In today's business world, companies are increasingly seeking to optimize their operations and reduce costs by utilizing RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) platforms. As a result, it is essential to have the necessary expertise to automate and deploy commands to agents effectively, without causing any disruptions to the end client's machine or the RMM instance itself.
- To achieve maximum effectiveness, it is crucial to streamline scripts to target as many agents as possible with the least amount of target machine touches, while providing the ability to be ported over to any new RMM platform if required in the future. The use of PowerShell is recommended to accomplish this goal.
- When scripting for RMM endpoints, our second tip is to touch the endpoint as little as possible, relying on PowerShell to complete as much of the process as possible before returning to the RMM script. It is also recommended to consider limiting script runs to specific groups or searches rather than executing scripts against the entire environment. This reduces the overhead on the RMM, limiting individual calls to the agent and resulting in a less congested script engine.
- To ensure a smooth and seamless process, it is essential to follow our third tip, which involves making the target machine do as much of the work as possible, rather than relying on the RMM. The RMM may be dealing with potentially thousands of agents, so reducing the processing done on the RMM results in a cleaner, smoother RMM experience, reducing lag and other unwanted behaviors.
- It is also crucial to verify expected results and check for known outcomes to avoid errors, as it is impossible to know every possible outcome of a given script. Any errors can be populated back to the script and processed further, if desired.
- Lastly, signing scripts and using the certificate with the target machines you are working with will reduce the number of errors related to security posture and antivirus platforms, the number one error commonly encountered. By signing scripts, most of these issues can be avoided altogether, resulting in a smooth, seamless transition from problem to solution.
By following the above tips, you can create a future-proof, seamless, automation system that does not cause unnecessary headaches for you or your clients.
Written by: Chris Calverley
ProVal Technologies - DevOps Engineer
Chris Calverley is an accomplished developer with eight years of experience in the tech industry. He currently works at ProVal Tech, a leading consultant company that specializes in providing innovative solutions to Managed Services Providers. Chris's expertise in software development has been instrumental in the success of numerous projects at ProVal Tech. In this blog article, Chris will explore some of the best practices in scripting that developers can follow to create robust and efficient scripts. These practices will help developers to create scripts that are easier to manage, less prone to errors, and more adaptable to changing needs.