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!
Gabriele Begni
shared this idea
-
Alan Silvester
commented
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
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
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... -
ITSupport ITSupport
commented
Hi Atera Team,
Good Day!
I would like to suggest you for atera agent version upgrade, while installing .msi file or Running CURL command it is removed older atera agent and installing new one most of the time only removed old version not installing new one. So i asked Atera support chat they suggest me to run Powershell command to remove Atera agent completely and run CURL command for new installation. I believe this is not a correct method , please make a new method once i run a CURL command or .MSI file it will upgrade old version to latest version.