Installing an App Visibility agent silently

Where you are in the Installation process

App Visibility agents are available for Java and .NET environments. Based on your environment, you can install the applicable agent on the computer with the application server you want to monitor. After you install the agent, connect it to the application server instance. 

• To install the App Visibility agent for Java silently
• Configuring App Visibility agents for Java
• To install the App Visibility agent for .NET silently

Install the App Visibility agent for Java on the computer with the application server you want to monitor. After you install the agent, connect it to the application server instance.  

To install the App Visibility agent for Java silently

1. Log on to the computer with the user that runs the application server.
   On Windows computers, you must run the installation with a user that has administrator privileges.

2. Copy and extract the installation files to a temporary directory on the target computer.
3. (Linux) Set the DISPLAY environment variable to ensure that the wizard-based installer launches the screens appropriately.
   export DISPLAY=<IP address of the host computer>:0.0
4. Open the silent options file javaagent-silent-options.txt in a text editor. 
5. Enter the destination directory where the agent for Java will be installed.
   The default value is:
   • (Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\BMC Software\App Visibility\Agent for Java
   • (Linux, AIX, Solaris) /opt/bmc/App_Visibility/Agent_for_Java

6. Enter or modify the values for the following agent configuration parameters:

   -J ApplicationServerDisplayName=
   -J PortalServer=
   -J PortalPort=

   Agent configuration parameters

   Parameter	Description
   ApplicationServerDisplayName	Host name, which is displayed in the TrueSight console as the application server’s display name. The default name used is the DNS host name.
   PortalServer	Host name or IP address of the computer on which the App Visibility portal is installed If a load balancing server manages access to the portal, enter the host name or IP address of the load balancer.
   PortalPort	Portal HTTPS port If a load balancing server manages access to the portal, enter the port number of the load balancer.

7. If your environment requires the agent to use a proxy when communicating with the portal and collector, enter the connection details:

   ProxyType=
   HTTPProxyServerHost=
   HTTPProxyServerPort=

   Note

   Proxy server details are required only if you are using a web proxy server or load balancing server. This server is not the same server as the App Visibility proxy, which is used to collect end-user browser data.

   Proxy server values

   Parameter	Description
   ProxyType	Type of proxy server host for outbound connection 0-No proxy 1-HTTPS proxy 2-SOCKS proxy
   HTTPProxyServerHost	Web proxy server host for outbound connections. The default is blank, which means that no web proxy is used.
   HTTPProxyServerPort	Web proxy server port for outbound connections

8. In a command line, run the following command, making sure to specify the full path and filename for the silent options file:

   (Windows)

   setup.exe -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE="<Full-File-Path>\<Silent Options Filename>"

   For example:

   setup.exe -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE="C:\JavaAgentInstaller\Disk1\javaagent-silent-options.txt"

   
   (Linux, AIX, Solaris)

   ./setup.bin -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE="<Full-File-Path>/<Silent Options Filename>"

   For example:

   ./setup.bin -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE="/home/Admin/JavaagentInstaller/Disk1/javaagent-silent-options.txt"

9. Configure the Java options for the agent.
   
    Click here to see the steps.

   After you install the agent, you need to add the agent to the Java command line. The javaagent option is required to connect the App Visibility agent to the JVM process. Enter the information that is relevant to your installation.

   1. Add the following agent JVM options to the Java command line of your application server.

      Replace <installationDirectory> with the destination directory in which the App Visibility agent was installed.

      The procedure to update Java options is different for each application server type.

      • (Windows) -javaagent:<installationDirectory>\ADOPsInstall\adops-agent.jar

      • (Linux, AIX, Solaris) -javaagent:<installationDirectory>/ADOPsInstall/adops-agent.jar

   2. If you have a single App Visibility agent installation directory that is used by multiple JVM processes, you can assign meaningful names to distinguish each instance.
   3. If your application server is using Java 2 security, set Java 2 security options for application servers that have Java 2 security enabled.
   4. Restart the application server or JVM process.
10. Verify that the installation of the App Visibility agent for Java was successful, and that the agent was invoked, by reviewing the log files created during installation.
    
