RSA Authentication Agent 7.

2
for Microsoft Windows
Installation and Administration Guide

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Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Published in the USA.
October 2012

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Contents
Preface................................................................................................................................... 7
About This Guide................................................................................................................ 7
RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows Documentation ................................. 7
Related Documentation....................................................................................................... 7
Support and Service ............................................................................................................ 8
Before You Call Customer Support............................................................................. 8

Chapter 1: Product Overview .................................................................................. 9

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows........................................................... 9
Key Features ..................................................................................................................... 10
Challenge Users for RSA SecurID Passcodes ........................................................... 10
RSA SecurID Authentication without an Authentication Manager Connection ....... 10
Integration of Windows Passwords in the RSA SecurID Logon Process...................11
Automatic Password Synchronization ........................................................................11
Access to Protected Desktops in Emergency Situations.............................................11
Central Management of Authentication Settings....................................................... 12
Automatic Update of IP Addresses............................................................................ 13
Access to Protected Computers Using a PIN or Password ........................................ 13
Multidomain Group Support...................................................................................... 14
Fast User Switching ................................................................................................... 14
Options to Customize RSA Authentication Agent .................................................... 15
Supported Authenticators.................................................................................................. 17
RSA Control Center .......................................................................................................... 18
RSA Control Center Icons ......................................................................................... 20

Chapter 2: Preparing for Installation ................................................................ 21

System Requirements........................................................................................................ 21
Required Ports............................................................................................................ 21
Supported Operating Systems.................................................................................... 22
Supported Third-Party Remote Access Products....................................................... 22
Supported RSA Authentication Manager Products ................................................... 23
Supported Third-Party Credential Providers ............................................................. 23
Remote Access Support .................................................................................................... 24
Preparations to Install Authentication Agent .................................................................... 25
Set Up RSA Authentication Manager........................................................................ 26
Create Groups of Users to Challenge with RSA SecurID ......................................... 27
Choose Emergency Access Methods ......................................................................... 28
Prepare Users for RSA SecurID Authentication........................................................ 30

Chapter 3: Installing RSA Authentication Agent ...................................... 31

Installation Methods.......................................................................................................... 32
Single Installations..................................................................................................... 32
Large-Scale Deployments.......................................................................................... 33

Contents

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Import Authentication Manager Files........................................................................ 33

Installation Considerations................................................................................................ 34
Install the Product on a Single Computer ......................................................................... 36
Install the Product on Multiple Computers ....................................................................... 38
Create an Installation Package ................................................................................... 38
Provide Account Control Privileges to User Computers ........................................... 41
Deploy the Installation Package to Multiple Computers ........................................... 42
Test the Installation ........................................................................................................... 43
Review the Server Settings ........................................................................................ 43
Test Authentication.................................................................................................... 44
Install a Language Pack .................................................................................................... 46
Use the Node Secret Load Utility ..................................................................................... 47
Modify an Installation ....................................................................................................... 48
Modify the Installation for a Single Computer.......................................................... 48
Modify the Installation for Multiple Computers........................................................ 49
Repair an Installation ........................................................................................................ 50
Upgrade to RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 ...................................................................... 51
Uninstall the Product......................................................................................................... 51
Uninstall the Product from a Single Computer.......................................................... 52
Uninstall the Product from Multiple Computers ....................................................... 52
Uninstall the Language Pack ..................................................................................... 53

Chapter 4: Managing Authentication Agents .............................................. 55

Offline Authentication ...................................................................................................... 55
Password Changes and Offline Authentication ......................................................... 56
Clock Changes and Offline Authentication ............................................................... 56
Manage Offline Days ........................................................................................................ 57
Refresh Offline Days ................................................................................................. 57
Check the Supply of Offline Days ............................................................................. 59
Clear Offline Data...................................................................................................... 60
Emergency Access ............................................................................................................ 60
Emergency Access Options ....................................................................................... 61
Reserve Passwords............................................................................................................ 61
Set Up Offline Authentication .......................................................................................... 62
Users Who Work Locally and Remotely ................................................................... 62
Different Remote Users Who Share a Computer....................................................... 63
Users Who Only Work Remotely .............................................................................. 64
Automatic Registration Process ........................................................................................ 64
Prevent Automated Registration During Specified Events........................................ 65
Automated Registration and the Node Secret............................................................ 66
Automated Registration and Offline Authentication ................................................. 67
Maintain the Primary IP Address of the Authentication Agent Host ........................ 67
Multidomain Group Support ............................................................................................. 68
Automatic Password Synchronization .............................................................................. 70

Contents

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Chapter 5: Troubleshooting ................................................................................... 71

Offline Authentication and the Auto-Registration Utility ................................................ 71
Authentication Issues ........................................................................................................ 72
RSA SecurID 800 Driver Might Not Install Automatically ...................................... 72
Authentication Fails After Changing the Send Domain and Username Option ..... 72
Test Authentication Succeeds, but Actual Authentication Fails................................ 72
Node Verification Fails.............................................................................................. 72
Correct a Node Verification Failure .......................................................................... 73
Enable Tracing ........................................................................................................... 74
Diagnose Authentication Issues ........................................................................................ 74
Verify the Accuracy of the Computer Clock ............................................................. 74
Verify the System Configuration (sdconf.rec) File ................................................... 74
Replace the System Configuration (sdconf.rec) File ................................................. 75
Error and Event Viewer Log Messages ............................................................................ 76

