Upgrade the Agent from the command line

The Agent provides command-line arguments to support automated upgrade. To upgrade Agents in this manner, download a generic Agent installation package from the Downloads page of the Connected web application. Then, create a custom process that distributes and upgrades it on multiple devices at the same time. When the upgrade completes, the Agent automatically starts to process files on the computer unless you performed a silent upgrade—it does not prompt the user for their Connected email address or credentials.

Before you begin

Before you upgrade Agents using this procedure, do the following:

• Verify that all target computers meet Agent requirements.

To upgrade the Agent from the command line

1. In the upper-right corner of the web application, click your name, and then click Downloads.

2. Under Download a Specific Agent on the Downloads page, select a specific Agent, and then download it.

   You can choose any Agent version currently available to your company.

3. Install the new Agent using the appropriate command for the target operating system.

   You can automate the process for deployment to multiple Agents by specifying the command in a custom script or software deployment tool or you can install the Agent on the current computer by typing the command at a Terminal or Command Prompt.

   • On Windows-based computers, use the msiexec command. See example.

     To run the command in a Command Prompt window

     1. Open a Command Prompt window, and then change directory to the location where you saved the package.

     2. At the command prompt, enter the Msiexec.exe command that you want to use.

        For example, to install the Agent assigned to the US-West data center, enter the following command: msiexec /qn /i ConnectedSetupUSW64.msi

     3. If prompted, restart the computer to complete the upgrade.

        If the upgrade process cannot completely install or configure a component in use by another application, it prompts you to restart the computer. After restart, the upgrade process automatically completes.

     For the complete command-line syntax and examples, see Agent installer command-line reference (Windows).

   • On macOS-based computers, use the installer command. See example.

     To run the command in a Terminal prompt

     1. Open Terminal, and then change directory to the location where you saved the package.

     2. At the Terminal prompt, enter the sudo command that you want to use.

        For example, to install the Agent assigned to the US-West data center, enter the following command: sudo installer –pkg ConnectedSetupUSW.pkg -target /

     IMPORTANT: macOS 10.15 (Catalina) introduced data protection measures on folders that contain your documents and other personal files in your user profile. As a result, the first time the Agent attempts to access a file in each of these folders, macOS prompts whether to allow access.

     The first of these prompts occurs during Agent installation or upgrade to macOS Catalina when the installation package tries to create a shortcut on the desktop. Additional prompts occur during the Agent’s initial scan whenever it attempts to access one of the protected folders for the first time. For the Agent to back up files, the user must allow access. After granting access to a specific folder, the user is not prompted again for that location unless they manually revoke access through the macOS Security & Privacy settings.

     For more information about this macOS security-related data protection feature, see https://www.apple.com/macos/catalina/features/.

     For the complete command-line syntax and examples, see Agent installer command-line reference (macOS).

4. If your company uses certificate-based authentication and this is the initial installation of the Agent on the computer, add commands to distribute and install the authentication certificate.

5. If automating the upgrade using a custom script or software deployment tool, initiate Agent deployment now using your script or tool.

If the upgrade fails, see the FAQ The Agent install or upgrade process failed, what should I do? for troubleshooting tips.

After a successful upgrade, the following occurs:

• On Windows-based computers:

  • If you used the /qn option to install the Agent silently, the user must start the Agent manually.

  • If you did not use the /qn option, the Agent starts automatically unless the wizard's Launch Connected check box was cleared. In that case, the user must start the Agent manually.

• On macOS-based computers, the Agent starts automatically.