6. Check Point SandBlast Agent Management Platform. FAQ. Free testing

Welcome to the sixth wrap-up article on Check Point SandBlast Agent Management Platform. As part of the cycle, we examined the main aspects of deploying and administering SandBlast Agent using the Management Platform. In this article, we will try to answer the most popular questions related to the Management Platform solution and tell you how to test SandBlast Agent Management Platform with our help for free.

FAQ

Currently, there are not many sources of information about the SandBlast Agent Management Platform, the main of which are: the official guide , the Infinity Portal and SandBlast Agent sections on CheckMates. Therefore, we decided to answer the most popular questions about the SandBlast Agent Management Platform that are of interest to administrators when considering this product as a solution to protect personal workplaces of employees. There is also a very detailed FAQ on SandBlast Agent on our blog .

1. What is the difference between SandBlast Agent Management Platform and SandBlast Agent Cloud Management?

The SandBlast Agent Cloud Management solution is the predecessor of the Management Platform and allows you to deploy a cloud-based agent management server in the Check Point infrastructure for further administration using SmartConsole. This is a convenient option that does not require the resources of the organization to deploy a virtual management server or install a physical device, but the limitation is the use of SmartConsole, which provides installation on the administrator's computer and is available exclusively for Windows. Currently, Check Point recommends SandBlast Agent Management Platform as the main solution for cloud agent administration, as evidenced by the informational message when trying to create the SandBlast Agent Cloud Management application on the Infinity Portal.

2. How is SandBlast Agent Management Platform licensed?

To use the SandBlast Agent Management Platform, no license is required, the ability to deploy an application in the Infinity Portal to manage agents is given even when purchasing a license for one SandBlast Agent. It is also worth noting that when registering an account in the Infinity Portal, a temporary license is provided for 30 days, after which you must use a valid license for SandBlast Agent. Validation of a valid license is carried out automatically without the participation of an administrator - just link a Check Point account to the Infinity Portal in the Global Settings → Contracts → Associated Accounts section.

3. How is SandBlast Agent licensed?

There are several specifications for SandBlast Agent, differing in the set of blades suitable for different tasks of protecting user machines. Below is a table from the Check Point official website showing the differences between the current SandBlast Agent specifications. After choosing the appropriate specification, licensing is carried out for the required number of end devices.

4. What operating systems are supported for installing SandBlast Agent?

Currently, the latest version of SandBlast Agent is available for Windows (7, 8, 10), Windows Server (2008 R2, 2012 R2, 2012, 2016, 2019), macOS (10.14, 10.15). Also, Check Point recently announced the release of a beta version for Linux, which we talked about in the corresponding article . You can always find up-to- date information on current releases of SandBlast Agent in sk117536 "Endpoint Security Homepage" . In addition, you can follow the schedule of past and future releases of SandBlast Agent in sk115192 "Check Point Endpoint Security Client Support Schedule for New Operating Systems" .

5. Can the agents be managed using the Management Platform and SmartEndpoint?

When deploying agents through the Management Platform service, management is also supported using the "classic" SmartEndpoint console - it can be downloaded from the Service Management section. However, there is currently no full backward compatibility between the Management Platform and SmartEndpoint settings, and conflicts can arise when agents are administered simultaneously using both consoles. This is primarily due to the use of a single Threat Prevention policy (the so-called Unified Policy) in the Management Platform, where all security components are combined into a single policy. In the Management Platform, you can set the display of settings compatible with SmartEndpoint by selecting "User based Policy" in the Endpoint Settings → Policy Operation Mode section. Gaia R81 version will have a web interface,which is identical to the Management Platform, but it is currently recommended to use one agent management tool to avoid configuration conflicts.

How to test SandBlast Agent Management Platform?

You can test the SandBlast Agent Management Platform solution on your own or by contacting a partner to conduct a full-fledged pilot project. For self-testing, it is enough to register on the Infinity Portal according to the instructions from our first article in the series , and a temporary license for a month will be automatically created to administer 100 user machines.



The second option is to deploy and test the SandBlast Agent Management Platform as part of a pilot project with an engineer from a Check Point partner company. The pilot project is absolutely free and is aimed at demonstrating the operation of the product with the possibility of consulting qualified specialists. For the SandBlast Agent Management Platform pilot project, you can contact us at the link .

Instead of a conclusion

As part of the series of articles on the SandBlast Agent Management Platform, we tried to highlight the main capabilities of the solution and demonstrate the configuration of important security components using specific examples. We will be happy to answer any questions about the product in the comments.



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