New SM Agent v3.1.0 for macOS and Windows Now Available

[Kevin_C]

A new version of the SM Agent (v3.1.0) is now available for download on macOS and Windows.  Some important updates include the ability for SM admins to define the default version of the Agent used in a network or on a specific device, and workflow changes to the installation process.  

For more details check out the new feature announcement here.

[JoelMiles]

I'm not finding documentation about how to specify the network ID or enrollment string as a parameter (for unattended installs) to the new 3.1.0 Agent installer.  Could you point me to the guide that specifies how to do this?

[Kevin_C]

@Joel @ivanpetrov Meraki Documentation has been updated with information about how to install Agent v3.1.0 via command line or group policy. 

[ivanpetrov]

Is there documentation on 3.1 agents for macOS (how to deploy without network ID prompt)?

[JoelMiles]

Still waiting to see a response to this one also.  @Kevin_C, thanks for providing the documentation for Windows agents, but we do still need the documentation for including the network ID when deploying to macOS.

[JoelMiles]

Any word on when we'll see the documentation for scripted/unattended installations of the 3.1.0 agent on macOS?  Or is this not a feature of the installer currently?

[JoelMiles]

@Kevin_C, still waiting (after several months and multiple replies) for a response to this question:

Any word on when we'll see the documentation for scripted/unattended installations of the 3.1.0 agent on macOS?  Or is this not a feature of the installer currently?

[M-DOS]

Good luck @JoelMiles .  I was recently informed that the bugs in their remote control tool won't be solved since its still in BETA?!  This function was released like over a year ago and its still in BETA?  Not particularly impressed with the amount of times I've been asked to reinstall the agent as a result of bugs with 3.1.0 client.  I'm still cleaning up the mess and finding anomlies which require me to completely unenroll and uninstall the agent, in order to get the machines working again in a better state but not fully functional.

[PaulF]

Hi @JoelMiles I'll chase this up today for you...

[MattMorg]

@JoelMiles details and examples for command line installations of the SM agent can now be found here: 

https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Device_Enrollment/Mac_Enrollment#Command_Line_Options

On agent 3.1.0 and higher you can now pass the enrollment code (or string) as a parameter called 'enrollment_code' via the agent .pkg installer.

Also as a general knowledge share for the future, change log release notes for new releases of Windows/macOS agents can be found here: 

https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Device_Enrollment/Systems_Manager_Agent_Release_Notes

[PhilipDAth]

>release notes for new releases of Windows/macOS agents can be found here: 

This is a great step forward!  But don't stop ...

Meraki users are not "trained" to look at the documentation site for release notes.  Users wanting this info will fail to find it.  You need to get this link onto the Firmware update page somehow (where all other release notes are published).  In this section, perhaps labelled "SM".

[PhilipDAth]

I like this chart showing the difference between agent and profile features.

https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Device_Enrollment/Systems_Manager_Agent_and_MDM_Profile_Enrollme... 

[BlakeRichardson]

Any reason the enrolment info now has to be manually entered or scripted, the old method worked fine and meant we could quickly download the install and deploy it.

Seems a step backwards to me. 

[ivanpetrov]

How do we specify the network ID for unattended install (applicable for imaging tools like MDT/etc)?

Is the macOS version compatible with M1 Macs now? 

[Kevin_C]

@ivanpetrov Installing Rosetta 2 is a pre-requirement for properly install the Agent on M1 Macs. We are continuing to investigate ways to make this process more seamless.  

[ivanpetrov]

Installing Rosetta2 is simply a workaround. The proper solution would be to make agent binaries compiled as universal architecture. There are also rumors Apple will remove Rosetta on macOS 11.3 in some regions, that would break the agent on these affected. 

[JoelMiles]

The documentation refers to the 3.1.0 Windows agent installer with a filename pattern of "SMAgent-x.x.x.msi", however, the download link on our dashboard still points to a "MerakiPCCAgent.msi" file.  Has our dashboard link not been updated yet?  Since this new version isn't tied to our tenant, is there a more generic download link from which we can obtain the 3.1.0+ installers?

[Kevin_C]

@JoelMiles With this release, Agent version control is now administrator-managed.  Please follow this documentation to manage the Agent version for devices across your networks.  If Agent v3.1.0 does not appear as an option in the version selectors, please open a support case.  

[JoelMiles]

@Kevin_C, thanks for that information, that was exactly what I needed!  It wasn't obvious to me that changing the "Preferred agent version" would also change the manual download link, but now I understand the linkage and the desire to unify them.  Perhaps a small note on the "Add Devices" -> "Agent" box informing the admin that the version available for download is controlled via the "Preferred agent version" option would be helpful for others?  That would have been helpful for me.

[M-DOS]

Avoid deploying for a couple of months.  Not all bugs have been identified but here are the ones I'm aware of:

• If you make 3.10 the default agent, if you have the macOS agent auto install as part of enrollment, it will fail.  The device log will say it successfully installed, but will loop and not install.  Workaround is you'll need to manually install the agent.
• Remote Control Agent may not function correctly for Windows 10 devices.

[PaulF]

Hello all. Further to this, agent 3.1.1 has been released, as per: 

https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Device_Enrollment/Systems_Manager_Agent_Release_Notes

Changes:

macOS

• [Bug fix] Installing agent over MDM now automatically enrolls without needing any user intervention. 
• [Bug fix] The agent installer will now install Rosetta 2 on Apple Silicon macOS devices, if it is not already installed. This allows Apple Silicon macOS devices to enroll in MDM and then push the agent without requiring user intervention. 

Windows

• [Bug fix] Agent only enrollments no longer have a delay in initial sync with Dashboard. 
• [Bug fix] Incorrect LAN IP reported via agent for Windows devices with multiple NICs.  
• [Security] Various agent file privilege fixes. 
• [Update] Reduced usage of the shared C:\Windows\Temp directory so there are fewer audit events generated. 

[ivanpetrov]

That's great the fixes for 3.1.1

I see the agent now deploys Rosetta, but it does not install itself as it is missing the necessary parameters. The only way to enroll is from the device, which is not the desired result. How can we have 3.1.1 install and enroll on a fresh new computer without having to enroll from the computer itself?

• [Bug fix] Installing agent over MDM now automatically enrolls without needing any user intervention.

this does not work for me. Agent reports 

"no organization_id, no enrollment_code, no silent upgrade; preflight quitting. No install. 

[PaulF]

Is this being pushed from SM, or are you installing this manually?

[ivanpetrov]

I am pushing it from SM on a brand new supervised machine.

[ivanpetrov]

Shall we expect this bug to be sorted out? Deploying new computer, either Apple or Intel chip, will fail to enroll in SM when 3.1.1 is utilized. To work around the problem I have to either manually install the agent using the environment script to provide network ID/etc or to roll back to default to 3.0.2 which breaks automatic install on Apple silicon macs because Rosetta does not deploy automatically. Duh!!