     To review the installation logs

    1. Open the bmc_ad_agent_install.log file, located in the %temp% (Windows) or temp (Linux) directory.
    2. Examine the log:
       • App Visibility Agent for Java was installed successfully. indicates the installation was successful.

       • Error messages can indicate incorrect privileges or write access. Ensure that you have execute privileges on the installation scripts, and write access to the installation location.
         
         

         Example of a bmc_ad_agent_install.log

         2014/12/30 13:20:26:583 CT [INFO] com.bmc.aps.server.agentinstaller.se.AgentInstaller - Thread[main,5,main]4461550 -
         ------------------------------------------------------------------
         App Visibility Agent for Java was installed successfully.
         
         Installation parameters summary: 
             -destination      "C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\Granite App Visibility\build - 175\agent"
             -host             ""
             -portalIP         "localhost"
             -portalPort         "8100"
             -proxyHttpsHost     ""
             -proxyHttpsPort     "-1"
             -proxySocksHost     ""
             -proxySocksPort     "-1"
         
         To run an application server with App Visibility Java Agent, add the following 
         parameter to the JVM options of your application server:
         -javaagent:C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\Granite App Visibility\build - 175\agent\ADOPsInstall\adops-agent.jar
         * The -javaagent option is required to connect the Agent to the JVM process. 
         * A -Dcom.bmc.adops.agent.server.id=<uniqueID> option may be used. It is 
           only needed when a single Agent installation directory is to serve multiple 
           JVM processes, and only if Agent fails to generate a unique, persistent id 
           per instance on its own. If provided, <uniqueID> should be unique per 
           application server instance using an Agent on this machine (for example, 
           server-name from server's start-script environment variables).
         

     To verify that the agent for Java has been invoked

    1. Access the log files folder in the local installation directory, for example: C:\AppVis\ADOPsInstall\instances\<instance_name>\logs 
       The <instance_name> variable is a name that is generated dynamically when the agent first starts.
    2. Examine the aps_agent.log file.
       If the log file exists, the installation was successful.
       Examine [ERROR] messages for issues that you can address, such as App Visibility portal connection issues. Ensure that the portal address is correct and that a firewall is not blocking access.
    3. In the TrueSight console, select Administration > App Visibility Agents from the navigation pane and confirm that the agent is online.
    
    

Configuring App Visibility agents for Java

After installing the App Visibility agent for Java, complete the following configuration tasks:

Update Java options according to the application server type

As part of the App Visibility agent for Java installation process, you must add the agent JVM options to the Java command line of your application server.

The procedure to update the JVM options is different for each application server type, and this topic provides examples for some of the leading types of application servers. If you have more than one JVM process using the same agent installation, you can assign meaningful names to distinguish each instance.

The App Visibility agent for Java runs in the same JVM memory space as the monitored applications, therefore BMC recommends increasing by 256 MB the maximum heap size specified through the -Xmx Java option.

set JAVA_OPTS=%JAVA_OPTS% -Xmx1024m

For full details about both the -javaagent and -Xmx options, refer to the Java options documentation for your application server type.

In the following procedures, replace the <AgentInstallationDirectory> with the location where the agent is installed. The default folder is the one from which the installation script is run, for example:

• (Windows) <AgentInstallationDirectory>\ADOPsInstall\adops-agent.jar
  Where <AgentInstallationDirectory> is the C:\bmc\appvis_agent directory

• (Linux) <AgentInstallationDirectory>/ADOPsInstall/adops-agent.jar
  Where <AgentInstallationDirectory> is the /usr/bmc/appvis_agent directory

 To update options for Oracle WebLogic

Watch videos on YouTube

Watch Installing App Visibility Part 4 | Installing the Agent for Java (starting at 1:05) to add the agent through the Oracle starter file, startWebLogic.cmd, in the bin directory.

