Install the SysTrack Agent on a Mac

An Administrator can manually install the SysTrack macOS Agent on the endpoint system. The Cloud Edition installer is included in the ClientInstallMac.zip file from the Tenant home page. For SysTrack On-Premises, you need to ask for the ClientInstallMac.zip file from Lakeside Customer Support.

The following sections explain the manual installation process as summarized here:

  1. Pre-Installation Preparation: Establish a secure connection to the SysTrack Server.

  2. SysTrack Installation: Install the package.

  3. Post-Installation Configuration: Enable Full Disk Access, set up antivirus exclusions, and run the Agent control script.

Pre-Installation Preparation

Before installing the SysTrack Agent, a secure connection from the endpoint system to the SysTrack Server is required. The macOS agent requires SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate Verification in order to securely connect to the Server. This type of security protocol requires a valid SSL certificate, installed and trusted, on the macOS endpoint system.

Any additional root or intermediate certificates should be imported prior to proceeding to the next section.

For Cloud Edition deployments, the endpoint system only requires an internet connection given the use of a publicly trusted Certificate Authority (CA) for authentication and encryption.

SysTrack Installation

The SysTrack Agent installer uses the built-in macOS installer framework to provide a familiar interface for Mac users. Simply double-click the Install-SysTrack.pkg file and follow the prompts. To complete the installation, you'll need an account with permission to install new software.

Gatekeeper

All macOS versions since 10.7 come with a feature known as Gatekeeper, which is enabled by default. Gatekeeper is a feature designed to prevent malicious software from being installed. For apps distributed outside the Mac App Store, Gatekeeper will ensure that the app was developed by a registered developer and that the app has not been tampered with since it was signed. Lakeside Software, Inc. is a registered developer with Apple, so the agent installer will pass all Gatekeeper checks. Please note that if you have configured your system to only allow apps to be installed from the Mac App Store, the SysTrack install package will not open. For more information, see this Apple Support document.

Post-Installation Configuration

After installing the SysTrack Agent, the following additional tasks are required before the Agent starts collection.

Full Disk Access

With the additional security settings included in macOS 10.15 Catalina, applications are denied permission to users' directories without explicit approval. To ensure proper monitoring of user profiles and directory sizes, we recommend that you complete the following steps to grant Full Disk Access to the SysTrack Agent.

Installing the SysTrack Agent_3

  1. Open your Mac's System Preferences and choose Security and Privacy.

  2. Navigate to Privacy tab and highlight Full Disk Access.

  3. Click the Lock icon in the bottom left corner of the System Preferences window and enter your administrator password.

  4. Click the Add + button and navigate to the /Library/Application Support/Lakeside Software/ directory.

  5. Select the lsiagentd executable and add it to the Full Disk Access list.

Antivirus Exclusions

If the endpoint system is running antivirus software, the SysTrack Agent should be added to the antivirus exclusion list. Without these exclusions in place, the SysTrack Agent's performance may be affected.

If the antivirus software supports excluding a whole directory, this is the SysTrack Agent default directory:

/Library/Application Support/Lakeside Software

The SysTrack Agent executable:

/Library/Application Support/Lakeside Software/lsiagentd

The SysTrack Agent database file:

/Library/Application Support/Lakeside Software/database/collect.sqlite3

Other individual files that are updated by the SysTrack Agent:

  • /Library/Application Support/Lakeside Software/lsiagent.cfg

  • /Library/Application Support/Lakeside Software/profile

  • /Library/Application Support/Lakeside Software/lsiagent.log

SysTrack Initial Configuration

The Agent control script must be run after initial installations of the SysTrack Agent to configure the connection with the SysTrack Server and start the SysTrack Agent. See File System Details for the location of the Agent control script. After you run the script, the SysTrack Agent will start and attempt to connect to the Server FQDN specified in the script parameters. A default SysTrack configuration can be specified with the script parameters. If the endpoint requires a network proxy, script parameters can be used to configure the proxy connection.

For Cloud Edition deployments, the Server FQDN is configured with the included lsiagent.cfg file, so the Server FQDN script parameter is not required. The Agent control script with the setup parameter and any additional parameters must still be run.

Script Parameter

Required?

Description

Example Argument

setup

Required

This must be the first parameter.

N/A

<Server FQDN>

Required

The fully qualified domain name of the Server is required for on-premises installations.

NOTE: Not for use with Cloud Edition deployments.

myserver.domain

--config

Optional

Default SysTrack Configuration.

SysTrack Test Config

--proxyconnectionhub

Optional

The name of the ProxyConnectionHub system (if applicable).

test.lakesidesoftware.org

--autodetectproxy

Optional

Preferred proxy setting: whether or not to use autodetect.

N/A

--autoconfigscript

Optional

Preferred proxy setting: the address of a .pac file from which to get proxy information.

http://test.lakesidesoftware.org/test.pac

--httpproxy

Optional

Preferred proxy setting: the address for the preferred HTTP proxy.

127.0.0.1:80

--httpsproxy

Optional

Preferred proxy setting: the address for the preferred HTTPS proxy.

127.0.0.1:443

--ftpproxy

Optional

Preferred proxy setting: the address for the preferred FTP proxy.

127.0.0.1:21

--socketproxy

Optional

Preferred proxy setting: the address for the preferred Socket proxy.

127.0.0.1:443
--context Optional Defines the system context value. EMEA VIP

The control script must be run as root or with sudo.

Run the lsiagentctl control script from the Agent Directory with the following command:

./lsiagentctl setup <Server FQDN> [configuration_parameters] [proxy_parameters]

On-Premises Installation Example

Copy 
./lsiagentctl setup myserver.domain --config SysTrack Test Config
On-Premises Installation with Proxy Configuration Examples:
./lsiagentctl setup myserver.domain --proxyconnectionhub testhub.lakesidesoftware.org
./lsiagentctl setup myserver.domain --autoconfigscript http://test.lakesidesoftware.org/test.pac

Cloud Installation Examples

./lsiagentctl setup

Configuration Example:

./lsiagentctl setup --config SysTrack Test Config

Proxy Configuration Examples:

./lsiagentctl setup --httpproxy 127.0.0.1:80 --ftpproxy 127.0.0.1:21 --autodetectproxy

./lsiagentctl setup --autodetectproxy --httpsproxy 127.0.0.1:443 --socketproxy 127.0.0.1:443

SysTrack Agent Upgrade

To upgrade the SysTrack Agent to a new version, run the new Install-SysTrack.pkg file. The lsiagentctl control script is not required after upgrading a SysTrack Agent. The Agent will automatically restart and reconnect to the same SysTrack Server.