Run the SEM Remote Agent installer

The Remote Agent Installer allows you to install the SEM Agent on multiple Windows computers without the need to step through an installation wizard. When the installation is completed, the SEM Agent automatically starts and connects to the SEM Manager.

See the SEM Agent pre-installation checklist for agent download information and a pre-installation checklist.

About the installation

The remote agent installer only applies to systems running Windows. You must have a user account with privileges to write to Windows administrative shares, such as C$ or D$.

The SEM agents are installed to the following locations, based on the system processor speed:

Processor	Installation folder
32.bit	C:\Windows\system32\ContegoSPOP
64-bit	C:\Windows\sysWOW64\contegoSPOP

If you are installing SEM agents on the far end of a WAN link, copy the remote agent installer executable to the end of the link and run it at this location. This will avoid using your WAN bandwidth to copy SEM agents multiple times.

If NetBIOS is not enabled, the Remote Agent Installer will require a text file of available hosts with each IP address or hostname on its own line.

When the installation is completed, a reboot is not required.

Download the installer

See Download the SEM Agent for Windows for instructions.

Run the Remote Agent Installer for Windows

If you are upgrading the SEM Agent to the latest version, uninstall the existing SEM Agent first before you run the new installer.

1. Extract the contents of the installer ZIP file to a local or network location.

2. Right-click the EXE file and select Run as administrator.

3. Click Next to start the installation wizard.

4. If you agree with the License Agreement, accept the agreement and then click Next.

5. Specify a temporary folder on your computer to use for the installation process, and then click Next.

   The default location is:

   C:\SolarWindsSEMMultiInstall

6. In the Manager Host field, enter the hostname of your SEM Manager. Do not change the default port values.

   If you are deploying the SEM agents on a different domain, use the fully qualified domain name for your SEM Manager.

   For example, enter:

   SEMhostname.SolarWinds.com

7. Click Next.

8. Select Get hosts automatically or Get hosts from file (One host per line), and then click OK.

   The following table provides a description of each option.

   Option	Description
   Get hosts automatically	Uses a NETBIOS broadcast to identify hosts on the same subnet and domain as the computer running the installer.
   Get hosts from file (One host per line)	Prompts you to select a text file with a list of hosts that require a SEM Agent. The text file can contain hostnames, fully qualified domain names (FQDNs), or IP addresses, each on their own lines. If you plan to include DNS names, the computer running the installer must be able to resolve each DNS name. Use this option if you are deploying SEM agents in one of the following network configurations: To computers that are not located on the same subnet as the host computer running the installer. The host computer may be able to access the different subnets, but their hosts will not be recognized by the NetBIOS broadcast used to automatically to obtain the hosts. To a small segment of a large network, where choosing hosts from a list can be time prohibitive. In a network with a complex naming scheme, where choosing hosts from a list can be time prohibitive.

9. Select the check boxes next to each computer that requires a SEM agent, and then click Next.

10. Confirm that the list is correct, and then click Next.

11. Specify the Windows destination for the remote installation. The default paths are provided for all supporting Windows systems.

    SolarWinds recommends using the default paths. Windows may not recognize the SEM Agent as a service if the agent is not installed in a system folder.

    By default, the installer automatically detects the host operating system. If the target hosts are running the same operating system. you can select a specific operating system.

12. Click Next.

13. Select the USB-Defender check box to install this software with the SEM Agent. Otherwise, clear the checkbox.

    SolarWinds recommends installing USB-Defender on all systems. USB-Defender will never detach a USB device unless you have explicitly enabled a corresponding rule. By default, USB-Defender generates alerts for USB mass storage devices attached to your SEM agents.

14. Click Next.

15. In the Pre-Installation Summary window, confirm the settings, and then click Install.

16. When the installation process is completed, click Next to start the SEM Agent service.

17. Inspect the Agent Log for any errors, and then click Next.

18. Click Done to exit the installer.

    A system reboot is not required.

    The SEM Agent begins sending alerts to the SEM Manager. The SEM Agent continues running on your computer unless you uninstall or manually stop the SEM Agent service.

Next steps:

See Verify the SEM Agent connection to verify that the agent is connected to the SEM Manager.