Windows

FlexxAgent supports 64-bit Windows operating systems; it cannot be installed on 32-bit systems. The installation binary is available with and without a graphical interface, making it fully compatible with unattended deployment mechanisms and the installation wizard.

FlexxAgent consists of a Windows service called FlexxAgent Service, which manages two processes: FlexxAgent (process), which runs at the system level, and FlexxAgent Analyzer (process), which starts for each user session.

This structure enables FlexxAgent to address multiple session devices, such as terminal servers, Citrix, or AVD, and acquire detailed metrics to enhance diagnostic capabilities.

For example, if a person is working on their laptop, the FlexxAgent process would run at the system level, and the FlexxAgent Analyzer would run from the user's identity. If the device hosts multiple user sessions, in addition to FlexxAgent at the system level, FlexxAgent Analyzer will run for each user session on that device.

In terms of resource requirements, FlexxAgent has very modest consumption, hovering around the following values:

• Disk space used: < 200 MB
• CPU: < 0.5%
• RAM: 100-200 MB

FlexxAgent Service (system)

• For resource consumption information, including performance counters, hardware, sessions, profiles, disks, partitions, and Windows services, the default value is 60 seconds.
• Event log error events are sent every 10 minutes.
• User profile information is obtained every 15 minutes.

FlexxAgent Analyzer (user)

• Includes application usage analysis, diagnostic data, and user experience.
• Data is collected locally every 15 seconds.
• The report is sent to the service every 5 minutes, although this metric can change in specific functionalities.

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These values can be adjusted in Settings on the different consoles, providing flexibility to meet specific needs.

Supported versions

The operating systems compatible with FlexxAgent are those still within the manufacturer's support cycle. Although installation is allowed on versions without such support, certain functionalities might not be available.

Microsoft operating systems with full support and compatibility are:

• Microsoft Windows 10 or later
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later

FlexxAgent can also be installed on Windows 7 and 8.1 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, and Windows Server 2012, but it will be subject to some limitations.

Software Requirements

FlexxAgent also requires certain software components:

• .NET Framework 4.6.2 or later, Flexxible recommends installing .NET Framework 4.8.
• Windows PowerShell 4.0 or later (Windows PowerShell 5.1 recommended)
• Note: The Azure PowerShell execution policy should be set to Unrestricted.

Considerations for Windows versions in EOL

Windows versions in End of Life (EOL), meaning they are out of support, have some limitations in running FlexxAgent, which may cause certain functionalities to not be supported.

Limitations

Some limitations might disable its functionalities when using FlexxAgent on older Windows operating systems that are out of support:

• GPU consumption metric collection
• Flow execution
• End-user microservices execution
• Storage unit information is not displayed.
• For virtual machines, broker and hypervisor detection is not available for all providers.
• There is no User Input Delay (UID) data because this counter is only supported on Windows Server 2019 and later, and Windows 10, version 1809 and later.

Broker detection might not work for all brokers. There is no user input delay performance data as this counter does not exist in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows 7 and 2008

The installation of FlexxAgent supports the Windows 7 x64 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 operating system under the following conditions:

• The update KB4474419: SHA-2 code signing support update for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008: September 23, 2019 must be installed.
• The update KB3140245: Update to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows must be installed, and follow the instructions in the How to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows section of the Microsoft support page.
• Requires at least .NET Framework 4.6, but Flexxible recommends installing .NET Framework 4.8.
• PowerShell 2.0 with Windows 7 is not compatible with the required TLS 1.2 version to install FlexxAgent. Windows Management Framework 5.1 is required to be installed, which installs PowerShell 5.1.

Windows 8 and 2012

The installation of FlexxAgent supports the Windows 8 operating system under the following conditions:

• .NET Framework 4.6.2 is required, Microsoft blocks the installation of later versions of .NET Framework on Windows 8.0.
• All Windows security updates are required to ensure compatibility with TLS 1.2 and SHA-2 code signing.