Appendix A: Configuring Automatic Load Balancing ........................... 81

Automatic Load Balancing ............................................................................................... 81
Dynamic Load Balancing .......................................................................................... 81
Manual Load Balancing............................................................................................. 81
Manage an sdopts.rec File................................................................................................. 82
Create an sdopts.rec File ............................................................................................ 82
Exclude an Authentication Manager Server During Dynamic Load Balancing........ 85
Configure Manual Load Balancing............................................................................ 85
Specify Alias IP Addresses for Use or Exclusion...................................................... 86
Specify an Overriding IP Address ............................................................................. 87

Glossary ............................................................................................................................. 89
Index ..................................................................................................................................... 93

Contents

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Preface
About This Guide
This guide describes how to install and configure RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 for
Microsoft Windows. It is intended for administrators and other trusted personnel. Do
not make this guide available to the general user population.

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows Documentation

For more information about RSA Authentication Agent 7.2, see the following
documentation and Help:
Release Notes. Provides information about what is new and changed in this
release, as well as workarounds for known issues. The latest version of the
Release Notes is available on RSA SecurCare Online at
https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com.
Group Policy Object Template Guide. Describes how to use Group Policy Object
templates to configure RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 for Microsoft Windows.
For example, you can use a policy template to define how users authenticate,
define challenge groups, and set the logon field label.
RSA Authentication Agent Help. Describes user and administration tasks
performed in the RSA Control Center. (The Control Center is the user interface for
Authentication Agent.) For example, it contains procedures for users to refresh
offline days or check their logon options. For administrators, it includes
procedures to test authentication, enable a reserve password, override an IP
address, enable tracing, challenge users, clear a node secret or offline data, and
review server information.

Related Documentation
For more information about products related to RSA Authentication Agent 7.2, see the
following:
RSA Authentication Manager documentation set. See the full documentation
set for RSA Authentication Manager (6.1 or 7.1). To access a documentation set,
go to http://knowledge.rsasecurity.com.
RSA Secured Partner Solutions directory. RSA has worked with a number of
manufacturers to qualify software that works with RSA products. Qualified
third-party products include virtual private network (VPN) and remote access
servers (RAS), routers, web servers, and many more. To access the directory,
including implementation guides and other information, go to
http://www.rsasecured.com.

Preface

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Support and Service

RSA SecurCare Online

https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com

Customer Support Information

www.emc.com/support/rsa/index.htm

RSA Solution Gallery

https://gallery.emc.com/community/ma
rketplace/rsa?view=overview

RSA SecurCare Online offers a knowledge base that contains answers to common
questions and solutions to known problems. It also offers information on new releases,
important technical news, and software downloads.
The RSA Solution Gallery provides information about third-party hardware and
software products that have been certified to work with RSA products. The directory
includes Implementation Guides with step-by-step instructions and other information
on how RSA products work with third-party products.

Before You Call Customer Support

Make sure that you have direct access to the computer running the
RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 for Microsoft Windows software.
Please have the following information available when you call:
Your RSA Customer/License ID. RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 is free to
customers. Use the RSA Authentication Manager software version number as
your Customer/License ID. To find this number, do one of the following:
For Authentication Manager 7.1, click Help > About RSA Security Console >
See Software Version Information from the RSA Security Console.
For RSA Authentication Manager 6.x, click Help > About.
The make and model of the machine where the problem occurs.
The name and version of the operating system where the problem occurs.

Preface

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Product Overview

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows

Key Features

Supported Authenticators

RSA Control Center

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows works with
RSA Authentication Manager to allow users to perform two-factor authentication
when accessing Windows computers. Two-factor authentication requires something
you know (for example, an RSA SecurID PIN) and something you have (for
example, a tokencode generated by an RSA SecurID authenticator).
If you require a user to log on through Authentication Agent, the user may need to
enter a passcode to access the computer. A passcode is an RSA SecurID PIN followed
by a tokencode.
The first time users authenticate using a SecurID passcode, they are prompted to
automatically generate or manually create their SecurID PINs. To enter the tokencode
portion of the passcode, they can look at the numbers that appear on the front of their
SecurID authenticators and manually enter them next to their PINs (if using a
handheld authenticator). Or, if they use USB SecurID authenticators and they insert
them into their USB ports, Authentication Agent automatically accesses the
tokencodes from the authenticators after they enter their PINs.
To ensure they use a One-Time Passcode (OTP) for each authentication, the tokencode
changes to a unique set of numbers approximately every minute. This helps prevent an
unauthorized user from guessing a passcodeeven if that person knows the PIN.
Note: Depending on the Authentication Manager settings, SecurID users can also log

on by entering just their tokencodes.

