Manage the Monitoring Agent

The Monitoring Agent manages Monitoring Engine sessions to scrutinize a server. Starting a Monitoring Agent only is useful to dedicate a machine to monitor a server and solve security issues like firewalls, open ports, and so on.

Monitoring Agents are managed in the NeoLoad Controller. When on the same network, the NeoLoad Controller automatically detects the Monitoring Agents available. When automatic detection is impaired, the Agents must be specified in the Controller. For more information, see Add and upgrade a monitoring agent.

The Agent must be previously installed, within a Controller installation or as a a standalone installation. For more information, see Install the Controller and Install a Monitoring Agent.

Note: Installing the NeoLoad Controller includes an embedded Monitoring Agent and a standalone Monitoring Agent. To avoid conflicts between both Agents, the standalone Agent can be started only when the Controller is stopped. Conversely, to launch the Controller, the standalone Agent must be stopped before.

Configure the Monitoring Agent

By default, the Monitoring Agent that starts with the Controller only accepts tests started from a trusted Controller. To change this default setting, go to the <installationDirectory>/conf/monitoringAgent.properties configuration file and find this line:

agent.accept.only=TRUSTED​

To accept tests from any Controller, change the value to:

agent.accept.only=ALL

When you use a new Controller certificate, you also need to update the agent.accept.fingerprints= setting to declare the certificate fingerprint. For detailed instructions, see how to add a new certificate.

Tip: If you need to use different values for these settings, you can use commandline arguments for a one-time override of the configuration file: --agentAcceptOnly and --acceptFingerprints

Start the Monitoring Agent

The Monitoring Agent can be launched:

  • on Windows:

    • with the Start Monitoring Agent shortcut in the Start > Programs menu, or

    • with the NeoLoad 2024.1\bin\MonitoringAgent.exe executable, or

    • as a service in the Windows services control panel for a Monitoring Agent installation only.

  • on Unix:

    • with the command NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgentService start, or

    • with the command NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgent, or

    • when installed using the root account, with the service MonitoringAgentService start command using the root account.

To start the Monitoring Agent on Windows, follow these steps: 

  • In Start > Programs, click Start Monitoring Agent, or

  • Run NeoLoad 2024.1\bin\MonitoringAgent.exe, or

  • Start the Monitoring Agent service for a Agent-ony installation.

To start the Monitoring Agent on Unix, follow these steps: 

  • Run NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgentService start, or

  • Run NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgent, or

  • Run service MonitoringAgentService start with the root account.

Stop the Monitoring Agent

According to the installation mode (standalone Agent or Controller), the Monitoring Agent can be stopped:

  • On Windows

    • with the Shutdown Monitoring Agent shortcut in the Start > Programs menu, or

    • as a service in the Windows service control panel for a Monitoring Agent installation only, or

    • with the command line NeoLoad 2024.1\bin\MonitoringAgent.exe -stop, or

    • with the NeoLoad icon of the system tray.

  • On Unix

    • with NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgentService stop when the Agent has been started with NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgentService start, or

    • with NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgent -stop, or

    • with service MonitoringAgentService stop when the Agent has been started with service MonitoringAgentService start, or

    • with the NeoLoad icon of the system tray, when available.

To stop the Monitoring Agent on Windows, follow these steps: 

  • In Start > Programs, click Shutdown Monitoring Agent, or

  • For a Agent-only installation, stop the Windows service for the Monitoring Agent, or

  • Run NeoLoad 2024.1\bin\MonitoringAgent.exe -stop, or

  • Exit the Agent from the systray.

To stop the Monitoring Agent on Unix, follow these steps: 

  • Run NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgentService stop when started with NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgentService start, or

  • Run NeoLoad 2024.1/bin/MonitoringAgent -stop, or

  • Run service MonitoringAgentService stop when started with service MonitoringAgentService start, or

  • Exit the Agent from the systray, when available.