Configuring Collector for endpoint devices

Configure Collector with your customer-specific data and settings to ensure a connection to your Nexthink instance. You can create multiple Collector configurations with different settings for different device groups.

Select the correct installer file type as described in Obtaining Collector, then follow the procedure in the relevant section below.

• Nexthink Collector Installer
• Windows Installer

Nexthink Collector Installer

The Nexthink Collector Installer is a graphical tool that produces a standalone executable for deployment.

1

Launch the installer

Double-click the Nexthink Collector Installer executable. The tool generates either:

• A silent installer: Nexthink_Collector_Installer_Silent.exe
• A verbose installer that opens a command-line window: Nexthink_Collector_Installer.exe

2

Configure Nexthink Appliance settings

Under Nexthink Appliance settings, specify the Nexthink instance settings:

Setting	Description
Address	The URL of your Nexthink instance.
Data over TCP	Select this option to send data over a TCP channel.
Ports (TCP)	443
Ports (UDP)	Do not select this when using the Nexthink cloud platform.
DNS	If needed, select Prefer IPv6 to have Collector favor IPv6 over IPv4 when communicating with the instance.

3

Configure General settings

Under General settings, configure the following options as needed:

• Installation options: Settings not shown in the dialog take their default value. Select Install configuration tool to modify these later using the Collector configuration tool. During an update, the system preserves values of non-visible settings from the previous installation.
• Web and Cloud Data: Select this if you have purchased the Web and Cloud product. Select Settings to specify the domains for which Collector stores full URL paths of web requests.
• Use the assignment service: Select this if you have activated rule-based assignment of Collectors.
• Engage activation: Select the behavior for launching campaigns on the target devices:

  • Enable except on servers: Collector launches campaigns on devices that do not run a server operating system.
  • Enable on all devices: Collector launches campaigns on all devices.
  • Disable: Collector ignores campaigns.
• Script execution policy: Select the policy for remote actions:

  • Signed by a trusted publisher or by Nexthink (default): Collector runs remote actions with PowerShell scripts signed by Nexthink or by a company in the Trusted Publishers certificate store.
  • Signed by a trusted publisher: Collector runs only remote actions with PowerShell scripts signed by a company in the Trusted Publishers certificate store.
  • Disabled: Collector does not run remote actions.
  • Unrestricted: Collector runs any remote action, regardless of the script digital signature.
• Collector tag (optional): An integer (0–2,147,483,647) that identifies a group of Collectors; useful for defining entities in hierarchies.
• Collector string tag (optional): A label (maximum 2,048 characters) that identifies a group of Collectors; useful for defining entities in hierarchies.
• Customer Key file: Your Customer Key file, provided by Nexthink, that protects the connection to the Nexthink instance.
• Output directory: Select Browse to choose the folder where the installer and uninstaller executables are created.
• Logs directory (optional): The network location where Collector saves installation logs.

4

Configure proxy settings (optional)

If applicable, configure proxy settings under Proxy configuration:

• Automatic proxy: Type the URL of the PAC file in the PAC address field.
• Manual proxy: Type the proxy port number in the Proxy port field.

5

Generate the installer files

Select Create to generate the following files:

• NEXThink_Collector<Nexthink_Experience_FQDN>.exe: Installer executable.
• NEXThink_Collector_Uninstaller<Nexthink_Experience_FQDN>.exe: Uninstaller executable.
• NEXThink_Collector<Nexthink_Experience_FQDN>.exe.txt: Text file listing the settings used.

Select OK to close the dialog.

Installer exit codes

The installer generates one of the following exit codes:

Exit code	Description
0	Success; reboot is not required.
-1	Success; reboot is required.
3	Failure; the installation started but failed (msiexec).
Other	Failure; the value corresponds to a Windows internal error code.

Uninstaller exit codes

The uninstaller generates one of the following exit codes:

Exit code	Description
0	Success; reboot is not required.
-1	Success; reboot is required.
1	Success; Collector was not found and nothing was uninstalled.
3	Failure; the uninstallation started but failed (msiexec).
Other	Failure; the value corresponds to a Windows internal error code.

Windows Installer

The Windows Installer (MSI) method requires an MST (transform) file for configuration. Use an MSI editor, for example, Orca, to create the MST file.

Refer to the documentation of your MSI editor.

Create the MST file

For the complete list of installation parameters, refer to the Collector MSI parameters reference table.

The following parameters are mandatory:

Parameter	Description
DRV_IP	The URL of your Nexthink instance. URL pattern: <customer_name>.data.eu.nexthink.cloud
CRD_PORT	443
CRD_KEY	Your Customer Key file provided by Nexthink. Open the key file in a text editor, copy the entire text, and paste it as the property value.
DATA_OVER_TCP	Enable to send end-user data over the TCP channel.

VDI Client Extension

When installing Collector version 25.4.1 or higher, the VDI Client Extension is enabled automatically for all devices in your environment when using VDI Experience. For older Collector versions, Nexthink recommends upgrading to the most recent version.