Endpoint Agent Installation Reference
This article provides more in-depth information regarding the opt-in/out configuration options within the Endpoint Agent installer.
The Endpoint Agent browser extensions can be installed either at the end of the GUI installation process, or as part of the Windows command line installation.
If the browser settings for either Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome are managed by a separate mechanism (for example, Windows Group Policy or Google Chrome Browser Cloud Management), then the extensions should not be enabled during the installation process. This is due to the Endpoint Agent installer modifying registry keys as part of the process, which may cause conflicts.
This issue does not affect the Internet Explorer extension, which can only be enabled during installation.
The Feature Selection page of the installer wizard provides a drop-down menu to select the desired extension, and disable support for Extended Network Tests .
From January 31, 2023, the TCP Network Tests installation feature has been included as a part of the Extended Network Tests. The installer will by default, support the Extended Network Tests. More information can be found here.
As the Selection Tree widget is a standard Windows Installer control, with limited ability to customise it; the Will be installed on local hard drive and the Entire feature will be installed on local hard drive options are identical.
Once you have configured the extensions, click Next to continue the installation wizard.
If you opt not to install the extensions as part of the Endpoint Agent installer process, you can still install them separately. See Install the Browser Extension.
Switch | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport | Extended Network Tests Support | Install Windows driver and enable support for Extended Network tests. |
EdgeExtension | Microsoft Edge Browser Extension | Enable support for collecting network metrics for approved pages in Microsoft Edge. |
ChromeExtension | Google Chrome Browser Extension | Enable support for collecting network metrics for approved pages in Google Chrome. |
IeExtension | Internet Explorer Bowrser Extension | Enable support for collecting network metrics for approved pages in Internet Explore. |
Agent | Endpoint Client Agent | Optional Switch for base agent installation. This does not include support for the Extended Network Tests. |
TcpNetworkTestsSupport | TCP Network Tests Support | Install Windows driver and enable support for TCP tests. This switch will be deprecated. More information can be found [here] (release notes). |
If no Switches are passed, Extended Network Tests will be installed and no Browser Extensions are installed.
To install the extensions via the command-line, add the relevant flags shown in the examples below:
If the MSI is run without any options, the Endpoint agent is installed with support for Extended Network Tests and without any Browser Extensions.
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestartYou can also include the reinstallation token:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ENDPOINT_REINSTALLATION_METHOD=MERGE_BY_HOSTNAME ENDPOINT_REINSTALLATION_KEY=<KEY_GOES_HERE>Install with Extended Network Tests Support and no browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart /qnInstall with Extended Network Tests Support and all the browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport,IeExtension,ChromeExtension,EdgeExtension"Install with Extended Network Tests Support and Microsoft Edge browser extension:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport,EdgeExtension"Install with Extended Network Tests Support and Internet Explorer browser extension:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport,IeExtension"Install with Extended Network Tests Support and Chrome browser extension:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport,ChromeExtension"Install with Extended Network Tests Support and Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport,IeExtension,EdgeExtension"Install with Extended Network Tests Support with Microsoft Edge, and Chrome browser extensions:
mmsiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport,ChromeExtension,EdgeExtension"Install with Extended Network Tests Support with Internet Explorer, and Chrome browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport,IeExtension,ChromeExtension"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support and no browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="Agent"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support and all the browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="Agent,IeExtension,ChromeExtension,EdgeExtension"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support but, with Microsoft Edge extension:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="Agent,EdgeExtension"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support but, with Internet Explorer browser extension:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="Agent,IeExtension"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support but, with Chrome browser extension:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="Agent,ChromeExtension"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support but, with Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="Agent,IeExtension,EdgeExtension"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support but, with Microsoft Edge and Chrome browser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ChromeExtension,EdgeExtension"Install with no Extended Network Tests Support but, with Internet Explorer and Chrome bowser extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="IeExtension,ChromeExtension"To remove the support for Extended Network Tests, add the REMOVE=" ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport" to the command. For example:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart REMOVE="ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport"The ThousandEyes Endpoint Agent allows users to enable support for Extended Network Tests for Windows via the command line installation. As part of enabling support, the Endpoint Agent installer automatically extracts and invokes the standard Npcap OEM installer for Windows.
The NPCAP Driver version must be v 1.55. Also, reboot the system to have the NPCAP driver installed.
