Using the CLI in Windows hosts

To register an agent using the command line, first follow the steps from the Manager section and then, from the Agent section.

Manager

  1. In the CLI of the Wazuh manager host, we will run manage_agents to add the agent. In this example, we are going to add a new agent. Its name will be windows-server and its address or IP is any.

    # /var/ossec/bin/manage_agents -a any -n windows-server
    
  2. Now, list the agents to get the ID of the windows-server agent:

    # /var/ossec/bin/manage_agents -l
    
    Available agents:
        ID: 001, Name: windows-server, IP: any
    
  3. Using the ID from the previous command, extract the new agent’s key using. Copy this key because you will need it for the agent:

    # /var/ossec/bin/manage_agents -e 001
    
    Agent key information for '001' is:
    MDAxIG1hY29zLW1vamF2ZSBhbnkgZjcwMTI0MjQ5NDMwNzA3N2IyN2NlZjRmZDQ1NzlmYzkwYzcyMzcyZDMxMTM5ZTBkZjZiYzdmODMyODBjZjA4YQ==
    

Agent

Once you have added the agent in the Wazuh manager host, open a session in your Windows agent host and then, start a CMD or a Powershell as Administrator. The installation directory of the Wazuh agent in Windows host depends on the architecture of the host.

  • C:\Program Files (x86)\ossec-agent for x86_64 hosts.

  • C:\Program Files\ossec-agent for x64 hosts.

This guide suppose that the Wazuh agent is installed in a x86_64 host, so the installation path will be: C:\Program Files (x86)\ossec-agent. After that, let's import the key and connect the agent to the manager.

  1. First, import the key using manage_agents:

    # 'C:\Program Files (x86)\ossec-agent\manage_agents' -i MDAxIG1hY29zLW1vamF2ZSBhbnkgZjcwMTI0MjQ5NDMwNzA3N2IyN2NlZjRmZDQ1NzlmYzkwYzcyMzcyZDMxMTM5ZTBkZjZiYzdmODMyODBjZjA4YQ
    
    Agent information:
       ID:001
       Name:windows-server
       IP Address:any
    
    Confirm adding it?(y/n): y
    Added.
    
  2. Edit the Wazuh agent configuration in C:\Program Files (x86)\ossec-agent\ossec.conf to add the Wazuh server IP address. In the <client><server> section, change the MANAGER_IP value to the Wazuh server address. The address of the Wazuh server can be an IP address or a DNS name:

    <client>
      <server>
        <address>MANAGER_IP</address>
        ...
      </server>
    </client>
    
  3. Once you have complete the step 1 and 2, start the agent:

    • Using Powershell with administrator access:

      # Restart-Service -Name wazuh
      
    • Using Windows cmd with administrator access:

      # net stop wazuh
      # net start wazuh