difference between agent vs agentless discovery

[venkatesh adith]

difference between agent vs agentless discovery

[Prithviraj Howa]

Hello Venkates,

Here is brief info;

https://www.dudesolutions.com/Portals/0/Documents/technology-agentless-guide.pdf?ver=2018-03-19-1237...

Please mark reply as Helpful/Correct , if applicable. Thanks!

Warm Regards,

Prithviraj Howal

SNOW Developer

[Monali Patil]

Hi

Agentless technology is the use of a machine’s native, embedded management functionality to retrieve information.  Even if a technology is dubbed as agentless, retrieving data from a device requires a process or processes to run, which consumes resources.

During the discovery phase, several data sources can be used, and for network scanning, agentless is the best method. But, when you are looking to optimize spend and reduce financial exposure, you will need to deploy agents at some point - the question is when?

The advantage of agentless technologies is they remove the barriers associated with installing additional software, which can be a non-trivial process for machines are already in use, and especially for mission critical servers running in a data center. Adhering to security protocols, software incompatibility issues, ensuring the latest version of an agent is installed, and the overhead of updating agents on thousands of devices are just some of the barriers IT departments face when it comes to deploying software. The problem with agentless, however, is these technologies don’t provide enough information to optimize software spend.

The use of software within an organization follows a life cycle – need, procure, deploy, use, and retire – with specific business processes designed to take care of each phase. SAM solutions monitor if the procured software is used, enable automatic harvesting of applications no longer needed and then make them available for reuse – optimizing spend.

WHAT TO USE AND WHEN

Determining which technology fits best depends on the constraints posed by the business and the IT environment. For desktop and laptop estates, agents tend to be preferred, as they provide deep data, usage information, reporting when only connected to the internet, and the process to deploy and update an agent is relatively straightforward. There are some benefits to using agentless technologies here, but usage information is typically what is needed for the SAM process to ensure optimal use and re-harvesting of purchased licenses.

When it comes to the data center, however, issues like change freezes and change-control processes impact the freedom to deploy software to a server or a virtual machine, for example. Agents need to be prepared and tested, before they can be deployed into the server estate. These steps are time-consuming, which contributes to the idea that zero footprint inventory or agentless inventory is always better. So, a zero-footprint or agentless solution in the data center is often more attractive.

If my answer helps you please mark as correct/helpful.

Regards,

Monali

[Vinay Mishra3]

Hi Venktesh,

Below is the difference between agent based and agent-less discovery:

Agent based: In this method, an agent (small size of app) is installed on discovered devices. The agent runs periodically, usually once a day, extracting information about installed applications, how they are used and the primary user of the machine. The primary advantage of agent technology is reliability.  We can be assured the inventory takes place, even if the machine happens to be unreachable on the network.  An additional advantage is the ability to capture usage information – essential to determine whether users need installed software for which licenses and maintenance have been purchased.

Agent-less: Agentless technology is the use of a machine’s native, embedded management functionality to retrieve information.  Even if a technology is dubbed as agentless, retrieving data from a device requires a process or processes to run, which consumes resources.

During the discovery phase, several data sources can be used, and for network scanning, agentless is the best method. But, when you are looking to optimize spend and reduce financial exposure, you will need to deploy agents at some point - the question is when?

The advantage of agentless technologies is they remove the barriers associated with installing additional software, which can be a non-trivial process for machines are already in use, and especially for mission critical servers running in a data center. Adhering to security protocols, software incompatibility issues, ensuring the latest version of an agent is installed, and the overhead of updating agents on thousands of devices are just some of the barriers IT departments face when it comes to deploying software. The problem with agentless, however, is these technologies don’t provide enough information to optimize software spend.

The use of software within an organization follows a life cycle – need, procure, deploy, use, and retire – with specific business processes designed to take care of each phase. SAM solutions monitor if the procured software is used, enable automatic harvesting of applications no longer needed and then make them available for reuse – optimizing spend.

https://www.device42.com/blog/2018/08/asset-management-tracking-agent-based-vs-agentless/

If it's helpful for you then please mark answer correct/helpful.

Thanks,

Vinay