Configuring updates of dynamic host agents
This topic applies only to dynamic host agents, as opposed to static ones. For more information on the difference between static and dynamic agents, refer to the Host Agent Types documentation.
Dynamic host agents can update themselves, and thus reduce the management overhead.
Updating interval
By default, dynamic host agents check for new versions each day at between 4:15 and 4:45 AM. This automatic check can be disabled, set to a preferred time of day, or set to run on specific days. Agents randomly spread out their updates to avoid congesting the network with synchronized requests.
Configuration parameters are in the etc/instana/com.instana.agent.main.config.UpdateManager.cfg file:
# Instana Update Manager configuration.
# AUTO for automatic updates with given schedule. OFF for no automatic updates.
mode = AUTO
# DAY for daily, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY
every = DAY
# Time is hh:mm in 24 hours format.
at = 04:30
# Spread updates randomized over 30 minutes around the configured time
jitter = 30
Version pinning
Every change to the host agent is released as a complete set of all the host agent components, called version. All released versions are available in the Agent Updates Git repository,
and they are identified by the commit's sha, which is a unique identifier for each entry in the history of the repository. In addition to the commit sha, the version is also released as a tag.
The tags can be found in Agent Updates - tags.
It is possible to select a specific version by using the following setting in the <instana-agent-dir>/etc/instana/com.instana.agent.bootstrap.AgentBootstrap.cfg file before startup.
version = <sha or tag>
The host agent then uses the version, and never update to a newer one until its configuration is changed.
Retrieving current version
The following host agent API endpoint provides the version of the host agent's components:
curl localhost:42699/version