Virtualization
The Insight Agent supports virtual distribution using a virtual machine clone or an Amazon Machine Image (AMI). If you are using a golden image that contains installed Insight Agents, ensure the golden image certificates are refreshed within 5 years of initial installation to avoid using expired certificates.
UUID conflicts
Perform these configuration steps very carefully. To avoid potential UUID conflicts, the Insight Agent service must not be started after the initial installation. The Insight Agent relies on the UUID of its asset to be recognized by your Rapid7 products as unique.
To virtualize the Insight Agent:
- Depending on your operating system, Install the Insight Agent but do not start the service.
- For Linux, follow the instructions for your architecture of choice and stop the service using the following command:
- systemctl stop ir_agent - For Windows, the service will always start automatically. You must stop the service before you proceed to the next step. See Agent controls for instructions on how to stop the service.
- For Linux, follow the instructions for your architecture of choice and stop the service using the following command:
- Remove the
bootstrap.cfgfile from the agent installation directory. Default installation paths for this file are as follows:- Linux -
/opt/rapid7/ir_agent/components/bootstrap/common/bootstrap.cfg - Windows -
C:\program Files\Rapid7\Insight Agent\components\bootstrap\common\bootstrap.cfg
- Linux -
- Shut down the host machine.
- Perform a cloning/baseline image snapshot operation.
This procedure ensures that all new instances created from this original clone/image will evaluate their own unique UUIDs.
InsightVM can correlate virtual desktop machines as single assets
If you are an InsightVM customer, you can avail of an algorithm that correlates non-persistent virtual desktop machines (VDIs) and avoids asset duplication. For more information, read How InsightVM correlates non-persistent VDIs.