Windows

On Windows the Nexus Telemetry Fleet collector installs from a 64-bit MSI as the NexusFleetCollector service. The service starts with the host and runs as LocalSystem. Every command on this page runs in an elevated PowerShell window.

# Install

Download the Windows installer

Download the installer and double-click it. The MSI is signed with Authenticode. The install adds the Nexus Telemetry Fleet Collector tray app, and Open Settings… in its menu opens the setup page for enrolment.

# Command-line install

The Add telemetry collector window generates these commands, and the enrol command below them, with the current version.

Invoke-WebRequest https://fleet-downloads.nexustelemetry.com/fleet/stable/<version>/NexusFleetCollector-<version>.msi -OutFile NexusFleetCollector-<version>.msi
Get-FileHash NexusFleetCollector-<version>.msi -Algorithm SHA256   # expect <sha256>
msiexec /i NexusFleetCollector-<version>.msi /qn

The hash must match the expected value in the generated command. If it does not, fetch the file again.

Add MANAGEDUPDATES=0 to the install command when your own tooling installs upgrades. It sets the NF_MANAGED_UPDATES=0 environment variable for the host, and the collector then refuses an update started from the dashboard.

# Enrol

# Setup page

Open the setup page from the tray app and enter the fleet server’s address and the enrolment token from the Add telemetry collector window. The collector restarts its service.

# Command-line enrolment

Run the enrol command, then restart the service with sc.exe stop and sc.exe start.

nf-collector enrol --server <your-address> --token <token> --name '<terminal name>'

The installer adds nothing to PATH. If nf-collector is not found, call the binary by its full path, "C:\Program Files\NexusFleet\nf-collector.exe".

# Service

The service is NexusFleetCollector, display name Nexus Telemetry Fleet Collector. It starts automatically whether or not anyone is signed in.

The tray app, Nexus Telemetry Fleet Collector, is a separate program with a Start menu entry. It starts for every user who signs in. Closing it does not stop the service. See Setup page for its menu.

# Logs and paths

# Update

An update installs the newer MSI over the older one. Update on the dashboard downloads the MSI, checks its hash and installs it silently. With NF_MANAGED_UPDATES=0 set, the collector refuses the update and changes nothing. By hand, run the newer installer.

msiexec /i NexusFleetCollector-<version>.msi /qn /norestart

The installer refuses to replace a newer version with an older one. The config and the enrolment are unchanged. Do not enrol it again. If the installer asks to restart the host, because the tray app was running, answer No. The service is already on the new version, and the tray app loads it the next time it starts.

# Remove

To reinstall the collector later on the same host, uninstall the MSI. The uninstall removes the program folder, the service and the tray app, and leaves the data directory. Do not decommission the collector on the dashboard.

msiexec /x NexusFleetCollector-<version>.msi /qn

The dashboard shows the terminal as offline until the collector is reinstalled. The config, the readings and the certificate stay in C:\ProgramData\NexusFleet, and the reinstalled collector reconnects to the same record.

# Purge

To remove the collector permanently, decommission it on the dashboard first, while it is online. The collector deletes its enrolment and the dashboard marks its record decommissioned. Remove on the dashboard deletes the record. See Retire and revoke. Then uninstall the MSI and delete the data directory.

msiexec /x NexusFleetCollector-<version>.msi /qn
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force C:\ProgramData\NexusFleet

No collector files remain on the host. A collector installed on the host later enrols as a new collector, with a new record on the dashboard.