Upgrading The Agent

The Agent can be configured to automatically update itself or it can be manually upgraded.

Automatic updates are entirely opt-in, meaning that organizations have the flexibility to enable or disable them based on their own security policies.

Files.com releases regular updates to the Agent, but upgrading to every new version is not required if the Agent is functioning correctly. Files.com will notify you when an upgrade is required, when a version reaches end of support, or when updates are needed to support new encryption or security requirements.

Automatic Updates

The Agent provides a configuration option for automatic unattended updates.

Configure the auto_update_policy value to the desired option.

Valid options are manual_trigger, critical_only, always and never.

When set to always, the Agent will update itself whenever there is a new version available.

When set to critical_only, the Agent will only update itself with versions that solve reliability, performance, or security issues. This is the default value.

When set to never, the Agent never automatically updates. This prevents updates from being pushed to host systems, providing flexibility for meeting change management policy requirements.

When set to manual_trigger, the Agent will only update itself when manually triggered from Files.com.

The updates are cryptographically verified prior to installation to make sure that they have not not been tampered with.

If the Agent cannot start after an update, the Agent will restart with the previously installed version.

Automatic updates will only occur when the Agent is running as a system service.

Upgrading the Agent Manually

The Files.com Agent supports two upgrade methods: Remote Upgrade and Local Upgrade. A remote upgrade is initiated from the Files.com web interface while a local upgrade is performed directly on the Agent host system. Both approaches update the Agent to a newer version without requiring changes to the configuration file.

Remote Upgrade

A remote upgrade is initiated from the Files.com web interface by using the Update to <version> option for the Agent. This method allows you to upgrade the Agent without manually accessing the host system. The Agent downloads and installs the new version automatically and restarts the service as needed.

Local Upgrade

A local upgrade is manually performed directly on the host where the Agent is installed. To complete a local upgrade, download the latest version of the Agent and replace the existing files-agent executable binary with the newly downloaded version. Stop and restart the Agent service to complete the upgrade. No configuration changes are required.