Creating a remote test agent (RTA)

A Remote Trace Agent (RTA) allows IP devices and routes to be tested from more than one location. In other words if you have an office in Boston and also an office in Paris you can test the route from Boston -to-Paris and also from Paris-to- Boston by downloading an RTA in either Paris or Boston depending on where the RoutePlotter Server is installed.

RTAs must first be created using the RoutePlotter Server before they can be downloaded. This creation process defines an agent and the IP devices it will monitor. Once an RTA is created it can be deployed in one or more locations as required. As an RTA is created with the routes to be monitored already defined then when the RTA is downloaded and installed it will immediately start monitoring the destinations declared.

Security Considerations

A deployed RTA cannot be used to change the devices being monitored. In order to change the IP devices monitored by one or more RTAs you must amend the RTA definitions at the RoutePlotter Server. If IP devices are changed by RTA type the changes will apply to all the agents that have been deployed of that RTA type.

The amount of agents that can be created or connected for an RTA type can be defined. This prohibits RTAs being downloaded and used incorrectly and also limits the number of concurrent connections. This is useful for example when providing RTAs directly to remote customers as it will limit and manage the number of concurrent connections. If an RTA type has reached the maximum number of agents that can connect then the next agent trying to connect will be put in a 'suspended' state. When an agent is suspended it doesn't monitor any routes nor does it ask for routes from the server. It will also attempt to connect less frequently to limit interruptions to the server. Note, when an RTA is resumed from a suspended state it may take up to a full minute before being registered online.

Deployed RTAs can be managed while running. RTAs can be set to a state of 'Online', 'Suspended' or 'Offline' directly by the user from the RoutePlotter Server. In addition an RTA can be instructed to 'shutdown' by the user. The 'shutdown'  request not only stops the RTA but also uninstall's the RTA.

RTAs deleted from the RoutePlotter Server are removed from the RoutePlotter RTA available list. Any running RTAs are automatically shutdown and uninstalled. All future requests from a deleted RTA will be rejected by the RoutePlotter Server and if necessary also uninstalled.

To begin the process an RTA needs to be created. To do this click the " My Agents " link in the main RoutePlotter Server GUI (as shown below) or choose " My Agents " from the Options menu.

Once the "My agents" link has been clicked the dialog box below ill be displayed

The next stage is to create a new RTA. To do this simply click the "Create a new Agent" link as shown in the image above. This will launch the dialog below

Type a name for the new Agent into the text box and click the 'OK ' button. It is best to use 'short' meaningful names as long names make some of the network views more complicated. Once 'OK' is clicked the new RTA will be added to the RoutePlotter Server 'available' agents list as shown below.

New options appear on the left hand side. These include Create a new Agent, View Agent, Agent Options and Delete Agent.