Download

INSTALLATION BINARY DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GRAPHICAL INTERFACE

The download of FlexxAgent without a graphical interface is done from Workspaces -> Level 2 -> Reporting Groups.

In the list view table, you must select the report group for which you want to download the agent and click on the Download FlexxAgent button.

A window will open to download the FlexxAgent installer.

• If the Generate standalone installer (offline) option is selected, during installation, the binary will not require internet access for verification or downloading binaries.

• If, on the other hand, the Generate standalone installer (offline) option is not selected, the minimal installation package will be downloaded. In this manner, the binary will access the internet to verify and download the latest binaries.

Unattended Deployment

FlexxAgent supports being launched through unattended deployment methods, such as GPO distribution, Intune, SSCM, and many more tools.

Installation

The unattended installation of FlexxAgent is done via PowerShell.

Start-Process "<ruta>\FlexxAgent-Installer.exe" -ArgumentList "<agregar parámetro>" -WindowStyle Hidden -Wait

Uninstall

To uninstall FlexxAgent unattended:

"C:\Program Files\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\VDIServiceUpdater.exe" /Uninstall "C:\Program Files\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\FlexxAgent.exe" /quiet

The Microsoft Windows installer used to uninstall FlexxAgent does not delete all files, folders, registry keys, or registry values created during the installation of FlexxAgent. If you need a clean system image, you can safely delete the following files, folders, registry keys and registry values.

Files

• C:\Windows\Prefetch\FLEXXAGENT.EXE-XXXXXXXX.pf – where XXXXXXXX is a string of letters and numbers
• C:\Windows\Temp\FlexxAgentInstallation.log

Folders

• C:\Program Files\Flexxible
• C:\ProgramData\Flexxible

Reinstallation

To reinstall FlexxAgent on a device removing its preexisting configuration, execute:

FlexxAgent-Installer.exe -repairAgent

For example:

Start-Process "<ruta>\FlexxAgent-Installer.exe" -ArgumentList "-repairAgent true" -WindowStyle Hidden -Wait

Known Issues

FlexxAgent Installation (click to expand)

Issue 1 - Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

During the installation and/or reinstallation of FlexxAgent, if the device encounters issues generated by the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service, the process may report these errors in the CMD window:

Solution

Run the following commands:

Stop-Service winmgmt -Force

winmgmt /resetrepository

Start-Service winmgmt

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Issue 2 - PowerShell process restriction

Some security solutions do not allow the installation and/or self-update of FlexxAgent to be performed effectively. The installer might return the message:

The process was terminated with errors. A corrupted installation was detected due to external processes. This is usually caused by antivirus activity. Please check your antivirus settings.

Solution

Exclude the following files from the device:

C:\Windows\Temp\FlexxibleIT

C:\Windows\Temp\UpdateFlexxAgent.ps1

FlexxAgent Uninstallation (click to expand)

Problem - FlexxAgent continues in the list of services

It could happen that FlexxAgent still appears in the list of services even if it has been uninstalled and all files have been deleted. This would prevent FlexxAgent from being reinstalled.

Solution

Run the following command as administrator in the CMD window:

sc delete "FlexxAgent service"

Then, restart the device.

Supported Parameters

Parameter	Type	Caption
proxyAbsoluteUri	[string]	Proxy URL and port.
proxyUser	[string]	User for authenticated proxy.
proxyPass	[string]	Password for authenticated proxy.
proxyPersistConfig	[switch]	If specified, the configuration is persisted in the registry.
configFilePath	[string]	Alternative directory for the FlexxAgent-Configuration.conf file.
DebugMode	[switch]	When specified, creates a text file in the same folder with the script execution transcription.
RepairAgent	[bool]	Removes the preexisting configuration of FlexxAgent when it is reinstalled on a device.
Help	[switch]	Lists the supported parameters, with type and description.

Proxy Configuration

FlexxAgent supports transparently configured proxies at the system level without configuring. Proxies with and without authentication are also supported. Proxy configuration can be done via the command line or by modifying registry keys that control this configuration.