When a user enters a passcode, Authentication Agent sends the passcode to
Authentication Manager for validation. If the passcode is correct, the user gains access
to the desktop. For information on requirements, see Chapter 2, Preparing for
Installation. For installation information, see Chapter 3, Installing RSA
Authentication Agent.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Key Features
The following sections summarize the key features of RSA Authentication Agent for
Microsoft Windows. They include information about:

Users to challenge for a passcode

Offline authentication

Integration of Windows password

Exempt administrator account

Automatic synchronization of passwords

Central management of Authentication Agent policies using the Group Policy

Object (GPO) templates

Automatic update of IP addresses

Access to protected computers using a PIN or password

Multidomain group support

Fast user switching

Challenge Users for RSA SecurID Passcodes

You can configure RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows to challenge all
users or only specific groups of users for a SecurID passcode (PIN and tokencode).
You select the user groups to challenge from a list that you already defined through the
Microsoft Computer Management interface or in Active Directory. If necessary, create
new groups before using Authentication Agent. For more information about creating
challenge groups, see Create Groups of Users to Challenge with RSA SecurID on
page 27.
You can also configure challenge settings for an individual computer from the
RSA Control Center user interface. For more information, see the RSA Control Center
Help topic Challenge Users. Note that if the computer is joined to a domain, settings
configured by Group Policy override settings from the RSA Control Center.

RSA SecurID Authentication without an Authentication Manager Connection

You can configure RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows to extend
SecurID authentication to users when the connection to RSA Authentication Manager
is not available (for example, when users work away from the office, or when network
conditions make the connection temporarily unavailable). For more information, see
Chapter 4, Managing Authentication Agents.

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Integration of Windows Passwords in the RSA SecurID Logon Process

You can configure RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows so that the
Windows password is integrated into the SecurID logon process. When you configure
Authentication Agent in this way, users provide their Windows passwords only during
their initial online authentication. At this time, the passwords are stored with users
authentication data in the RSA Authentication Manager database and, for offline
authentication, in the offline data. During subsequent authentications, users enter only
their user names and SecurID passcodes until the password is changed in the Active
Directory. Authentication Agent gets the Windows password from Authentication
Manager and passes it to the RSA Authentication Agent Credential Provider. The
RSA Authentication Agent functions as a logon interface for end users.
Important: If users have more than one domain and user name, your Authentication

Manager administrator must add the different accounts in Authentication Manager. If

the additional accounts do not exist in Authentication Manager, users cannot log on
using SecurID authentication. For more information, see the Group Policy Object
Template Guide.
You can enable Windows password integration system-wide, on an individual Agent
basis, or by groups. For example, to enable Authentication Agent, you create an Agent
record in the RSA Authentication Manager database. You can enable Windows
password integration for all of the Authentication Agent computers in the database or
select certain computers. For more information about RSA Authentication Manager,
see the RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).
Note: The Windows password integration feature also requires that the offline

authentication feature be enabled on both the Agent and the server. If you are using
Windows password integration, do not disable offline authentication.

Automatic Password Synchronization

When Microsoft Windows passwords are changed by users who have Authentication
Agent installed on their computers, passwords are automatically synchronized in
corresponding accounts in the RSA Authentication Manager database. For more
information, see Automatic Password Synchronization on page 70.

Access to Protected Desktops in Emergency Situations

The exempt administrator account is an emergency access method that enables you to
authenticate to a protected desktop by using your administrator account with only a
Windows password instead of an RSA SecurID passcode.
When you install RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows, the installation
wizard prompts you to select a challenge option. If you select Challenge all users
except administrators, Authentication Agent challenges all users who log on to the
computer for SecurID credentials (PIN and tokencode), but it does not challenge any
users who belong to the administrator group.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

If you decide not to exempt the users in the administrator group during installation or
when you first use the configuration wizard to create an installation package, you can
set that option later. For example, you can reconfigure your settings using the
Authentication Agent configuration wizard to create another installation package and
deploy it. Or, you could make changes by changing the policy in the Group Policy
Object template. For more information, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.
For a list of other emergency access methods, see Choose Emergency Access
Methods on page 28.

Central Management of Authentication Settings

To manage RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can use Group
Policy Object templates to make changes to the Authentication Agent policies and
apply those policies to the appropriate computers. You load the templates into the
Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) tool on your domain
controller and specify policies within the templates. The policies are automatically
downloaded by client computers within the domain.
Note: For computers you intend to protect with Authentication Agent that are not part

of your domain or subject to Group Policy, you must install the templates on those
computers and specify the template settings with the Local Group Policy Editor. See
the Group Policy Object Template Guide for more information.
Before users start using Authentication Agent, you can define particular settings to
tailor the product to your needs. RSA Authentication Agent comes with the following
Group Policy Object (GPO) templates:

RSA_Authentication_Agent.adm

RSA_Authentication_Agent_Password_Synchronization.adm

RSA SecurID_Expiration_Warning.adm

RSACredProviderFilter_Microsoft.adm

RSACredProviderFilter_SecurID.adm

RSACredProviderFilter_SmartCard.adm

RSACredProviderFilter_ThirdParty.adm

RSADesktop_VerifyRSAComponents.adm

If you want to restrict logon options for Authentication Agent users on Windows Vista or
later Windows operating systems, you must install and configure one or more of the
Credential Provider Filter policy templates. A Credential Provider filter allows you to hide
the logon tile presented by a Credential Provider.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

You can use the following filters:

GPO Template Filename

Description

RSACredProviderFilter_Microsoft

Filters the Microsoft Credential Provider.

