Collector configuration tool for Windows
Overview
Nxtcfg is a small console application that reads and modifies the configuration parameters of Collector. Run Nxtcfg with administrator privileges.
Installation
By default, the Nxtcfg tool is installed along with Collector when installing the Collector MSI. Here is the absolute file path:
C:\Windows\System32\nxtcfg.exe
If not required, add the option CFG_INSTALL=0 to the MSI command line when installing the Collector.
Options
Option | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
/start | Start the Collector. |
|
/stop | Stop the Collector. |
|
/restart | Restart the Collector. |
|
/g | Get the value of a particular configuration parameter from the Collector. See the table in the next section for the list of possible parameters. |
|
/s | Set the value of one or more configuration parameters of the Collector. See the table in the next section for the list of possible parameters. |
|
/l | List all the configuration parameters of the Collector with their current values. |
|
Configuration parameters
Modifying some of the parameters requires a restart of Collector for all the changes to take effect. Rebooting the device forcefully restarts all Collector components as well. For each parameter, this is specified by the values in the column Restart required of the parameters table:
No No reboot or component restart is required.
Yes Collector restart or device reboot is required.
Parameter | Description | Default value | Range | Restart required |
---|---|---|---|---|
ip | Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your Nexthink instance. | - | - | No |
tcp_port | Port number for TCP communication with your Nexthink instance. | - | [1024 - 65535] | Yes |
tag | Optional integer number to identify the installation. | 0 | [0 - 2147483647] | No |
string_tag | Optional label to identify the installation. | - | any string (max 2048 chars) | No |
cgpi | The CrashGuard protection interval value is the time interval since boot (in minutes) after which a dirty reboot, a spontaneous system restart, does not increase the CrashGuard. | 240 min | - | Yes |
logmode | Logging mode:
| 0 | [0 - 2] | No |
logsize | Maximum size of log file when logging is enabled. Logs are rotated after the maximum is reached. | 32 MB | [1 - 512] MB | Yes |
iops | Enable (1) or disable (0) IOPS monitoring functionality. | 0 | [0 - 1] | Yes |
dwef | When set, Collector does not report when an application freezes or stops responding. | 0 | [0 - 1] | Yes |
pkg_interval | Period, in hours, in which Collector checks for new installed packages and updates and reports them:
| 1 | [0 - 24] | Yes |
wme | (classic) When set, Collector reports Web and Cloud data. | 1 | [0 - 1] | Yes |
wm_domains | (classic) List of domains for which to report the URL of web requests. | - | No | |
prefer_ipv6 | When set, the Collector prefers IPv6 to communicate with the Nexthink instance when the FQDNs resolves to both IPv6 and IPv4 addresses. | 0 | [0 - 1] | No |
custom_shells | When set, enable Collector to report user logon events in environments where Explorer is not the default shell. For example, certain embedded (kiosk mode) or virtualized environments. | 0 | [0 - 1] | No |
execution_policy | The security policy to apply when executing scripts of remote actions. | signed_trusted_or_nexthink |
| No |
customer_key | The customer key of the Nexthink instance. | - | Path to text file with the cryptographic key. | Yes |
assignment_status | (classic) The status of the assignment of the Collector. | disabled |
| No (read‑only) |
use_assignment | (classic) Instruct the Collector whether to use or not use the assignment service. | disable |
| Yes (only when enabling) |
engage | Activation of the features to engage with the employees. | enable_except_on_server_os |
| Yes |
data_over_tcp | Send the Collector data over TCP. | enable |
| Yes |
proxy_pac_address | URL of the PAC file to automatically configure the proxy settings. | - |
| Yes |
proxy_address | FQDN of the proxy for manual configuration of proxy settings. | - |
| Yes |
proxy_port | Port number where the proxy is listening for manual configuration of proxy settings. | - |
| Yes |
Nxtcfg in remote actions
Because Collector communicates with the Nexthink instance when running remote actions, it is not recommended to change any of the configuration parameters of Collector from a remote action. Thus, refrain from modifying any of the following configuration parameters when running nxtcfg.exe
within a remote action:
ip
tcp_port
customer_key
For the same reason, do not stop or restart Collector with nxtcfg.exe
using a remote action. Directly stopping or restarting Collector abruptly ends the communication between Collector and the Nexthink instance, resulting in Collector losing its state with respect to the remote action. Once Collector is up again, it executes the remote action from the beginning, potentially creating an infinite loop.
Instead, if you need to modify some Collector settings from a remote action that requires a restart, use the following code in the script of the remote action:
To stop Collector:
To start Collector:
Setting the customer key
Collector uses the customer key to validate the identity of the Nexthink instance and securely communicate with it via TLS. If that security parameter changes, you must adjust the configuration of your Collector instances.
The parameter customer_key
is special because it does not admit a direct value as an argument but as a path to a text file holding the actual value of the customer key.
To set the customer key and root certificate, type in the following command:
nxtcfg.exe /s customer_key="C:\Nexthink-customer-key.txt"
The instruction above assumes that you placed the files in the root directory of your C: drive
When listing the customer_key
parameter with the /l
option of Nxtcfg, the complete customer key is not displayed. Only the first few characters are shown. These characters are usually enough to identify the key while keeping the list of the other parameters readable.
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