Proxy configuration through command line

Installation with parameters: FlexxAgent-Installer.exe -proxyAbsoluteUri ip.ad.dre.ss:port -proxyPersistConfig:$True

Where ip.ad.dre.ss:port refers to the IP or DNS plus the proxy port, or including credentials:

FlexxAgent-Installer.exe -proxyAbsoluteUri ip.ad.dre.ss:port -proxyUser ProxyUserName -proxyPass ProxyUserPassword -proxyPersistConfig:$True

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FlexxAgent may not have access to the proxy applied in its configuration if it is outside the corporate network. To determine its accessibility, FlexxAgent tries to resolve the DNS record and makes a TCP request to the corresponding port. If the proxy is not accessible, it will report it directly (without proxy).

Configuration through registry keys

Location of the registry keys that store the proxy configuration for FlexxAgent:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications

Registry keys related to the proxy configuration:

• Key Proxy_URL
• Key Proxy_User
• Key Proxy_Pwd

Key Proxy_URL

• Key path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications
• Key Name: Proxy_URL
• Key type: REG_SZ
• Supported values: the URL and port; for example 'http://192.168.1.1:3128' or 'https://192.168.1.1:3128'

Key Proxy_User

• Key path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications
• Key Name: Proxy_User
• Key type: REG_SZ
• Supported values: the username to authenticate to the proxy; for example 'Administrator'. It can be bypassed for unauthenticated proxies.

Key Proxy_Pwd

• Key path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Flexxible\FlexxAgent\Communications
• Key Name: Proxy_Pwd
• Key type: REG_SZ
• Supported values: The password to authenticate to the proxy. It can be bypassed for unauthenticated proxies. The value of the Proxy_Pwd key can be set in plain text (not recommended) or base64 encoded and enclosed by «&&&». For example: &&&VGhpc0lzTjArQCQzY3VyZVBAJCR3MHJk&&& for the “Proxy_Pwd” value. In either case, FlexxAgent encrypts the value as soon as FlexxAgent starts or tries to transmit information. You can use a site like https://www.base64encode.org/ to create the base64-encoded password string.

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Taking into account that FlexxAgent triggers a process at the system level (FlexxAgent.exe) and another at the session level (FlexxAgent Analyzer.exe), and depending on how the proxy acts at one level or the other, it may be necessary to apply different configurations to both processes by defining the Proxy Type. This can be done from the FlexxAgent Settings, in Products.

Update

FlexxAgent can be updated automatically or manually from Workspaces.

Auto update

This functionality is controlled with settings that are usually enabled in Workspaces. The path to view or change the configuration of this functionality is Workspaces -> Level 3 -> Settings -> Auto update. Selecting True will allow a new version of FlexxAgent to be detected and sent automatically to all active devices in the organization. This action will leave a Job in Workspaces with all the operation details.

Manual Update

The path to manually update FlexxAgent is Level 1 -> Workspaces -> Operations -> FlexxAgent -> Update to latest version.

The different installed versions are in the dropdown option for My filters -> Predefined filters -> FlexxAgent version summary. This will generate a view of all devices grouped by the FlexxAgent version.

Once the update operation is executed, a Job with all the details of the operation will be generated in the corresponding section.

Logs

FlexxAgent can generate three types of logs:

• Installation and update logs
• FlexxAgent Analyzer logs
• FlexxAgent service logs

These records allow consulting information and diagnosing problems from the installation of FlexxAgent.

Installation and update logs

A text log file is left in the C:\Windows\Temp\Flexxible folder, containing information about the installation or update process, as well as dependency information and process details.

FlexxAgent Analyzer logs

FlexxAgent Analyzer logs are stored in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\FAAgent\Logs directory. These can be configured to include or not include information by levels of criticality.

Change log level for FlexxAgent Analyzer

From Workspaces, it is possible to change the log level for one or more devices through the options available in the Operations button.

FlexxAgent service logs

FlexxAgent service logs can be consulted in the Application branch, within the Event Viewer of Windows.