Agent Groups

Required user role when using Tenable Nessus Manager: Administrator or System Administrator

You can use agent groups to organize and manage the agents linked to Tenable Nessus Manager. You can add an agent to more than one group, and configure scans to use these groups as targets. This will happen.

Tenable recommends that you size agent groups appropriately, particularly if you are managing scans in Tenable Nessus Manager and then importing the scan data into Tenable Security Center. You can size agent groups when you manage agents in Tenable Nessus Manager.

The more agents that you scan and include in a single agent group, the more data that the manager must process in a single batch. The size of the agent group determines the size of the .nessus file that you must import into Tenable Security Center. The .nessus file size affects hard drive space and bandwidth.

Use the following processes to create and manage agent groups:

  1. In the top navigation bar, click Sensors.

    The Linked Agents page appears. By default, Linked Agents is selected in the left navigation menu and the Linked Agents tab is active.

  2. Select the check boxes of the agents that you want to add to the new agent group.

  3. In the upper-right corner, click the Manage button.

    A drop-down menu appears.

  4. In the drop-down menu, click New Group.

    The New Agent Group window appears.

  5. Enter a name for the new agent group.

  6. Click Add.

    Tenable Nessus Manager creates the new agent group and adds the agents you selected to the new group.

  1. In the top navigation bar, click Sensors.

    The Linked Agents page appears. By default, Linked Agents is selected in the left navigation menu and the Linked Agents tab is active.

  2. Select the check boxes of the agents that you want to add to the agent group.

  3. In the upper-right corner, click the Manage button.

    A drop-down menu appears.

  4. In the drop down menu, click Add to Group(s).

    The Add to Group(s) window appears.

  5. In the window, select the groups you want to add the agents to.

  6. Click Add.

    Tenable Nessus Manager adds the selected agents to the agent group or groups.

  1. In the top navigation bar, click Sensors.

    The Linked Agents page appears. By default, Linked Agents is selected in the left navigation menu and the Linked Agents tab is active.

  2. In the left navigation bar, click Agent Groups.

    The Agent Groups page appears.

  3. Do any of the following:

      1. In the row for the agent group that you want to modify, click the button.

        The Edit Agent Group window appears.

      2. In the Name box, type a new name for the agent group.

      3. Click Save.

        The manager saves your changes.

      1. In the agent groups table, click the agent group you want to modify.

        The agent group details page appears.

      2. In the upper-right corner of the page, click the Add Agents button.

        The Add Agents window appears. This window contains a table of available agents.

      3. (Optional) In the Search box, type the name of an agent, then click Enter.

        The table of agents refreshes to display the agents that match your search criteria.

      4. Click the check box next to each agent you want to add to the group.
      5. Click Add.

        The manager adds the selected agent or agents to the group.

      1. In the agent groups table, click the agent group you want to modify.

        The agent group details page appears. By default, the Group Details tab is active.

      2. (Optional) Filter the agent groups in the table.
      3. (Optional) Search for an agent by name.
      4. Select the agent or agents you want to remove:
        • For an individual agent, click the button next to the agent.
        • For multiple agents, select the check box next to each, then click the Remove button in the upper-right corner of the page.

        A confirmation window appears.

      5. In the confirmation window, confirm the removal.

      1. In the agent groups table, click the agent group for which you want to configure permissions.

        The agent group details page appears.

      2. Click the Permissions tab.

        The Permissions tab appears.

      3. Do any of the following:

        Tip: Tenable recommends assigning permissions to user groups, rather than individual users, to minimize maintenance as individual users leave or join your organization.

          1. In the Add users or groups box, type the name of a user or group.

            As you type, a filtered list of users and groups appears.

          2. Select a user or group from the search results.

            Tenable Vulnerability Management adds the user to the permissions list, with a default permission of Can Use.

        • Note: The Default user represents any users who have not been specifically added to the agent group.

          1. Next to the permission drop-down for the Default user, click the Down button.

          2. Select a permissions level.

          3. Click Save.

          • For the Default user, set the permissions to No Access.
          • For any other user or user group, click the Delete button next to the user or user group for which you want to remove permissions.

      4. Click Save.

        Tenable Vulnerability Management saves the changes you made to the agent group.

  1. In the row for the agent group that you want to delete, click the button.

    A confirmation window appears.

  2. To confirm, click Delete.

    The manager deletes the agent group.