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Request for Robust Agent Self-Upgrade Mechanism

I’d like to highlight a critical pain point with Atera agent upgrades and propose a more sustainable solution.

Current Problems
When upgrading agents via:

MSI installation or CURL command, the process often: Removes the old agent but fails to install the new version (leaving devices unmanaged).

Triggers Error 2753 (corrupted installer state) or GPO conflicts.

Workarounds (e.g., manual PowerShell cleanup + reinstall) are not scalable and violate IT best practices.

No atomic upgrade process: Removal and installation are not transactional. Dependency on GPO/MSI: Prone to permissions/cleanup issues (e.g., residual registry keys).

No built-in rollback: Failures leave devices in a broken state.

Suggested Solutions: Agent Self-Upgrade Module!
Embed a standalone updater within the agent (like Chrome/Firefox/NinjaONE auto-updates).
Validate the new version before removing the old one.

Fallback Mechanism: Retain the old agent if the new version fails to install.

Silent Upgrades: Support seamless upgrades without GPO/MSI dependencies (e.g., HTTP-based binary patches).

NIS2 Compliance: Broken agents = gaps in asset inventory (a compliance risk).
IT Overhead: Manual fixes (like PowerShell cleanups) waste hours.
User Impact: Failed upgrades disrupt workflows and erode trust.

Example Scenario:

Atera Support advised me to run:
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32Product | Where-Object {$.Name -eq "AteraAgent"} | Remove-WmiObject
followed by CURL reinstall. This is error-prone and unsustainable.

Request
Please prioritize a native, fault-tolerant upgrade system to replace the current fragile methods. Many competitors (e.g., NinjaRMM, Datto RMM) handle this elegantly.

Thanks for considering!

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Gabriele Begni shared this idea  ·   ·  Report…  ·  Admin →
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  • Alan Silvester commented  ·   ·  Report

    Yep, I’ve been using Arera for 5 years now and this is by far my biggest problem with it. I’m always finding agents offline and then need to clear them up an reinstall the agent

  • Jazz Oberoi commented  ·   ·  Report

    You would think a RMM & Patching platform would atleast keep its own agent patched and auto-updated as a start !?

    I dont think this is too much to ask and it should'nt even be a topic for discussion.

  • Stephen Schillinger commented  ·   ·  Report

    I am shocked to find out that this isn't a thing.
    I have been using installers from well over a year ago and all of them are running VERY old versions compared to the latest...