How do agents auto-update?

The Alert Logic® agent has built-in functionality for automatically updating itself. It is important to keep the agent up-to-date so that the running agents have the latest defect fixes and improved functionality. The auto-update feature can be enabled and disabled by the end-user as the user sees fit, but Alert Logic strongly encourages enabling the feature.

Note: The following information applies only to Alert Logic customers with Cloud Defender™ or Threat Manager™ entitlements.

The auto-update feature can be enabled and disabled in the Alert Logic console in Configuration > Network IDS > Policies > Updates. You can create a policy that defines whether agents should be updated automatically at any time, on a schedule, or never updated by clicking the orange circular + button. Once the policies are defined, apply it to one or more hosts. You can also edit an existing policy's update frequency by clicking the pencil icon to the right of the policy and changing the frequency under Updates Frequency.

The auto-update feature will ensure that the agent is running at least some minimum version of the agent as determined by Alert Logic. However, it should be noted that the minimum version may not always be the latest version. An update is only considered required if there is some defect fix or feature deemed important enough to warrant an immediate update. As a result, all agents in a given environment may not be the same version. For example, the agent may be installed on some number of hosts at some point in time and installed on some other hosts at some later point in time. When the second batch is installed, the user may download the installer again from the Alert Logic interface. That installer may include a newer version of the agent than the one used for the first batch of hosts. If the updates to the most recent version of the agent are not immediately required, the hosts that were installed in the first batch will not automatically be updated to the latest version if the update policy is configured for automatic updates.