RSACredProviderFilter_SmartCard

Filters the RSA Smart Card Credential Provider.

RSACredProviderFilter_ThirdParty

Filters all third-party Credential Providers.

RSACredProviderFilter_SecurID

Filters the RSA SecurID Credential Provider.

For more information about third-party options, see Supported Third-Party

Credential Providers on page 23. For more information about how to use the
templates, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.

Automatic Update of IP Addresses

The IP address of an Authentication Agent client computer allows
Authentication Manager to identify the computer during authentication. If you install
the Auto-Registration utility when you install Authentication Agent, the utility
automatically adds the agent to the Authentication Manager database the first time you
log on to the computer using RSA SecurID authentication.
Authentication Agent also launches the Auto-Registration utility:

If the IP address of Authentication Agent client computer changes

When you use the RSA Control Center to clear the node secret on the
Authentication Agent client computer

For more information, see Chapter 4, Managing Authentication Agents.

Access to Protected Computers Using a PIN or Password

You can configure RSA Authentication Agent to allow users to unlock their protected
computers using only their RSA SecurID PINs or Windows passwords. Users can use
only their PINs or passwords after they successfully authenticate with a passcode within
the time configured for this feature.
As an administrator, you can select the option you want to use (PIN or password),
enable and disable this feature, set a time-out period for the feature, and set the
number of times users can enter incorrect PINs or passwords before they are prompted
for passcodes. You configure this option using the Group Policy Object templates after
installation. For more information, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.
Note: For users to unlock the computer with just a SecurID PIN, the Authentication

Manager administrator must have enabled the offline authentication feature for them
and you must have left offline authentication running as a service on the Agent. If you
disable the offline authentication service through the Local Authentication Settings
template, users cannot use offline authentication or unlock their computers with just a
SecurID PIN. For more information on settings, see the RSA Authentication Agent 7.2
Group Policy Object Template Guide.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Multidomain Group Support

When you select a Windows group as an RSA Authentication Agent challenge group
using the GPO templates, all users in the group are challenged by RSA SecurID.
Authentication Agent supports the group setup available in Microsoft Active
Directory. However, Authentication Agent cannot determine group membership if a
user is in a different forest than the one you selected. For more information about
setting up challenge groups, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.
There are many different combinations of Windows groups: universal, global, and
domain local. Windows also allows groups to be nested within other groups. It is
important to understand the possible combinations of groups so that when you
challenge or exclude a group from an RSA SecurID challenge, you get the results that
you expect.
For more information, see the example in Multidomain Group Support on page 68.

Fast User Switching

RSA Authentication Agent allows multiple users with different privileges to log on to
the same computer protected by RSA SecurID. For example, if you use a computer
with Authentication Agent in a hospital setting and that computer gets shared by
several doctors, nurses, and administrators, those users would need to switch the
current user out (not off) to log on with their accounts to access the desktop for their
needs. When done, the previous user can log on by unlocking their account. This
restores the desktop to what they last had open on their session.
With fast user switching, it is not necessary for the first user to log off for the second
user to log on.
Note: Fast user switching is also not available during Remote Desktop Protocol

(RDP) sessions.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Options to Customize RSA Authentication Agent

Once you install Authentication Agent, users can see the RSA Authentication Agent
Credential Provider. You can customize the RSA Authentication Agent in the
following ways:
Specify whether logon prompts request passwords or passcodes. If you require
users to log on with an RSA SecurID passcode (PIN and tokencode), you may want
the logon prompt to display Passcode instead of Password.
Note: This setting was available in the user interface on previous versions of RSA

Authentication Agent. It is now configured exclusively with the Group Policy Object
Templates. For more information on setting this policy see the Local Authentication
Settings Template in the Group Policy Object Templates Guide.
Set the unlock option to allow access with an RSA SecurID PIN or a Windows
password. If a user needs to log on with a passcode (PIN and tokencode), you can
configure Authentication Agent to allow the user to unlock the computer by entering
the SecurID PIN without the tokencode or their Windows password. You can also set a
time when Authentication Agent no longer allows access without the full passcode.
For example, if the user locks the computer and wants to unlock it within an hour, the
user can enter a SecurID PIN or Windows password. Once that hour passes, the user
must enter the full passcode (PIN and tokencode) to unlock the computer.
Note: This ability to log on with just a SecurID PIN was available in the user interface

on previous versions of RSA Authentication Agent. It is now configured exclusively

with the Group Policy Object Templates and includes the ability to unlock the desktop
with a Windows password. For more information, see the Local Authentication
Settings Template in the Group Policy Object Templates Guide.
Notify users of the number of days left before an RSA authenticator expires.
Users can check the number of days left before their authenticator expires by looking
at the RSA Control Center icon in the notification area of the Windows taskbar. For
more information, see the Warning Message for Expiring Authenticators Template
in the Group Policy Object Templates Guide.
Hide or show different RSA Credential Providers for Windows Vista,
Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 (SP2 or R2), or Windows Server
2012. The RSA Authentication Agent Credential Provider functions as a logon
interface for end users. For example, Windows Vista or later Windows operating
systems come with the Microsoft Credential Provider. A user sees this as a tile with an
image and a user name under the tile. The user can click the tile to open the logon
prompt and log on to the computer with a Windows password.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

