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What are the pros/cons of using WMI vs. install agent?

I've always used WMI when adding nodes. The service account I created in AD on the domain was placed in the built-in Administrators group. Now, for auditing purposes, I'm instructed to remove that service account from the admin group and install the agent so that it can use the local account for monitoring.

What are the pros and cons of using the agents? I understand it requires an open port to the internet?

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Accepted answers

sturdyerde

No, you should never have the agent’s ports or any part of Orion open on the internet.

Ever.

I need to get back to my desk to find more information for you, but had to start with that! There may be pros and cons, but you also do not need to give that account domain admin privs 95% of the time.

All comments

sturdyerde

No, you should never have the agent’s ports or any part of Orion open on the internet.

Ever.

don.crittendon

If I stick to what I have, what permission levels does the service account need to have in AD in order to add a device to SolarWinds. Now that I cannot place it in the built-in admnistrator group.

bshopp

Protocols like WMI can get compute intensive, so they can cause issues depending on the machine, but there is little management overhead, unlike an agent which requires appropriate permissions to install and then those have to be managed, updated, etc. With that being said, since agents are local they can get more frequent and granular data unlike WMI which operates on a polling cycle.

marcrobinson

First - WMI permissions are a lovely pain in the backend. That said, you can use non-admin accounts. The second thing that I have learned is that WMI permissions are NOT the same between say 2008 and 2016. This seems to hold true in 2019 as there are additional permission granularities that need updates. You will notice this when processes, or services fail to monitor as expected. Here is a link with pretty good information on how to get this started:

Tips for creating a non-administrator user for SAM application monitor polling to aid in troubleshooting by SolarWinds Support

FormerMember

Agent port requirements here : https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/orionplatform/content/core-agent-requirements-sw476.htm

Agents make security teams minds at rest (as long as the agent works well), as they use fewer ports. Most of my environments i've worked in have a mix of polling methods due to teams not working to the same standards.

I would combine whatever you do with the statistical node polling report just in case any monitoring is not completed successfully, this report will tell you if nodes are unable to poll correctly.