Agent Client Collector upgrade overview

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated May 28, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Agent Client Collector upgrade overview

    The Agent Client Collector (ACC) Framework in ServiceNow Yokohama release enables automated upgrades of ACC agents directly from the instance without manual intervention on each agent host. Upgrades can be performed individually via the user interface (UI) or collectively using an auto-upgrade feature. During upgrade, agents download the new version, install it, restart, and report back to the instance.

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    Upgrade Preparation

    Before upgrading, ensure the Agent Client Collector web server is configured properly on the MID Server and that the MID Server, MID Web Server, and MID Server websocket server are running. Appropriate permissions are required, including the agentclientcollectoradmin role. For upgrade commands, Windows uses the Local SYSTEM account, while Linux and macOS require sudo privileges.

    Upgrade Methods

    • Single agent upgrade: Upgrade one agent at a time from its record in the UI, useful for validating the upgrade process. You can also upgrade up to 50 agents simultaneously from the list view.
    • Mass upgrade: Automatically upgrade all eligible agents using a scheduled job or background script, both with rate limiting to control rollout speed. The background script triggers immediate upgrades without waiting for the scheduled job.

    Upgrade Process Stages

    All upgrades progress through three key stages, each recorded in the Agent Upgrade Histories table:

    • InstanceVerification: ServiceNow instance checks agent eligibility, including OS support, current version, status, and MID Server connectivity.
    • AgentVerification: Agent verifies upgrade feasibility, checking permissions, disk space, and dependencies.
    • Upgrade: Agent downloads the package, installs it, restarts, and reports the upgrade outcome.

    Agent Eligibility and Limitations

    • Agents must have status "Up", be running version 2.7.0 or higher but lower than the target version, not be duplicates, have valid MID Server or Pod references, run on supported OS, and be within the retry limit for failed upgrades.
    • The default retry limit for failed upgrades is 3 (configurable via snagent.autoupgrade.retrylimit property).
    • Agents that reach the failed upgrade limit can still be selectively upgraded manually by administrators.
    • High-volume upgrades do not support ACC to MID Server communication via mTLS.
    • Agents already at the target version or outside the application scope are excluded from upgrades.

    Package Download Sources

    During upgrade, agents download the update package from these sources depending on connectivity:

    • Agents connected via Cloud Services (ICS) download from the ServiceNow CDN.
    • Agents connected via MID Server download over the local network from the MID Server; if unavailable, they fallback to the Install Server.
    • Custom download servers can be configured by setting agent-upgrade-url-path in the agent's acc.yml file, which overrides default locations.

    Recommended Rollout Strategy

    • Start by upgrading one agent via the UI to validate the process.
    • Upgrade 5–10 agents through the list view, selecting a mix of operating systems.
    • Proceed with a full rollout using the scheduled job or background script for mass upgrades with controlled pacing.

    The Agent Client Collector Framework manages agent upgrades directly from the instance, with no manual action required on individual agent hosts.

    You can upgrade Agent Client Collector agents one at a time through the UI, or upgrade all eligible agents at once using the auto-upgrade feature. After an upgrade starts, each agent downloads the new version, installs it, restarts, and reports the result back to the instance.

    Before you upgrade

    Configure the Agent Client Collector web server. For details, see Configure the websocket server on the MID Server.

    Ensure that the MID Server, MID Web Server, and the MID Server websocket server are running.

    Roles required: agent_client_collector_admin
    • In a Windows environment: Local SYSTEM account
    • In a Linux environment: sudo rpm/dpkg
    • In a macOS environment: sudo pkg

    Upgrade methods

    Two upgrade methods are available:

    Single agent upgrade
    Upgrade one agent at a time from the agent record in the UI. Use this method to validate the upgrade process before a broader rollout. You can also select multiple agents from the list view to upgrade up to 50 agents at a time.
    Mass upgrade
    Upgrade all eligible agents automatically using the built-in scheduled job or a background script. The scheduled job applies rate limiting to control the rollout pace. The background script also uses rate limiting, and triggers an immediate upgrade without waiting for the next scheduled run.

    Upgrade stages

    Both single and mass upgrade attempts, progress through the following stages. Each stage creates a record in the Agent Upgrade Histories table.

    InstanceVerification
    The instance confirms the agent is eligible for upgrade. Checks include operating system support, agent version, agent status, and MID Server connectivity.
    AgentVerification
    The agent confirms it can perform the upgrade. Checks include permissions, available disk space, and dependencies.
    Upgrade
    The agent downloads the package, installs it, and restarts with the new version.

    For details on the required properties for agent overview, see Agent Client Collector upgrade properties.

    High-volume upgrade does not support Agent Client Collector to MID Server communication via mTLS.

    When performing high-volume upgrade, all agents that aren't using the most up-to-date version are upgraded. No upgrade is performed on agents already using the upgraded version.

    No upgrade is performed on agents that are outside the application scope. For more information, see Application scope.

    An agent is excluded from high-volume upgrade when you reach the failed upgrade limit for an agent. The failed upgrade limit is specified in the sn_agent.auto_upgrade.retry_limit system property. The default value for this property is 3.
    • This property applies to both high-volume and selective upgrades that have failed.
    • When an agent reaches the failed upgrade limit, an Agent Client Collector administrator can still run selective upgrade on the agent.
    • You can manually reset the failed upgrade limit by selecting the Reset failed upgrade attempts option on the agent page (select All > Agent Client Collector > Agents and select an agent).
    • After a successful upgrade, the upgraded agent is considered to have zero failed upgrades (for future upgrades).

    Agent eligibility

    An agent is eligible for auto-upgrade when it meets all of the following conditions:

    • Status is Up.
    • Version is 2.7.0 or higher and lower than the target upgrade version.
    • Agent is not flagged as a duplicate.
    • Has a valid MID Server or Pod reference.
    • Has not exceeded the retry limit for failed upgrades.
    • Runs on a supported operating system.

    Package download sources

    During upgrade, each agent downloads the new package from one of the following sources, depending on its connection type:

    • Agents connected via Cloud Services (ICS) download from the ServiceNow CDN at https://cdn-install.sncapps.service-now.com.
    • Agents connected via MID Server download from the MID Server directly over the local network.
    • If the MID Server is unavailable, agents fall back to the Install Server at https://install.service-now.com. To enable agent fallback, ensure that the install server is specified on the ServiceNow instance.

    If your agents use a custom download server, configure the agent-upgrade-url-path key in the agent's acc.yml file. This setting takes priority over the default sources.

    Rollout strategy

    Use a phased approach to reduce risk when upgrading a large agent fleet:

    1. Upgrade one agent from the UI to confirm the process works end-to-end.
    2. Upgrade 5–10 agents from the list view, selecting agents across different operating systems.
    3. Perform a full rollout by enabling the scheduled job or running the background script.