Agent Client Collector Installation

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Agent Client Collector Installation

    The Agent Client Collector (ACC) can be installed on any supported host machine to collect inventory and operational data. It connects to a MID Server using HTTP/S, maintaining an active connection to enable continuous communication. Each MID Server can manage multiple agents (up to a configurable maximum), while each agent communicates with only one MID Server at a time and can switch for failover purposes.

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    ACC supports domain separation, with agent and configuration item (CI) domains aligned to the MID Server’s domain. The default user for the agent installation is a local account named servicenow with basic permissions.

    Key Features

    • Supported Platforms: ACC supports Windows, Linux, and macOS. Verify your server OS and version against ServiceNow’s supported list before installation.
    • Connection and Scalability: The maximum agents per MID Server is controlled by the snagent.mid.maxallowedagents property (default 4,000). Memory allocation impacts agent capacity—for example, a 1 GiB MID Server supports 700 agents, while an 8 GiB MID Server supports up to 8,000. You can scale by deploying multiple MID Servers.
    • Security: Manual Transport Layer Security (mTLS) is used for secure authentication between the MID Web Server and agents.
    • Golden Image Mode: Supports cloning of additional agent instances to streamline deployments.
    • Permissions: Different OS features require specific permissions, such as elevated privileges on Linux (e.g., sudo for dmidecode and ss commands) and LOCAL SYSTEM permissions on Windows for storage and user queries.
    • Agent Management: Agents with "Down" or "Disconnected" status are auto-deleted after 30 days unless modified via the Autoflush form. Reinstalling an agent requires deleting the existing record to allow re-registration, especially when using ITOM Cloud Services.
    • Air-Gapped Environments: Special configuration guidance is available for deploying ACC in air-gapped environments.

    Practical Considerations for ServiceNow Customers

    • Before installation, confirm your OS compatibility using the ServiceNow Store page to ensure support.
    • Configure MID Server memory and maximum agent count thoughtfully to match your environment’s scale.
    • Use mTLS to secure agent and MID Server communications, enhancing security compliance.
    • Plan for agent lifecycle management by understanding auto-deletion policies and manual deletion needs when reinstalling agents.
    • Leverage golden image mode for efficient cloning and deployment of agents, reducing installation effort.
    • Consult the Now Support Knowledge Base for air-gapped environment setups to maintain compliance and security in isolated networks.

    You can install the Agent Client Collector on any supported host machine. The Agent Client Collector connects to a MID Server using the HTTP/S protocol, and the connection remains active after being established. One MID Server may handle several agents simultaneously, while a single agent works with one MID Server at a time and switches to a different MID Server when necessary to provide failover protection.

    When an agent's IP address changes, it selects a MID Server to connect to based on the agent's MID Server list.

    Verify that your server's OS and version is supported. For a list of supported OS's and versions, see ServiceNow Store Page

    The maximum number of agents that can be connected to a single MID Server is configurable in the sn_agent.mid.max_allowed_agents MID Server property. The default value is 4,000.

    For the list of required OS versions, see For a list of supported OS's and versions ServiceNow Store Page

    For ACC-VC, a default 1 GiB MID Server can support 700 agents concurrently. An 8 GiB configuration for a MID Server can support 8,000 agents concurrently. You can also scale out. For example, 5 MID Servers with 8 GiB of heap size can handle up to 40k agents.

    Agent Client Collector is installed with ruby version 3.3.2.

    The default user account is a local user called servicenow. This user has basic level permissions.

    The following table describes the permissions required to work with various features associated with the agent, per OS. An asterisk (*) indicates that no special permissions are required.
    Table 1. Agent on Endpoints Deployment
    Feature Windows Linux macOS
    Basic inventory * * *
    Serial number(s) *

    sudo

    dmidecode

    		 *
    Running processes Debug programs * *
    Mapping TCP connections to running processes * sudo ss *
    Storage devices LOCAL SYSTEM * *
    Logged-in users LOCAL SYSTEM * *
    Package self-upgrade LOCAL SYSTEM sudo rpm/dpkg Not supported

    If you completely reinstall the agent on a single host server, and you're using ITOM Cloud Services, you must delete the agent record to allow for re-registration. Delete the original agent on the Agent Client Collectors page (All > Agent Client Collector > Agents).

    Agents whose Status = Down or Disconnected which haven't been deleted are deleted automatically after 30 days. You can modify this setting on the Autoflush form page (see Autoflush form).

    Use the Manual Transport Layer Security protocol (mTLS) for secure authentication between your MID Web Server and the agent (the client). For details, see Connect the agent to the MID Server using mTLS.

    For details on using Agent Client Collector in an air-gapped environment, see the Agent Client Collector Framework Air Gapped Configuration Item Management Solution [KB1585753] article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

    Golden image mode enables cloning of additional instances. Setting golden image mode is described in the installation procedure prerequisites for each OS. For information on the structure and modularity of the golden image plugin by operating system, see Golden image structure and modularity.

    Agent Client Collector supports domain separation. The domain of the agent and the CIs it creates is determined by the domain of the MID Server that the agent is connected to. The user's domain must be the lowest domain level (known as a leaf domain) to enable creating a Websocket endpoint extension for the MID Server.