Exploring Agent Client Collector Framework
Summarize
Summary of Exploring Agent Client Collector Framework
The Agent Client Collector Framework (ACC-F) is designed to help ServiceNow customers measure and monitor the performance of their infrastructure machines by analyzing data from installed agents. These agents, installed on Linux, Windows, or macOS hosts, execute commands locally and send the resulting data to the ServiceNow instance via a dedicated MID Server.
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ACC-F manages this data collection process, stores events and metrics in the database, and provides performance data about Configuration Items (CIs) to multiple Agent Client Collector applications for further analysis and monitoring.
How It Works
The ACC-F workflow involves:
- Installing agents on infrastructure machines to collect data.
- Transmitting collected data through the MID Server to the ServiceNow instance.
- Displaying and utilizing data across various Agent Client Collector applications such as Monitoring, Visibility, Log Analytics, Security Incident Response, Live CI View, Software Asset Management, and Spoke.
Key Benefits and Use Cases
ACC-F provides critical infrastructure insights and enables proactive management through the following features:
- Performance and Availability Monitoring: Automated event and metric collection helps Network Operations Center (NOC) users and Event Management administrators track system health with minimal manual configuration.
- Continuous Inventory Tracking: CMDB and Discovery administrators can track server inventory, software installations, and usage efficiently with reduced network load and without requiring admin access.
- Air-Gapped Device Management: Enables detailed inventory collection on devices isolated from the network, supporting security-conscious environments.
- Incident Triage Acceleration: IT Service Management (ITSM) users gain direct access to live CI data, speeding up incident resolution.
- Remote Device Actions: Security Incident Response experts can trigger remote actions on managed devices seamlessly without extra credentials or network overhead.
- Predictive Problem Solving: Log Analytics administrators can stream log data into ServiceNow to anticipate and prevent issues, reducing user impact.
Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers
By leveraging ACC-F, ServiceNow customers can expect enhanced visibility into their infrastructure, improved data accuracy for CMDB and Discovery processes, faster incident response, and better proactive maintenance capabilities. This framework integrates seamlessly with existing ServiceNow applications, enabling teams across operations, security, and asset management to collaborate effectively using real-time and historical data.
Learn how the Agent Client Collector Framework (ACC-F) helps measure the performance of your infrastructure machines. Agent Client Collector Framework analyzes data on installed agents to discover and monitor your Configuration items (CIs).
Agent Client Collector Framework overview
The Agent Client Collector is an agent that is installed on infrastructure components. The Agent Client Collector executes commands on the machines it is installed on and sends output data to the ServiceNow® instance via a dedicated MID Server. Managing Agent Client Collector on the ServiceNow® instance and MID Server is part of the Agent Client Collector Framework (ACC-F) application. Agent Client Collector Framework stores events and metrics in the relevant database, and provides CI performance data to other Agent Client Collector applications.
Agent Client Collector Framework workflow
The following illustration describes the layout and data flow within the Agent Client Collector Framework application.
- ACC-F is deployed on the customer's ServiceNow instance.
- Agents are installed on the host machines (Linux, Windows, or macOS) and collect data on the hosts and configuration items (CIs).
- Data passes to the customer instance through the MID Server.
- Data displays in the different Agent Client Collector applications.
- Agent Client Collector Monitoring (ACC-M)
- Agent Client Collector for Visibility (ACC-V)
- Agent Client Collector Log Analytics (ACC-L)
- Agent Client Collector Security Incident Response (SIR)
- Agent Client Collector Live CI View
- Software Asset Management (SAM)
- Agent Client Collector Spoke
Agent Client Collector Framework benefits
Agent Client Collector Framework provides data to other Agent Client Collector components.
| Benefit | Feature | Users |
|---|---|---|
| Monitor your system’s health, performance, and availability through automated collection of events and metrics, leveraging automated configurations. | Agent Client Collector Monitoring | NOC User, Event Management administrator |
| Track server inventory, software installations and usage continuously with non-admin access and minimal network communication. | Agent Client Collector for Visibility | CMDB/Discovery administrator |
| Gather detailed inventory data of devices not connected to your network or running in isolated environments (air-gapped). | Agent Client Collector Framework Air Gapped Configuration Item Management Solution | CMDB/Discovery administrator |
| Minimize triage time of incidents by direct access of live device details and interactions to remediate. | View live CI data with Agent Client Collector | ITSM user |
| Trigger remote actions against managed devices, without additional credential or network communication. | Agent Client Collector Security Incident Response | Automation expert |
| Stream log data into your instance to predict problems and solve them before they happen, to minimize user impact. | Agent Client Collector Log Analytics | Agent Client Collector administrator |