---
title: "Agent Tasks"
---

# Agent Tasks

> Once the Gateway Network is up, and there is at least one Controller and one Agent configured, there are a variety of actions that can be performed on your agents in the form of Agent Tasks.

## Using The Gateway Network

Agent Tasks involve performing a specific task to one or more specific Agents. The Agent Tasks page contains three tabs:

* Available Tasks which contain tasks waiting to run.
* Running and Scheduled Tasks which include any tasks that are currently running or scheduled to be run.
* Task History, which provides a list of all previously run tasks. 

There are many different types of tasks to choose from, but they mostly involve doing Gateway level actions such as taking a Gateway backup or activating a license.

## Create an Agent Task
1. To create an Agent task, go to the Controller, and select the **Config** section on the Gateway Webpage.
2. Scroll down to **Enterprise Administration** > **Agent Tasks**.  This opens the Agent Tasks window.  

    ![](2020-03-10_14-20-10.png)

3. Click the **Create new Gateway Task** link to create an agent task.

    ![](2020-03-11_13-36-02.png)

    The options for Agent tasks are listed in the following table.

    |Task|Description|
    |--|--|
    |Activate License	|Activate a license key on selected agent Gateways.|
    |Collect Backup	|Collect a Gateway backup from an agent machine.|
    |Install Modules	|  Install one or more modules on selected agent Gateways.|
    |Remote Agent Upgrade|	Prepare a full system upgrade on selected agent Gateways.|
    |Restart Agent	|Restarts the Ignition service on the agent machine.|
    |Restore Backup	|Restore a Gateway backup on selected agent Gateways.|
    |Send Project	|Distributes a project to remote servers. Replaces the project on the remote server as if an export/import was performed.|
    |Send Project Resources|Distributes project resources, like windows and templates, to remote servers.  **Note**: This is typically performed from a controller Gateway to an agent Gateway, but you can also send project resources from agent Gateway to agent Gateway.|
    |Send Tags|	Distributes controller tags to agents. |
    |Unactivate License|Unactivate a license key on selected agent Gateways.|
    |Update License|Update the license on selected agent Gateways.|

4. Select task and then click **Next**. The Task scheduling screen is displayed. Tasks can then be scheduled to run in a few different ways depending on your needs.  In the example below, the task is set to execute twice per day. Cron Expressions starting with the "/", "-", or "," characters are no longer considered valid.

    ![](2020-03-10_13-46-08.png)

5. Click **Next**. The EAM wizard will guide you through setting up your task. 
6. Lastly, a Task Summary window appears. If you're ready to go, click **Finish**. Your task will be submitted according to the schedule type you defined.

    ![](2020-03-10_14-05-13.png)

## Agent Task Status
On the Status section of the Gateway Webpage there is a page called **EAM Tasks**. This page is useful, as it shows information on what tasks are currently running, which tasks are scheduled to run, and a history of tasks that have been run. The **EAM Tasks** page can be used to allow users to see what is going on with the various agents without giving them the ability to configure them.
 
![](2020-03-10_14-07-25.png)

## Retrying Agent Tasks

Should a task fail, you can directly execute the task again without needing to set the task back up by using the **retry** option.

1. On the Gateway webpage, navigate to **Config** > **Enterprise Administration** > **Agent Tasks**.

    ![](2020-03-10_14-20-10.png)

2. Expand the **More** dropdown for the task you want to retry, and select **retry**.

    ![](image-2023-10-10_8-59-3.png)

3. The Gateway will ask for a confirmation. Click **Confirm**.

    ![](image-2023-10-9_12-6-23.png)

The controller will now attempt to run the task again.

### Resuming Failed File Transfer Tasks

If a task that involves file transfers fails to complete, Ignition will now resume the file transfer task when you choose the **retry** option. In this situation, Ignition will resume transferring the specified file(s) from the point where the process was interrupted. Currently, this feature is available only for the [Remote Upgrade](ignition-modules/enterprise-administration/agent-management/remote-upgrade/remote-upgrade.md) task.