agent

[Aaron.Schifman]

Real-world scenario: With Smart Agent installed, what is the 4-step process to install supported agents? 

This article shows a real-world example of how to use Smart Agent to install APM agents, using the installation of a new Java Agent as an example. It covers prerequisites and shows what you might expect in the process as well as the presented scenario.   

NOTE | For information about installing Smart Agent itself, start with the Smart Agent page, then choose Quick Start or Get Started.

In this article... 

• How do I use the Smart Agent to install APM agents through the Controller UI?
• Notes about this installation example 
• Supporting clustering scenarios 
• Additional resources 

How do I use the Smart Agent to install APM agents through the Controller UI? 

Let us say you want to install a new Java agent. As a prerequisite, the Smart Agent must already be installed on the host.  

NOTE | If other agents are already installed on the host, the Smart Agent will be able to manage them as well. However, in the scenario we’re describing here, we want to push an agent install from the user interface. Using the Smart Agent will provide a much simpler process.

1. From the main Agent Management menu, click Install Agent then click the agent type. In our scenario, Java.  
   Figure 1 - Installing the Java Agent through UI
   
   
2. Then, select where to deploy the agent. Choose the host and then select the application, tier name, etc. Smart Agent makes scaling easy by supporting the ability to import host details from a CSV file.  
    
3. Next, look over configuration options and modify them with the appropriate application, tier, and node name depending on your needs. You have control over which agent version you want to choose (default is the latest). 
   
   
4. Finally, depending on the application, you will need to modify the application startup parameters so that when the application is restarted, the agents start to collect the data. As of the November 2023 release, the Smart Agent supports auto-attaching to Java and Node.JS applications. 

PLEASE NOTE | To avoid unanticipated application disruptions, changes will not take place until you restart your application.

 And that is it! It does not get any simpler - your agents will begin to install onto their respective hosts. 

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Notes about our Java installation scenario 

If your Java application is written in Tomcat, Weblogic, Glassfish, or Spring, for example, you only need to restart your application. The just-installed new version of the agent will be auto-attached to the application with all the relevant start-up parameters.  

If your application is written in another application, you must ensure the application startup parameters take account of the agent by following the respective settings in the documentation on the Install App Server Settings page. 

How cool is that!

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Supporting clustering scenarios 

For the build-time workflows, customers can use our new Smart Agent CLI to integrate with an existing CI/CD pipeline. You can integrate with Jenkins, Docker or with a Terraform script.  

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Additional resources 

• Smart Agent lifecycle management reimagined
• Exploring an APM agent upgrade scenario with Smart Agent 
• FAQ: Simplified agent management and Smart Agent
• Smart Agent: How easy is it? — a short, clickable demo
• Smart Agent Forum — add your own comments and insights here

In the Documentation, see:

• Agent Management > Smart Agent 
• Agent Management User Interface 
• Smart Agent Command Line Utility (CLI)  
• Supported Agents