After you install Authentication Agent, users can see the RSA Authentication Agent
Credential Provider. This Credential Provider appears as an RSA SecurID tile with an
image and the appropriate user name under it.
If you want to switch the logon option available to users, you can filter the credential
providers by selecting different policy settings through the Group Policy Object
Template. For example, you can select an option to hide the Microsoft Password
Credential Provider or the Microsoft Picture Password Credential Provider, only show
the RSA Authentication Agent Credential Provider, or show all the available
Credential Providers.
Note: This setting was available in the user interface on previous versions of RSA

Authentication Agent. It is now configured exclusively with the Group Policy Object
Templates. For more information about policy templates, see the section RSA
Credential Provider Templates in the Group Policy Object Templates Guide.
Install the language pack to see the product in a language other than English.
When you install the standard Authentication Agent application, the following
components automatically appear in English:

Authentication Agent logon prompts

User interface (RSA Control Center)

Help

Documentation

If you use a Japanese operating system and you install the Japanese language pack for
Authentication Agent, you see these components in Japanese. (If you install the
Japanese language pack on a computer that uses an English operating system, you
continue to see the product in English.) If you want to use the product in a language
other than English or Japanese, contact your RSA representative. For more
information, see Install a Language Pack on page 46.

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Supported Authenticators
RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows supports the following types of
authenticators:

RSA SecurID key fobs

RSA SecurID standard cards

RSA SecurID PINPads

RSA SecurID software tokens

RSA SecurID 800 Authenticator

RSA on-demand tokencode

Note: You cannot use software authenticators that reside on the computer to log on to

protected Windows desktops. However, once you log on to the desktop using a
different type of authenticator, you can use software authenticators to log on to the
network. You can use Authentication Agent with a software authenticator installed on
a portable device, for example, a Blackberry. For more information on software
authenticators, see the RSA documentation that comes with your software
authenticator.
The RSA SecurID 800 Authenticator (SecurID 800) can function as a SecurID
authenticator and smart card. To use it as a SecurID token, you can read the tokencode
off the front and manually enter it when prompted. Or, if you installed the Connected
Authentication feature with Authentication Agent, you can connect it to the USB port
for the Agent to automatically access the tokencode for you.
The SecurID 800 looks like this:

For smart card use, the SecurID 800 has a smart card with an embedded smart chip
and reader built into it. (The smart chip is a microprocessor that can store and process
data.) To use the SecurID 800 as a smart card, you need to install RSA Authentication
Client 3.5.4 and connect the authenticator to the USB port. For more information on
RSA Authentication Client, see the documentation that came with the product.
Note: If you have RSA Authentication Agent installed and you install RSA
Authentication Client, the user interface (also called the RSA Control Center) to
manage the SecurID or smart card portion of your authenticator changes. You see
more or fewer options, depending on what you have installed. For more information,
see RSA Control Center on page 18.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

RSA Control Center

When you install RSA Authentication Agent, you also install a user interface called
the RSA Control Center. The RSA Control Center allows users and administrators to
use options to manage some aspects of their SecurID settings. The Control Center
contains options that allow users to check the supply of offline days and refresh offline
days when needed.
Some configuration settings that were available in the RSA Authentication Agent 6.1,
6.4, and 7.0 user interfaces are now available exclusively in the Group Policy Object
templates. Settings include whether to unlock computers with a SecurID PIN or
Windows password instead of a passcode, filter credential providers, and specify
whether the local logon prompt displays passcode or password. For more information,
see the Group Policy Object Templates Guide.
As an administrator, you can perform the following tasks from the RSA Control
Center:

18

Test authentication.

View the RSA Authentication Manager server environment.

Enable, test, or clear the reserve password. A reserve password allows users to log
on to a computer if offline authentication is not running or the computer cannot
connect to RSA Authentication Manager. You can also set the reserve password
using the GPO templates. For more information, see the Group Policy Object
Template Guide.

Enable an IP address override to prevent any communication failures if

Authentication Agent runs on a host that has multiple network interface cards and
therefore multiple IP addresses.

Clear the node secret if it is corrupt or does not match the node secret in the
Authentication Manager database.

Enable tracing to generate log files for troubleshooting.

Specify which users to challenge, and set how users are challenged when their
group membership cannot be determined on that specific computer. You can also
specify challenge settings with Group Policy. Note that Group Policy settings
override settings configured in the RSA Control Center, For more information, see
the Group Policy Object Template Guide.

Clear offline data if you disable offline authentication or you change the number
of offline days that RSA Authentication Manager generates and downloads or if
you want to reassign a protected computer to a different user.