1. Edit the startWebLogic.cmd(Windows) or startWebLogic.sh(Linux) script. 
   This script is used when starting both admin and managed servers. The startManagedWebLogic script calls the startWebLogic script.

2. Locate the JAVA_OPTIONS environment variable and add the following lines:

   • (Windows) set JAVA_OPTIONS=%JAVA_OPTIONS% -javaagent:<AgentInstallationDirectory>\ADOPsInstall\adops-agent.jar -Dcom.bmc.adops.agent.instance.local.name=<locallyUniqueName>

   • (Linux) JAVA_OPTIONS="${JAVA_OPTIONS} -javaagent:<AgentInstallationDirectory>/ADOPsInstall/adops-agent.jar -Dcom.bmc.adops.agent.instance.local.name=<LocalUniqueID>"

3. Restart the WebLogic Application Server process.

For further information about specifying Java options for a WebLogic server instance, see the  Oracle website .

Grant Java 2 permissions to the App Visibility agents

The App Visibility agent requires permissions to the Java 2 system, such as write access to the application server computer (for log entries), and API access to various application interfaces to collect diagnostic information. On application servers that use Java 2 security, you must provide permissions to the App Visibility agent.

Granting the relevant permissions depends on the Java 2 security provider and application server type. This topic describes how to grant the relevant Java 2 permissions on different application server types.

To install the App Visibility agent for .NET silently

1. Copy and extract the files to a temporary directory on the target computer so that the agent-silent-options-windows.txt file is in the same folder as setup.exe.

2. Open the agent-silent-options-windows.txt file in a text editor.
3. Enter the destination directory where the agent for .NET will be installed.
   The default value is C:\Program Files (x86)\BMC Software\App Visibility\Agent for .NET.

4. Enter or modify the values for the following agent configuration parameters:

   -J ApplicationServerDisplayName=
   -J PortalServer=
   -J PortalPort=
   

   
   The agent configuration parameters are described in the following table: 

   Agent configuration parameters

   Parameter	Description
   ApplicationServerDisplayName	Host name, which is displayed in the TrueSight console as the application server’s display name. The default name used is the DNS host name.
   PortalServer	Host name or IP address of the computer on which the App Visibility portal is installed If a load balancing server manages access to the portal, enter the host name or IP address of the load balancer.
   PortalPort	Portal HTTPS port If a load balancing server manages access to the portal, enter the port number of the load balancer.

5. If your environment requires the agent to use a proxy when communicating with the portal and collector, enter connection details:

   HTTPProxyServerHost=
   HTTPProxyServerPort=
   

   Note

   Proxy server details are required only if you are using a web proxy server or load balancing server. This server is not the same server as the App Visibility proxy, which is used to collect end-user browser data.

   
   Description of proxy server values

   Parameter	Description
   HTTPProxyServerHost	Web proxy server host for outbound connections. The default is blank, which means that no web proxy is used.
   HTTPProxyServerPort	Web proxy server port for outbound connections

6. In a command line, run the following command:

   setup.exe -i silent -DOPTIONS_FILE="<Full-File-Path>\agent-silent-options-windows.txt"

   Specify the full path for the agent-silent-options-windows.txt file.

7. When the command prompt is back, the installation process is complete. Restart IIS. 
8. Verify that the App Visibility agent for .NET installation was successful, and that the agent for .NET was invoked, by reviewing the log files created during the installation.
   
   
    To review the installation logs

   1. Open the agentinstaller_install_log.txt file, located in the %temp% folder.
   2. In the log file, verify whether any error messages were reported. 
      If no error messages are in the log file, the installation was successful.
   3. In the TrueSight console, select Administration > App Visibility Agents from the navigation menu and confirm that the agent is online.

Troubleshooting installation issues

If you face issues during installation, see Troubleshooting the App Visibility Manager deployment

Next Step in the Installation process

Step 6 Phase B Task 2 — Now that you have successfully installed the App Visibility agent, you must install the Transaction Execution Adapter agent.