Exploring an APM agent upgrade scenario with Smart Agent

[Aaron.Schifman]

Real-world scenario: With Smart Agent installed, what is the 3-step process to upgrade supported agents? 

Once you install Smart Agent, how do you upgrade your existing agents? In this article, see the three steps you will follow to upgrade and orchestrate agents using Smart Agent and the Controller user interface.  

Though the real-world scenario described here is about software compliance standards, this process applies to any supported agent upgrade once Smart Agent is installed. 

Need to roll back to the previous agent? That is also discussed here. 

In this article... 

• Example Scenario: Adhering to Software Compliance Standards
• Step 1. Filter by agent status 
• Step 2. Select an agent upgrade option
  Default upgrade | Custom upgrade
• Step 3. Monitor progress and respond as needed 
  Automatic agent rollback 
• Additional resources 
  Knowledge Base articles | Documentation

Example Scenario: Adhering to Software Compliance Standards

Say you need to adhere to software compliance standards in which software cannot be older than one year. In this scenario, an inventory must be reported and then remediated to meet compliance as needed. 

NOTE | Once Smart Agent is installed, the following steps also apply to any supported agent upgrade

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Step 1. Filter by agent status 

With simplified agent management using  Smart Agent and central UI controls, you just have to filter by agent status, select all the agents of the same type, and then click on upgrade.  

One or many? The process is the same, and because you have installed the Smart Agent, orchestration happens on your behalf. 

PLEASE NOTE | Bulk upgrades are only supported for the same type at a time; i.e., all Java or all PHP. You cannot perform a bulk upgrade against Java and PHP in the same thread. 

 You just need to choose which agents to act on and allow AppDynamics to orchestrate the rest! 

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Step 2. Select an agent upgrade option 

Once the list of agents has been selected and the action for upgrades has been initiated, you will have two options for upgrading agents: default and custom.  

• The default upgrade option entails simply using the latest version, retaining all the previous configuration settings, and using the AppDynamics Downloads portal.  
  Figure 1 – Default upgrade options  
• The custom upgrade option allows you to choose which agent version is appropriate and make other configuration changes you want to send to the agents. You can also leverage a local directory to distribute the agents—a best practice if you are upgrading many agents. 

PLEASE NOTE | Due to release cadences, custom upgrade options may differ, and not all options may be initially available. This feature is being rolled out in phases, so if an option does not appear, or is not enabled, please check back later or reach out to your SE and ask that they request a priority. 

Step 3. Monitor progress and respond as needed 

You can monitor the progress in a Tasks In Progress menu, which includes a log file should troubleshooting be necessary through the process. Once the task is executed, you can go to the History menu, where you can see the status of the upgrade and, again, get more information about the upgrades from a log file. 

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Agent Rollback 

If the upgrades don’t go as expected, you can roll back agents to the previous version. Again, this is orchestrated through the user interface in conjunction with the Smart Agent.  

Now that makes sense! 

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Additional resources 

Community: 

• Smart Agent reimagines agent lifecycle management 
• FAQ: Simplified agent management and Smart Agent
• Exploring an APM agent installation scenario with 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

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