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

To open the RSA Control Center, do one of the following:

Click Start > Programs (or All Programs) > RSA > RSA Control Center.

Double-click the Control Center icon in the notification area.

The following figure shows the Home page of the RSA Control Center.

Note: If you install RSA Authentication Client to use your SecurID 800 authenticator
as a smart card, the RSA Control Center that is installed with Authentication Agent
expands to show options to manage your smart card PIN. You continue to see the
Authentication Agent SecurID options as well. If you remove RSA Authentication
Client (or Authentication Agent), the options related to that product clear from the
Control Center. For more information, see the RSA Authentication Client (Smart
Card) Help or the RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help that is installed with the
Control Center.

For a description of the notification area and the RSA Control Center icons, see
RSA Control Center Icons.

1: Product Overview

19

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

RSA Control Center Icons

When you install RSA Authentication Agent, the RSA Control Center icon appears in
the notification area of the Windows taskbar. You can use this icon to open the
RSA Control Center and view this icon for additional information about RSA
Authentication Agent.
The following table describes the RSA Control Center icon.
Icons

Description
Opens the RSA Control Center. You can double-click the icon or right-click
the icon and select an option to open the Control Center. To remove the icon
from the system tray, right-click the icon and select the option to close it.
Without the icon, you need to use the program group (for example, Start >
All Programs > RSA > RSA Control Center) to open the Control Center.
Warns that the number of offline days has dropped below a specified
number by displaying a yellow exclamation point in the lower-right corner.
Also displays the number of days left before an authenticator in the USB
port expires.
Use the Offline Days option from the Home page of the Control Center to
check or refresh your days. For more information on offline days, see
Chapter 4, Managing Authentication Agents or the RSA Authentication
Agent (SecurID) Help. For more information on setting the expiration of an
authenticator, see the Group Policy Object Guide.
Indicates that the application recognizes an authenticator connected to the
USB port by displaying a blue cross in the upper-right corner of the icon.
Note: Users can insert multiple authenticators into different USB ports and

select the one they want to use. For more information, see the
RSA Control Center (SecurID) Help.
Indicates that Authentication Agent is in the process of accessing data on
the authenticator.
Note: A user should not remove an authenticator until Authentication Agent

finishes processing data.

20

1: Product Overview

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Preparing for Installation

System Requirements

Remote Access Support

Preparations to Install Authentication Agent

System Requirements
RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows has the following system
requirements:

1 GHz (x86) processor

1 GB of RAM

35 MB of free disk space

TCP/IP networking

Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile or later

Required Ports
The following table lists the ports that must be available for use by Authentication
Agent.
Port

Description

5500/udp

RSA Authentication Manager uses this port to listen. Authentication Agent

connects to this port during authentication.

5580/tcp

Authentication Agent clients connect to this port to perform offline data

downloads.

5550/tcp

Used by Authentication Agent Auto-Registration utility. You can install the

Auto-Registration utility when you install Authentication Agent or create
an MSI package. This utility automatically records the Agent host IP
address in the Authentication Manager database the first time users start
their computers with the Agent installed on them.

389/tcp

Used by Authentication Agent to verify whether the user is a member of a

challenge group in Microsoft Active Directory.

2: Preparing for Installation

21

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Supported Operating Systems

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows is supported on the following
operating systems:

Windows Vista SP2, 32-bit and 64-bit, Business and Enterprise editions

Windows 7 SP1, 32-bit and 64-bit, Enterprise and Professional editions

Windows 8, 32-bit and 64-bit, Enterprise and Professional editions

Windows Server 2008 SP2, 32-bit and 64-bit, Standard, Enterprise, Data Center,
and Web Server editions

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, 64-bit, Standard, Enterprise, Data

Center, and Web Server editions

Windows Server 2012 SP2, Standard or Data Center editions (Server Core or
Server with Graphical User Interface [GUI] mode)

For instructions on how to upgrade to RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft

Windows after you upgrade client computers to a different operating system, see
Upgrade to RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 on page 51.

Supported Third-Party Remote Access Products

The following table lists details on third-party remote access products supported by
Authentication Agent.
Type of Product

Product Name

Remote access

Desktop Connection

Version 6.1 (or later) for Windows Vista SP1,

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008
SP1, or Windows Server 2012

Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA)

Client/Receiver to connect to Citrix XenApp 6.5
Program Neighborhood, Citrix Program
Neighborhood Agent, or Citrix Web Client:
Version 10.2 for Windows Vista SP1 users only

22

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Supported RSA Authentication Manager Products

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows functions as a client product that
works with the authentication servers:

RSA Authentication Manager 7.1 with SP3 hotfix 6 or later

RSA Authentication Manager 6.1 with Patch 2

You must install SP3 hotfix 6 (or later) if you use RSA Authentication Manager 7.1 or
Patch 2 if you use RSA Authentication Manager 6.1. For installation instructions, go
to RSA SecurCare Online at https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com.
Before you enable RSA SecurID authentication, you must understand the
RSA Authentication Manager system and its features. For more information, see the
RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1) or contact your
Authentication Manager administrator.

