Understanding Agents

Control Manager 5.0/5.5 uses MCP and Control Manager 2.x agents to manage products on the Control Manager network:

  • Control Manager Agent (version 2.51 or higher) - Older versions of Trend Micro products require this agent, built according to the Control Manager 2.5/3.0 architecture.

  • Trend Micro Management Communication Protocol (MCP) Agent - The next generation agent from Trend Micro, that supports enhanced security, SSO, one-way and two-way communication, and cluster nodes.

The following table enumerates the features supported by Control Manager 2.x and MCP agents.

Table 1. Agent Comparison
Feature MCP Agents Control Manager 2.x Agents

Outbreak Prevention Services (OPS)
Single Sign-on (SSO)  

One-way/two-way communication

  

NAT support

  

Cluster node support

  

Agent polls Control Manager for updates and commands

  

Re-registration with the Control Manager server if the agent database is corrupted or deleted

 N/A (This issue does not occur with MCP agents) Automatic after 8 hours

Communication security

 HTTPS/HTTP Encryption with optional authentication

Communicators

  

Work and idle state support

Agent/Communicator heartbeat

Notification: Virus pattern expired

Notification: Agent unable to update components

Notification: Agent unable to deploy components

Notification: Product service stopped

Each managed product has its own agent responsible for the following:

Table 2. MCP / 2.x Agent Comparison

MCP Agents

2.x Agents

Polling commands for the managed product from the Control Manager server

Receiving commands from the Control Manager server, through the Communicator

Collecting managed product status and logs, and sending them to the Control Manager server, through HTTPS or HTTP

Collecting managed product status and logs, and sending them to the Control Manager server, through the Communicator
Parent topic: MCP and Control Manager Agents