Add or manage a Nodinite Monitoring Agent Instance
Nodinite Monitoring Agents connect your business-critical systems to a unified monitoring platform. This guide shows you how to add, configure, secure, and manage Monitoring Agents for resilient, self-service monitoring.
- ✅ Rapidly connect and configure Monitoring Agents for any environment
- ✅ Secure communication and remote actions with advanced authentication
- ✅ Restore, backup, and troubleshoot with built-in diagnostics
- ✅ Empower your team with self-service monitoring and auto healing
- ✅ Manage resources discovered from the Monitoring Agent, including Applications and Categories values for a clear, logical overview of monitored systems
Discovery Model (Important)
In Nodinite, Resources, Categories, and Applications are created by the Monitoring Agent and synchronized by the Monitoring Service.
Important
Users do not manually create Resources, Categories, or Applications directly in Nodinite. Users manage configuration context, links, Expected State behavior, Auto Healing, and Custom Metadata for discovered entries.
Important
When do you need to manually add a Monitoring Agent?
New 7.x In Nodinite v7 and later, agents installed on the same server as Nodinite are automatically registered during installation via the PowerShell setup scripts — no manual steps required.
Only use this guide if you have installed a Monitoring Agent MSI on a remote server that is separate from your Nodinite installation. In that case, the agent cannot self-register and must be added manually here.
Click Add Monitoring Agent on the Monitoring Agents page to open the Add Monitoring Agent page. There you fill in the new Monitoring Agent configuration in one of two ways:
- Quick Add: Paste the JSON string from the
README.txtfile in the installation folder into the Quick Add box at the top of the page and click Apply. - Fill in the form: Enter the General fields, connection details, security settings, and advanced options yourself.
The Monitoring Agents list has one Add Monitoring Agent button; Quick Add is part of the page it opens.
Each Monitoring Agent has a user-defined configuration entry. The User must be a member of the Nodinite Administrators' Role to manage these entries.
Diagram: the Nodinite Monitoring Service (orange) uses the Monitoring Agent Configuration you create on this page to connect to a Monitoring Agent (teal), which reports the state of its Resources (blue).
Quick Add
Quickly add a new Monitoring Agent by pasting the Quick Add JSON from the README.txt file in the installation folder into the Quick Add box at the top of the Add Monitoring Agent page.
Quick Add sits at the top of the Add Monitoring Agent page; Apply fills in the form below it.
JSON Example
{"Name":"SQL on IBSSMIOLSRV01","Uri":"http://IBSSMIOLSRV01:8000/Nodinite/Monitor/Agent/Database/","XApiKey":"71B32996-908E-1337-417E-E5018FD4A3B4","Description":null,"PollingInterval":60}
Example JSON quick add string from the README.txt file
Click Apply to populate the form fields from the pasted JSON. You can now continue to Manage and configure the Monitoring Agent.
Add and Manage Monitoring Agent
Below the Quick Add box, the General tab of the Add Monitoring Agent page holds these fields (see the screenshot above):
- Name (required): User-friendly configuration name
- Description (optional): Description of this configuration
- Web Site (optional): External documentation link
General tab
The General tab provides essential connection details for your Monitoring Agent Configuration.
General tab for Monitoring Agent Configuration.
Connection Tab
Configure the Monitoring Service to communicate with the Monitoring Agent.
The help text under Service URL shows the URL format to use with a Service Bus Relay Hybrid Connection.
- Service URL (required): Address for Monitoring Service to communicate with the Monitoring Agent.
Monitoring Agents can use:
- Local LAN (TCP/IP)
- Service Bus Relaying for remote access, with a URL in the format
https://<relay-namespace>.servicebus.windows.net/<hybrid-connection-name><agent-path>
Find the Service URL in theREADME.txtfile in the installation folder. Firewall rules for each agent are on its Prerequisites page, for example the Windows Server Monitoring Agent prerequisites.
- Polling Interval (required): How often Monitoring Service polls for Resources. Default is 60 seconds.
Tip
Set the polling interval to match your business needs. Short intervals increase system load.
Security Tab
Configure security for communication between Monitoring Service and Monitoring Agent.
The Authentication Key field is available when Authenticate Connection is checked.
- Authenticate Connection: When checked, the Monitoring Service authenticates with the Monitoring Agent. Remote Configuration of an agent requires an Authentication Key.
- Authentication Key: The API key, found in
README.txt, or for Service Bus Relaying a Hybrid Connection string with EntityPath (format below). - The
SharedAccessKeyNameandSharedAccessKeycome from a Shared Access Signature (SAS) policy on the Azure Relay. See Microsoft SAS documentation.
Service Bus Relay Hybrid Connection string with EntityPath (Nodinite 7 format, as shown on the Security tab):
Endpoint=sb://<relay-namespace>.servicebus.windows.net/;SharedAccessKeyName=<shared-access-key-name>;SharedAccessKey=<shared-access-key>;EntityPath=<relay-hybrid-connection>
Advanced Tab
Configure advanced connection settings.
Each value field is available only when its checkbox is checked.
- Change the default Timeout: Timeout in seconds for polling the state of Resources from the agent (1–600, default 120)
- Change the default Retry handling: For unreliable WAN links. Retry Count is the maximum number of retries before the agent's Resources get the Connection Error state (0–30, default 3; 0 means no retries). Retry Interval is the number of seconds between retries (10–600, default 10). Before each retry, the Monitoring Service performs an IsAlive check on the agent; a failed check still counts as a retry.
If you need to tweak these settings, review diagnostics or contact support, read more in the Support Page.
