What is the Private Agent-Protocol Edition?

The Private Monitoring Agent – Protocol Edition allows you to run protocol-level monitoring from inside your private network or behind a firewall.

It is designed for monitoring internal applications, APIs, and network services that are not publicly accessible, as well as for comparing LAN and WAN performance.

The Protocol Edition supports HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, TCP, and other protocol checks. It does not support browser-based monitoring.

This guide explains the system requirements and installation steps for deploying the Protocol Edition.

System Requirements

Hardware requirements:

  • 2-core CPU or higher
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 2 GB Hard Drive space
  • OS Windows 10 or higher x 64bit

Software prerequisites:

The following requirements are fundamental and essential for the proper functioning of the agent. While these cover the basics, it’s important to note that certain aspects may be intricately tied to specific security policies on the client’s side. These individual nuances will be addressed on a case-by-case basis through technical support requests, as they pertain to client-specific security considerations.

  • Private Agent Protocol Edition enabled in your Dotcom-Monitor account
  • .NET Framework 4.7.2 or higher
  • Windows Media Player (for Streaming Media tasks only)
  • Administrative Access for installation and execution
  • Chrome or Edge for Private Agent registration only

Outbound Traffic Requirements

For Private Agent operation, allow access to Dotcom-Monitor resources from the computer with an installed agent. Depending on your firewall requirements, whitelist either of the below:

IP Range (Recommended) Host URL
8.29.56.0/23
  • *.dotcom-monitor.us
  • *.dotcom-monitor.com
  • https://userauth.dotcom-monitor.com/
  • https://user.dotcom-monitor.com/
  • https://privateagentcontroller.dotcom-monitor.com/PrivateAgentController/RemoteConfigurationService.svc
  • https://privateagentcontroller2.dotcom-monitor.com/PrivateAgentController/RemoteConfigurationService.svc
  • https://privateagentcontroller.dotcom-monitor.com/PrivateAgentWebProxy/entrypoint.wproxy
    https://privateagentcontroller2.dotcom-monitor.com/PrivateAgentWebProxy/entrypoint.wproxy
  • https://userauth.dotcom-monitor.us
  • https://user.dotcom-monitor.us

 

Installing Private Agent on Your Machine

Private Agent Installation Steps

Once all preparation steps are done, you can install the private agent software on your machine. This section covers all installation steps.

Step Details
1. Account with Admin Permission You need an account with Admin permission for this Private Agent installation. Ask your domain admin to get administrative rights on your machine.
2. Configure Private Agent 2.1 Login to your DCM Account.

2.2 Go to Manage > Private Agents.

2.3 Click New Agent and select the version to add to your account:

  • Protocol Edition – A lite version of Private Agent. Supports only protocol-based monitoring (such as  API/Web services and Infrastructure monitoring).

2.4 Specify a descriptive name that is recognizable in a list of other Private Agents. Optionally, fill in the Description field.

2.5 Adjust Private Agent options (if it is necessary) and click the Add button.

A new Private Agent will be displayed in the list of Private Agents.
3. Setup Private Agent 3.1 Login to your machine (with Admin Account).

3.2 Start a browser on your machine.

3.3 Login to your DCM Account.

3.4 Go to Manage > Private Agents.

3.5 Click Download Installer and download the agent version that matches the version selected in Step 2 of this guide.

If the Download Installer button is disabled, please contact Dotcom-Monitor support team.

3.6 Once downloaded, Run the PrivateAgentSetup installer.

3.7 Follow the steps of the Setup Wizard by clicking Next.

Accept the terms in the license agreement and confirm or change the destination folder.

3.8 To finish the installation process, click Install.

3.9 In the appeared Private Agent Registrator dialog, wait for the required services check, and click Login to login to your Dotcom-Monitor account and register the agent.

3.10 Provide your DCM User ID and Password and

3.11 Choose the private agent you have created from within your Dotcom-Monitor account and click Install Agent.

Registration of Private Agent may take a few minutes.

3.18 If successful, Close the setup dialog and proceed to the next step of this guide.
4. Check Services on your machine Open Service Overview on your machine and check if Dotcom-Monitor Private Agent Services are up and running:

  • Dotcom-Monitor Private Agent Service (Service name: PAService) must be in startup type: “Automatic (Delayed Start)“
  • Depend Service (Service name: PAService_SLAVE_01) – must be in startup type: “Manual“

Private Agent application uses two Windows services that work together to run monitoring and automation tasks:

  • Dotcom-Monitor Private Agent Service –
    This service always runs under the LocalSystem account. Running as LocalSystem is essential because it provides the required permissions for the application to start and operate correctly. Several core processes also run under LocalSystem to ensure full system access when needed.
  • Dependent Service (PAService_SLAVE_01) –
    This service supports secondary components.
5. 5.1 Restart your machine.

In some cases, the Private Agent can’t be used without a restart. It’s recommended that you restart your machine after the installation has been completed.

Using Private Agent

Once a Private Agent is installed and configured, Dotcom-Monitor automatically adds the agent to the list of available monitoring locations under the Private agents region. To use the Private agent location, activate it in the Monitoring Agents list it in the monitoring device settings.

To use the Private Agent in your network in an efficient way, follow the steps provided below:

  1. Login to your Dotcom-Monitor account.
  2. On the left sidebar, select Devices.
  3. On the Device Manager page, create a new device or open an existing one to edit (select Edit from the device menu ).
  4. From within the device editor, go to the Locations tab and navigate to the Private agents section.
  5. Activate required Private Agent location(s).
  6. Save changes. The private agent location(s) activated under the Private agents region will be used to run monitoring.

If you need specific guidance or assistance, please create a support ticket from within your Dotcom-Monitor account.