Supported Third-Party Credential Providers

Users with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, Windows
Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012 operating systems use a Credential Provider
(logon tile).
Refer to one of the following sections depending on the operating system you use.
Using a Third-Party Credential Provider
If you install RSA Authentication Agent on Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows
Server 2008 operating systems and leave the
RSACredProviderFilter_ThirdParty.adm Group Policy Object template with the
default setting, users cannot access the logon tile for the third-party credential
provider. You must enable the third-party policy setting to allow users to access the
third-party credential provider. For more information on templates, the Group Policy
Object Template Guide.

2 Preparing for Installation

23

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Remote Access Support

If users need to use their local computers to log on to remote computers, they can use
the appropriate application and logon accounts to connect to the remote computers.
Once users connect to the remote computers, they can access applications, files, and
network resources as if they were sitting in front of that computer.
RSA Authentication Agent supports these applications to connect to a remote
computer:

Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection

Citrix ICA Client/Receiver (Citrix Program Neighborhood, Citrix Program

Neighborhood Agent, or Citrix Web Client)

Users can open one of these applications from their local computers to log on to
supported remote computers that have Authentication Agent installed on them. The
supported operating systems of the remote computers are: Windows Vista, Windows
7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012 running Terminal
Services.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection allows a user to gain full access to a remote
computer through a Local Area Network (LAN) or an Internet connection. If the local
Windows computer has Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection, users can connect to
remote computers using the RSA protected logon (if their Remote Desktop account
and permissions allow it). The computers must have Authentication Agent installed on
them.
Citrix Independent Computer Architecture (ICA) Client (Program Neighborhood,
Program Neighborhood Agent, or Web Client) allows a user to connect to a remote
Citrix XenApp computer to access published applications and desktops. Citrix users
can also access remote computers that have Authentication Agent installed, and they
can log on using RSA authenticators.
Remote Desktop Connection 6.1 or later includes Windows Network Level
Authentication (NLA). If this feature is enabled when a user attempts to connect to a
remote computer, the user is prompted to authenticate before establishing a
connection. If the computer uses NLA with an RSA Authentication Agent Credential
Provider configured on the remote computer, the user sees two prompts to authenticate
before the user can access the remote desktop.
One prompt opens from the local computer and the other opens from the remote
computer. This is not caused by the RSA Authentication Agent application. It is how
Microsoft implements Network Level Authentication when you use a third-party
credential provider. Once the user enters the account information and successfully
authenticates through each prompt, the user can access the remote computer. Network
Level Authentication is enabled by default for Windows Vista or later Windows
operating systems.
For more information on using Network Level Authentication, see the Microsoft web
site.

24

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Preparations to Install Authentication Agent

This section describes tasks you must perform before installing and configuring
RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows.
Task

Reference

Set up RSA Authentication Manager

Set Up RSA Authentication Manager on

page 26

Create Groups of Users to Challenge with

RSA SecurID

Create Groups of Users to Challenge with

RSA SecurID on page 27

Choose Emergency Access Methods

Choose Emergency Access Methods on

page 28

Prepare Users for RSA SecurID

Authentication

Prepare Users for RSA SecurID

Authentication on page30

2 Preparing for Installation

25

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Set Up RSA Authentication Manager

Before you install and configure Authentication Agent, you or your
RSA Authentication Manager administrator must complete these tasks:

If you have not already done so, install either RSA Authentication Manager 7.1
with SP3 hotfix 6 (or later) or RSA Authentication Manager 6.1 with Patch 2 (or a
later hotfix rollup). For instructions, see the RSA Authentication Manager 7.1
Installation and Configuration Guide or RSA Authentication Manager 6.1
Installation Guide (for Windows or UNIX).

Make a copy of the system configuration (sdconf.rec) file from

RSA Authentication Manager and give a copy to the administrator installing
RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows (or tell the administrator how
to locate it on the network). The Authentication Agent administrator must import
this file when using the configuration wizard to create the installation package or
while performing a local installation.
Users may experience problems logging on with a SecurID passcode after
restarting the computer (or after resuming from Sleep or Hibernate mode) if you
install the Auto-Registration utility with the agent and it attempts to contact an
RSA Authentication Manager replica server instead of an Authentication Manager
primary server.
In this environment, the Agent attempts to use offline authentication. If the user
runs out of offline days, the SecurID authentication process fails. To ensure that
SecurID authentication does not fail after a restart, you must use a copy of the
sdconf.rec file from an Authentication Manager server that allows automatic
registration and performs authentication. (The authentication service must be
running on that server.)
If the Authentication Agent administrator plans to install the Auto-Registration
utility to automatically register users computers in the Authentication Manager
database the first time users start their computers with Authentication Agent,
make a copy of the server.cer file from RSA Authentication Manager in addition
to the sdconf.rec file. Send it to the administrator installing RSA Authentication
Agent for Microsoft Windows. The administrator can import it when creating an
installation package or while performing a local installation.
For more information on the files you need to import, see Chapter 3, Installing
RSA Authentication Agent. For more information on the Auto-Registration
utility, see Chapter 4, Managing Authentication Agents.

