2. Configuration

Smart Agent remote installation requires two key configuration files: config.ini for Smart Agent settings and remote.yaml for defining remote hosts and connection parameters.

Configuration Files Overview

Both configuration files should be located in the Smart Agent installation directory:

cd /home/ubuntu/appdsm

The two files you’ll configure:

config.ini - Smart Agent configuration deployed to all remote hosts
remote.yaml - Remote hosts and SSH connection settings

config.ini - Smart Agent Configuration

The config.ini file contains the main Smart Agent configuration that will be deployed to all remote hosts.

Location: /home/ubuntu/appdsm/config.ini

Controller Configuration

Configure your AppDynamics Controller connection:

ControllerURL    = fso-tme.saas.appdynamics.com
ControllerPort   = 443
FMServicePort    = 443
AccountAccessKey = your-access-key-here
AccountName      = your-account-name
EnableSSL        = true

Key Parameters:

ControllerURL: Your AppDynamics SaaS controller endpoint
ControllerPort: HTTPS port for the controller (default: 443)
FMServicePort: Flow Monitoring service port
AccountAccessKey: Your AppDynamics account access key
AccountName: Your AppDynamics account name
EnableSSL: Enable SSL/TLS encryption (should be true for production)

Common Configuration

Define the agent’s identity and polling behavior:

[CommonConfig]
AgentName            = smartagent
PollingIntervalInSec = 300
Tags                 = environment:production,region:us-east
ServiceName          = my-application

Parameters:

AgentName: Name identifier for the agent
PollingIntervalInSec: How often the agent polls for data (in seconds)
Tags: Custom tags for categorizing agents (comma-separated)
ServiceName: Optional service name for logical grouping

Telemetry Settings

Configure logging and profiling:

[Telemetry]
LogLevel  = DEBUG
LogFile   = /opt/appdynamics/appdsmartagent/log.log
Profiling = false

Parameters:

LogLevel: Logging verbosity (DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR)
LogFile: Path where logs will be written on remote hosts
Profiling: Enable performance profiling (true/false)

TLS Client Settings

Configure proxy and TLS settings:

[TLSClientSetting]
Insecure        = false
AgentHTTPProxy  = 
AgentHTTPSProxy = 
AgentNoProxy    =

Parameters:

Insecure: Skip TLS certificate verification (not recommended for production)
AgentHTTPProxy: HTTP proxy server URL (if required)
AgentHTTPSProxy: HTTPS proxy server URL (if required)
AgentNoProxy: Comma-separated list of hosts to bypass proxy

Auto Discovery

Configure automatic application discovery:

[AutoDiscovery]
RunAutoDiscovery          = false
ExcludeLabels             = process.cpu.usage,process.memory.usage
ExcludeProcesses          = 
ExcludeUsers              = 
AutoDiscoveryTimeInterval = 4h
AutoInstall               = false

Parameters:

RunAutoDiscovery: Automatically discover applications (true/false)
ExcludeLabels: Metrics to exclude from discovery
ExcludeProcesses: Process names to exclude from monitoring
ExcludeUsers: User accounts to exclude from monitoring
AutoDiscoveryTimeInterval: How often to run discovery (e.g., 4h, 30m)
AutoInstall: Automatically install discovered applications

Task Configuration

Configure native instrumentation:

[TaskConfig]
NativeEnable        = true
UserPortalUserName  = 
UserPortalPassword  = 
UserPortalAuth      = none
AutoUpdateLdPreload = true

Parameters:

NativeEnable: Enable native instrumentation
AutoUpdateLdPreload: Automatically update LD_PRELOAD settings

remote.yaml - Remote Hosts Configuration

The remote.yaml file defines the remote hosts where Smart Agent will be installed and the connection parameters.

Location: /home/ubuntu/appdsm/remote.yaml

Example Configuration

max_concurrency: 4
remote_dir: "/opt/appdynamics/appdsmartagent"
protocol:
  type: ssh
  auth:
    username: ubuntu
    private_key_path: /home/ubuntu/.ssh/id_rsa
    privileged: true
    ignore_host_key_validation: true
    known_hosts_path: /home/ubuntu/.ssh/known_hosts
hosts:
  - host: "172.31.1.243"
    port: 22
    user: root
    group: root
  - host: "172.31.1.48"
    port: 22
    user: root
    group: root
  - host: "172.31.1.142"
    port: 22
    user: root
    group: root
  - host: "172.31.1.5"
    port: 22
    user: root
    group: root

Global Settings

max_concurrency: Maximum number of hosts to process simultaneously

Default: 4
Increase for faster deployment to many hosts
Decrease if experiencing network or resource constraints

remote_dir: Installation directory on remote hosts

Default: /opt/appdynamics/appdsmartagent
Must be an absolute path
User must have write permissions

Protocol Configuration

type: Connection protocol

Value: ssh

auth.username: SSH username for authentication

Example: ubuntu, ec2-user, centos
Must match the user configured on remote hosts

auth.private_key_path: Path to SSH private key

Must be an absolute path
Key must be accessible and have proper permissions (600)

auth.privileged: Run agent with elevated privileges

true: Install as root/systemd service
false: Install as a user process
Recommended: true for production deployments

auth.ignore_host_key_validation: Skip SSH host key verification

true: Skip verification (useful for testing)
false: Validate host keys (recommended for production)

auth.known_hosts_path: Path to SSH known_hosts file

Default: /home/ubuntu/.ssh/known_hosts
Used when host key validation is enabled

Host Definitions

Each host entry requires:

host: IP address or hostname of the remote machine

Can be IPv4, IPv6, or hostname
Must be reachable from the control node

port: SSH port

Default: 22
Change if SSH is running on a non-standard port

user: User account that will own the Smart Agent process

Typically root for system-wide installation
Can be a regular user for user-specific installation

group: Group that will own the Smart Agent process

Typically matches the user (e.g., root)

Adding More Hosts

To add additional remote hosts, append to the hosts list:

hosts:
  - host: "10.0.1.10"
    port: 22
    user: root
    group: root
  - host: "10.0.1.11"
    port: 22
    user: root
    group: root

Tip

You can add as many hosts as needed. The max_concurrency setting controls how many are processed in parallel.

Verifying Configuration

Before proceeding with installation, verify your configuration files:

Review remote.yaml

cat /home/ubuntu/appdsm/remote.yaml

Check that:

All host IP addresses are correct
SSH key path is valid
Remote directory path is appropriate

Review config.ini

cat /home/ubuntu/appdsm/config.ini

Verify that:

Controller URL and account information are correct
Log file paths are valid
Settings match your environment requirements

Validate YAML Syntax

Ensure your YAML file is properly formatted:

python3 -c "import yaml; yaml.safe_load(open('/home/ubuntu/appdsm/remote.yaml'))"

If the command completes without errors, your YAML syntax is valid.

Once your configuration files are ready, you can proceed with the installation!