Common Problems
If the Monitoring Agent Configuration is invalid or the Monitoring Agent is unavailable, it appears offline:
An unavailable Monitoring Agent shows a red plug icon in the list.
A warning appears during configuration if the agent is unreachable. The message disappears when connectivity is restored.
The Details box shows the connection error and the exception, for example a refused connection on the agent's port.
Monitor Views Tab
New 6.0
Manage Monitor Views using the current Monitoring Agent.
Example of the Monitor Views tab for a Monitoring Agent.
Click Edit to manage a specific Monitor View.
Click Add Monitor View to create a new Monitor View with the agent included.
Resources Tab
The Resources tab lists all Resources provided by the Monitoring Agent. Filter by Category, Application, Status Code, and Auto Healing state, sort, and view details for each resource.
Note
These entries are discovered from the source by the Monitoring Agent. They are not created manually in the Nodinite Web Client.
- State: Last reported state
- Name: Display name
- Description: User-friendly description
- Application: Application the resource belongs to
- Category: Category the resource belongs to
- LogText: Output from last sync
- Error Code: Error code from last sync
- Included in Monitor Views: Number of Monitor Views containing the resource
List of available resources for Monitoring Agent.
Configuration Backups tab
Nodinite automatically backs up the configuration file for each Monitoring Agent.
If you lose a server or make a mistake, you can restore previous configurations. Use the Comment feature to document changes.
Info
Configuration backup checks run every 4 hours.
Nodinite Monitoring Service removes old backups automatically. See DaysToKeepMonitorAgentBackups for details.
List of available backups for Monitoring Agent.
This feature is fully supported in Nodinite 6. Older versions may not update the 'Config version' column until migration.
Download backup
Download a configuration file by selecting a backup and choosing Download from the Actions menu.
Download backup for Monitoring Agent.
New 7.5 In Nodinite 7.5.x and later, the downloaded backup is a ZIP archive containing the configuration file:
Settings.json— for .NET 4.8 Monitoring AgentsappSettings.json— for .NET 10 Monitoring Agents
Important
Old backups may contain sensitive data. Do not leave copies on the file system.
Restore backup
Restore a configuration with the same version as the current one. Select the backup and choose Restore from the Actions menu.
Restore backup for Monitoring Agent.
You will be prompted to confirm the restore:
Confirm restore operation.
Click Yes to restore, No to abort.
A success alert appears at the top of the page:
Restore succeeded alert.
Important
Restoring an old configuration can drastically change monitoring. Only proceed if you are certain.
To restore an older version, stop the agent, replace the Settings.json file (appSettings.json for .NET 10 agents), and restart the Monitoring Agent. Contact support if you need help.
Edit Pin & Comment
Pin or comment on any backup. Select the backup and choose Edit Pin & Comment from the Actions menu.
Pin or comment on backup for Monitoring Agent.
Tip
Pinned backups are never removed. Add a comment to explain why you kept it.
Delete backup
Permanently delete any backup. Select the backup and choose Delete from the Actions menu.
Delete backup for Monitoring Agent.
Control buttons
The Control panel provides three buttons:
- Configuration: Open Remote Configuration to change what the agent monitors, its Debug flag, and, for .NET 10 agents, AI Diagnostics.
- Sync now: Force Monitoring Service to synchronize immediately.
Successful synchronization example. - Diagnostics: Download a ZIP with diagnostic files and info.
Downloaded ZIP with diagnostics.
Example ZIP content: Nodinite optimizes disk and network usage
The info.txt file:
Nodinite diagnostics files that could contain vital information that could help us solve problem, attach this file in case you need to contact our support at [Support page][SupportPage]
Assembly Information
Name: Nodinite.MonitoringAgent.IBMMQ
Version: 5.0.0.0
This file was automatically generated 2019-05-17 13:37:00 +02:00
Example content in the info.txt file part of the ZIP package.
If diagnostic files are missing, see the Monitoring Agents Troubleshooting and the Install and Update troubleshooting guides.
Run-time Information
The Information panel displays:
- Connection status: Last alive check and time
- Agent Type: Type of Monitoring Agent
- Server: Hosting server
- Environment: Run-time environment
- Version: Current version
- Config Version: Current configuration version
Monitoring Agent information panel.
Delete Monitoring Agent
Remove a Nodinite Monitoring Agent from the system if uninstalled. You can restore it later; see Show deleted records.
Example of the Delete button for a Monitoring Agent.
Note
Deleting a Monitoring Agent removes it from synchronization. All Resources are marked as deleted and disappear from Monitor View.
Click Delete to remove the agent. Confirm intent in the modal.
Confirm intent to remove Monitoring Agent.
A success message appears:
Example of a successful delete operation for a Monitoring Agent.
If you navigate to a deleted agent, you see:
Example of a deleted Monitoring Agent. The agent is no longer synchronized and all resources are marked as deleted.
Restore Monitoring Agent
Restore a deleted Monitoring Agent if it still exists in the system.
Example of the Restore button for a Monitoring Agent.
Note
Restoring a Monitoring Agent reactivates synchronization and restores Resources.
Click Restore to bring the agent back. Confirm intent in the modal.
Example of the confirm intent modal for restoring a Monitoring Agent.
A success message appears:
Example of a successful restore operation for a Monitoring Agent.
About Port 8000
If you have connection problems, see the Port 8000 user guide, and for agents in other networks, Service Bus Relaying.
Next Steps
Learn how to configure Remote Configuration.
- Remote Configuration
- Add or manage Monitor View
- Monitoring Agents Overview
- Monitoring Agents Troubleshooting