Linux Agent

Install the NetRecon agent on Linux endpoints for continuous monitoring and inventory reporting.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 20.04+ / Debian 11+ / RHEL 8+ / Fedora 36+ (or compatible)
• Root or sudo access (for installation)
• Network connectivity to the probe (direct or via Cloudflare Tunnel)
• An enrollment token from the probe dashboard
• systemd (for service management)

Manual Installation

Debian/Ubuntu (DEB)

Step 1: Download the Package

# Download from the probe dashboard, or use curl:
curl -O https://probe.netreconapp.com/downloads/netrecon-agent-linux-amd64.deb

For ARM64 systems:

curl -O https://probe.netreconapp.com/downloads/netrecon-agent-linux-arm64.deb

Step 2: Install

sudo dpkg -i netrecon-agent-linux-amd64.deb

Step 3: Configure and Start

sudo netrecon-agent configure \
  --server-url "https://probe.netreconapp.com" \
  --enrollment-token "your-token-here"

sudo systemctl enable --now netrecon-agent

RHEL/Fedora (RPM)

Step 1: Download the Package

curl -O https://probe.netreconapp.com/downloads/netrecon-agent-linux-amd64.rpm

Step 2: Install

sudo rpm -i netrecon-agent-linux-amd64.rpm
# or with dnf:
sudo dnf install ./netrecon-agent-linux-amd64.rpm

Step 3: Configure and Start

sudo netrecon-agent configure \
  --server-url "https://probe.netreconapp.com" \
  --enrollment-token "your-token-here"

sudo systemctl enable --now netrecon-agent

CLI Setup Wizard

The agent includes an interactive setup wizard for manual configuration:

sudo netrecon-agent setup

The wizard prompts for:

1. Server URL — the probe's HTTPS URL
2. Enrollment Token — paste your token
3. Heartbeat Interval — frequency of check-ins (default: 30s)
4. Report Interval — frequency of full data upload (default: 15m)
5. Log Level — debug, info, warn, error (default: info)

After completing the wizard, the agent starts automatically.

Automated Deployment

One-Line Install Script

For quick deployment across multiple servers:

curl -fsSL https://probe.netreconapp.com/install-agent.sh | sudo bash -s -- \
  --server-url "https://probe.netreconapp.com" \
  --enrollment-token "your-fleet-token"

The script:

1. Detects the Linux distribution and architecture
2. Downloads the appropriate package (DEB or RPM)
3. Installs the package
4. Configures the agent with the provided parameters
5. Starts the service

Ansible Playbook

For configuration management at scale:

---
- name: Deploy NetRecon Agent
  hosts: all
  become: true
  vars:
    netrecon_server_url: "https://probe.netreconapp.com"
    netrecon_enrollment_token: "your-fleet-token"
    netrecon_agent_version: "2.2.0"

  tasks:
    - name: Download agent package (Debian)
      get_url:
        url: "{{ netrecon_server_url }}/downloads/netrecon-agent-linux-{{ ansible_architecture }}.deb"
        dest: /tmp/netrecon-agent.deb
      when: ansible_os_family == "Debian"

    - name: Install agent (Debian)
      apt:
        deb: /tmp/netrecon-agent.deb
      when: ansible_os_family == "Debian"

    - name: Download agent package (RedHat)
      get_url:
        url: "{{ netrecon_server_url }}/downloads/netrecon-agent-linux-{{ ansible_architecture }}.rpm"
        dest: /tmp/netrecon-agent.rpm
      when: ansible_os_family == "RedHat"

    - name: Install agent (RedHat)
      dnf:
        name: /tmp/netrecon-agent.rpm
        state: present
      when: ansible_os_family == "RedHat"

    - name: Configure agent
      command: >
        netrecon-agent configure
        --server-url "{{ netrecon_server_url }}"
        --enrollment-token "{{ netrecon_enrollment_token }}"

    - name: Enable and start agent
      systemd:
        name: netrecon-agent
        enabled: true
        state: started

Shell Script for Multiple Servers

#!/bin/bash
SERVERS="server1.example.com server2.example.com server3.example.com"
TOKEN="your-fleet-token"
SERVER_URL="https://probe.netreconapp.com"

for server in $SERVERS; do
  echo "Deploying to $server..."
  ssh root@$server "curl -fsSL ${SERVER_URL}/install-agent.sh | bash -s -- --server-url ${SERVER_URL} --enrollment-token ${TOKEN}"
done

Agent Management

Configuration File

/etc/netrecon/agent.yaml

server_url: "https://probe.netreconapp.com"
heartbeat_interval: 30
report_interval: 900
log_level: "info"
log_file: "/var/log/netrecon/agent.log"

Service Commands

# Check status
sudo systemctl status netrecon-agent

# Stop
sudo systemctl stop netrecon-agent

# Start
sudo systemctl start netrecon-agent

# Restart
sudo systemctl restart netrecon-agent

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u netrecon-agent -f

Uninstallation

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo systemctl stop netrecon-agent
sudo apt remove netrecon-agent

RHEL/Fedora:

sudo systemctl stop netrecon-agent
sudo dnf remove netrecon-agent

SELinux Configuration

On RHEL/Fedora systems with SELinux enforcing, the agent needs a policy module:

# The agent package includes an SELinux policy, but if needed:
sudo semanage fcontext -a -t bin_t '/usr/local/bin/netrecon-agent'
sudo restorecon -v /usr/local/bin/netrecon-agent

If SELinux blocks network access:

sudo setsebool -P netrecon_agent_can_network_connect 1

Firewall Configuration

The agent only requires outbound HTTPS (port 443). No inbound rules are needed.

# UFW (Ubuntu)
sudo ufw allow out 443/tcp

# firewalld (RHEL/Fedora)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Troubleshooting

Agent not starting

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status netrecon-agent

# Check logs
sudo journalctl -u netrecon-agent --no-pager -n 50

# Verify config file syntax
netrecon-agent validate-config

Permission denied

• Ensure the agent binary has execute permission: ls -la /usr/local/bin/netrecon-agent
• Check SELinux denials: sudo ausearch -m AVC -ts recent

Connection refused

• Test connectivity: curl -I https://probe.netreconapp.com/api/health
• Check DNS resolution: dig probe.netreconapp.com
• Verify no proxy is interfering; set no_proxy if needed

FAQ

Q: Does the agent work on Alpine Linux or other musl-based distributions? A: The agent is compiled against glibc. Alpine Linux and other musl-based distributions are not currently supported.

Q: Can I run the agent in a Docker container? A: While technically possible, the agent is designed to monitor the host system. Running it in a container limits its ability to gather host-level data. Install directly on the host instead.

Q: Does the agent support ARM (32-bit)? A: The Linux agent is available for amd64 (x86_64) and arm64 (aarch64). 32-bit ARM is not supported.

For additional help, contact support@netreconapp.com.