Using the BrightGauge Agent

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If you are connecting with BrightGauge using an on-premise datasource, you will need to download the BrightGauge agent and install it on your network in order to provide connectivity. The agent runs as a service and only passes the queries needed by BrightGauge to your systems. The connection between both system transfer data using a 2048 bit SSL encryption.

Step 1 - Choose A Host and Download the Agent

Select a machine (windows server or workstation) that has access to the servers where your database is installed. For best results with data syncs, we recommend installing the agent directly on the database server. If this is not an option, any other machine that meets the requirements below will also work:

Agent System Requirements

• .Net 4.0
• 500 mb RAM free (2 gb+ recommended).  Please note this is a "free" requirement as the agent temporarily stores data in the ram after getting it from your SQL server and before passing it to our servers
• Consistent uptime, as anything less, will affect syncs
• Windows Server 2008 R2 or later (Windows 7 or later for desktops)

To download the agent. head over to your BrightGauge Account (https://YOURSUBDOMAIN.brightgauge.co). Once logged in, navigate to the "Data" menu on the top right-hand corner and select "Datasources". Select the "Add A New Datasource" button on the top right. Then select the appropriate datasource from the list provided. At the top, you'll see a link titled "BrightGauge Agent" which you can click on to download the agent.

Step 2 - Firewall Rules

You will need to open up your firewall to allow inbound communication from BrightGauge through a specific port. The port must not be in use by any other service or tool (we recommend port 2666). All communications from BrightGauge will come from these two IPs (be sure to create exceptions for both):

54.86.152.132
54.88.109.190

Additionally, you will need to create a NAT route on your firewall that directs any traffic from our public IP addressed on the port you specify, over to the internal IP address the device you have chosen to install the agent on.

(Note: If setting up more than one agent on the same network, you will need to ensure that each agent uses a different port. You must also ensure that you set up NAT routes for each accordingly. Ex. of other ports are 2667, 2668, etc)

We have also seen that even when the Windows Firewall is turned off, it is blocking traffic. Please create an advanced port exception in the firewall on the machine you choose to install the agent on. Instructions on that can be found here. 

Step 3 - Install Agent

To install the agent:

1. Log in as a domain or local admin to the device you have chosen to be the host
2. Extract the contents of the agent file you downloaded from your account.
3. Right-click the "setup.exe" and select "Run as administrator"
4. During the install please be sure to select the install for "Everyone" option when prompted
5. Once the tool is installed, right-click on the "BrightGauge Manager" desktop icon
   • Select properties
   • Select the compatibility tab at the top
   • Ensure that the option "Run as administrator" is selected (if the option to change this for all users is available, do so.)

Step 4 - Configure Agent

You'll need:

• Your BrightGauge portal, username, and password, all of which were emailed to you when you first signed up.
• IP Address: Refers to the IP address that BrightGauge will hit when connecting to your network (Public IP)
• Port: Refers to the port you selected in the previous section.
• Local IP is either the local IP of the box behind a NAT, or if your box is exposed to the internet it is the public IP of that machine again.

Once all information is filled out on the agent, click on "Test Connection".

If your test is successful, proceed to click on "Save & Start Service" and refer to the corresponding article for your datasource from the following page:

Connecting To Your Data Source

If you're having issues connecting or have questions here are a few documents that can help:

Common Agent Connectivity Issues
Windows Firewall Inbound Rule for the Agent
Multiple Databases, how many agents are needed?

Of course, if those links don't help, feel free to drop us a line using this link or email us at support@brightgauge.com