You can verify the currently installed version of NPCAP driver by running the following registry query:
reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\NpcapInstThe installation done by the ThousandEyes Endpoint agent installer will look like this:
QuietUninstallString REG_SZ "C:\Program Files (x86)\ThousandEyes\Npcap\uninstall.exe" /S
DisplayIcon REG_SZ C:\Program Files (x86)\ThousandEyes\Npcap\uninstall.exe
UninstallPath REG_SZ C:\Program Files (x86)\ThousandEyes\Npcap
DisplayName REG_SZ Npcap OEM
DisplayVersion REG_SZ 1.10
Publisher REG_SZ Nmap Project
URLInfoAbout REG_SZ Npcap: Windows Packet Capture Library & Driver
URLUpdateInfo REG_SZ Npcap: Windows Packet Capture Library & Driver
VersionMajor REG_SZ 1
VersionMinor REG_SZ 10
NoModify REG_DWORD 0x1
NoRepair REG_DWORD 0x1
The installation by another product can look like this:
QuietUninstallString REG_SZ "C:\Program Files\Npcap\uninstall.exe" /S
DisplayIcon REG_SZ C:\Program Files\Npcap\uninstall.exe
UninstallPath REG_SZ C:\Program Files\Npcap
DisplayName REG_SZ Npcap
DisplayVersion REG_SZ 1.10
Publisher REG_SZ Nmap Project
URLInfoAbout REG_SZ Npcap: Windows Packet Capture Library & Driver
URLUpdateInfo REG_SZ Npcap: Windows Packet Capture Library & Driver
VersionMajor REG_SZ 1
VersionMinor REG_SZ 10
NoModify REG_DWORD 0x1
NoRepair REG_DWORD 0x1
In either case the
DisplayVersion parameter displays the version of NPCAP currently installed.If NPCAP is already installed (as a part of Wireshark or NMAP), the installer won't upgrade it, and if the driver version is not compatible with the Endpoint Agent, the extended network testing feature will be disabled. In such scenarios, ThousandEyes recommends you to follow these instructions:
- 1.Uninstall (manually) the unsupported version of NPCAP. You can do this via Add/Remove Programs.
You can use the
UninstallString command to remove the currently installed NPCAP driver, if the outdated version was not installed by the Endpoint Agent installer.For example,
UninstallString REG_SZ "C:\Program Files\Npcap\uninstall.exe"- 2.Run the Endpoint Agent installer to remove the Extended Network Tests feature.
- 3.Again, run the Endpoint Agent installer with the Extended Network Tests feature enabled (by default). This step, triggers the installation of the upgraded NPCAP driver bundled with the Endpoint Agent.
- 4.Restart the ThousandEyes Endpoint Agent service.
For Windows, you can use
sc query npcap to verify if the NPCAP driver is installed and running.If steps described above do not resolve the issue or if the issue keeps reoccurring, please contact ThousandEyes Support team ([email protected]).
Existing Endpoint Agents that have the ExtendedNetworkTestsSupport feature turned off (or older versions of the agent that do not support this feature) will need to be reinstalled to enable Extended Network Tests. ThousandEyes recommends to use the convenience script to enable TCP tests. The agents can also be updated by following the same process as new agents, outlined below. Updating the agent without uninstalling the previous installation should have no impact on existing data.
However, if the previous installation is uninstalled first, the new data will be assigned to a completely new agent that will have the same name as the original. ThousandEyes recommends running the installer without uninstalling the existing agent.
To enable support via the command line, use the installation command flag as outlined in the examples below:
- Invoke the installer interactively:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> - Invoke the installer silently:
When running the installer silently, all features installed are replaced. Browser extensions must be explicitly mentioned when running the installer silently.
Install only Extended Network Support and no extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestartInstall Extended Network Tests Support and all extensions:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="IeExtension,ChromeExtension,EdgeExtension"Install Extended Network Tests Support and the Google Chrome extension only:
msiexec.exe /i <path_to_msi> /quiet /norestart ADDLOCAL="ChromeExtension"After a successful installation, both the ThousandEyes Endpoint Agent and the Npcap OEM should be listed under the Apps & Features program on Windows. The installation directory for Npcap OEM is:
- C:\Program Files (x86)\ThousandEyes\Npcap (64-bit Windows)
- C:\Program Files\ThousandEyes\Npcap (32-bit Windows)
Uninstalling the Npcap OEM entry individually from the Apps & Features list is not supported and should be avoided. Uninstalling the Endpoint Agent also uninstalls Npcap OEM and removes it completely from the Apps & Features list.
Last modified 5d ago