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Protocol Preconfiguration

Before running the Watchman agent in network mode, certain preconfigurations are necessary to ensure the agent can correctly collect information from target machines.

Purpose​

These steps aim to:

  • Open the required ports on remote machines
  • Enable necessary services for querying (SNMP, SSH, WMI, etc.)
  • Ensure network accessibility to these machines
  • Provide secure and centralized authentication (if using LDAP/Active Directory)
note

These operations must be performed on the machines you want to scan over the network.

Network mode: how it works​

When the agent is run in network mode, it sends remote requests to:

  • Discover machines connected to the local network or Active Directory domain
  • Retrieve system information (OS, services, installed applications)
  • Automatically synchronize data with the Watchman platform

This mode requires that network communication protocols are available and properly configured on the targets.

Supported protocols​

Here are the protocols supported by the agent, each having its own configuration section:

  • SNMP: to query routers, switches, and network equipment
  • SSH: for Linux servers or machines
  • WMI: for Windows machines
  • HTTP: to centralize information from multiple endpoints
  • LDAP / Active Directory: to automatically import users and machines from a domain
warning

These steps are not all mandatory. You can enable only the protocols you wish to use in your environment.

Next steps​

Now proceed to configure each protocol according to your needs:

danger

Lack of preconfiguration may prevent the agent from obtaining certain network information. Please follow the instructions for each enabled protocol carefully.