26

Verify that RSA Authentication Manager is installed and running on a server.

2 Preparing for Installation

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Register the RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows host as an agent
of RSA Authentication Manager. For more information, see the
RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1). You do not need
to manually register user computers if you install the Auto-Registration utility
when you install Authentication Agent. For more information, see Chapter 3,
Installing RSA Authentication Agent and Chapter 4, Managing Authentication
Agents.
Note: If you install Authentication Agent on a multihomed server and not an

agent with the Auto-Registration utility, provide an IP address override for

Authentication Agent. (A multihomed server is a computer that has multiple IP
addresses to connected networks. This helps a session survive if a network failure
occurs.) For more information about setting an IP address override, see the RSA
Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help.
Register SecurID users in the RSA Authentication Manager database and distribute
SecurID authenticators to those users. For more information on manually registering
users, see the RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).

Create Groups of Users to Challenge with RSA SecurID

You control access to resources protected by RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft
Windows by specifying which users to challenge for RSA SecurID passcodes. You
can configure Authentication Agent to challenge:

No users

All users

A group of users

All users except a certain group of users

Authentication Agent uses Windows groups to control access to resources. These

groups can be default Windows groups or groups that you create using the Windows
Computer Management interface or Active Directory. If you want to use groups other
than the Windows default groups, you need to create them before you configure
Authentication Agent. For detailed instructions on creating groups, see your Microsoft
Windows documentation.
You can apply challenge settings to individual computers with the RSA Control
Center. For instructions and additional information, see the RSA Control Center Help
topic Challenge Users. If you use the configuration wizard to configure an installation
package as described in Chapter 3, Installing RSA Authentication Agent, you can
only select an option to challenge all users except those in the local administrator
group. If you use the Group Policy Object templates, you can use the options listed in
this section. For more information, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.

2 Preparing for Installation

27

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Choose Emergency Access Methods

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows includes options that allow users
and administrators to access protected desktops when they lose their authenticators,
forget their PINs, or run out of offline days. Before you install and configure
Authentication Agent, decide on the emergency access methods you want to use. The
following tables describe the emergency access methods and list where to find more
information.
For Offline Users
Emergency
Access
Method

Description

Characteristics

Reference

See Emergency Access on

page 60.

Offline
emergency
tokencode

Must be combined with the

Users can access their
users RSA SecurID PIN
protected computers
without a tokencode (for Changes the next time the user
authenticates online
example, when they
have lost their
Expires after a specified
authenticators)
amount of time

Offline
emergency
passcode

No RSA SecurID PIN required See Emergency Access on

Users can access their
protected computers
Changes the next time the user page 60.
without an RSA SecurID
authenticates online
PIN or tokencode (for
Expires after a specified
example, when they
amount of time
have forgotten their
PINs, or when their PINs
have been compromised)

For Online Users

Emergency
Access
Method
One-time
passwords

28

Description

Characteristics

Must be combined with the

Users can access their
users RSA SecurID PIN
protected computers
without a tokencode (for Generated by the
RSA Authentication Manager
example, when they
have lost their
Valid for one authentication
authenticators)

Reference

See the
RSA Authentication Manager
Administrators Guide (6.1 or
7.1).

2 Preparing for Installation

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

For Online Users

Emergency
Access
Method

Description

Characteristics

Reference

See the
RSA Authentication Manager
Administrators Guide (6.1 or
7.1).

Fixed
passwords

Must be combined with the

Users can access their
users RSA SecurID PIN
protected computers
without a tokencode (for Created by an
RSA Authentication Manager
example, when they
administrator
have lost their
authenticators)
Valid until the users lost
authenticator status is changed

On-demand
tokencode

Users with digital mobile Must be combined with the PIN See the
for the users authenticator.
RSA Authentication Manager
devices and home e-mail
7.1 Administrators Guide.

Users
mobile
devices
and
accounts can receive
e-mail accounts must be
one-time tokencodes as
enabled to receive on-demand
text messages.
tokencodes.

For Administrators
Emergency
Access
Method
Reserve
password

Description

Characteristics

Set by an administrator on each

The reserve password
agent after installation through
allows the administrator
the RSA Control Center or the
or user to bypass the
Local Authentication Settings
passcode requirement.
Group Policy Template
Administrators (or a user
who obtained the reserve Never expires
password from an
administrator) can log on
to the users computer
with the users account
(or any valid user name
for the computer) and
the reserve password.

2 Preparing for Installation

Reference

See the RSA Authentication

Agent (SecurID) Help (in the
RSA Control Center) or the
Group Policy Object Template
Guide.

29

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

For Administrators
Emergency
Access
Method
Exempt
administrator
account

Description

Characteristics

Set during Agent installation

Administrators can
through the MSI file,
authenticate to protected
configuration wizard, or
computers as themselves
the Local Authentication
with only a password
Settings Group Policy Template
Member of the administrator
group on each agent
Protected by simple Windows
password security

Reference

See Access to Protected

Desktops in Emergency
Situations on page 11 or the
Group Policy Object Template
Guide.

Prepare Users for RSA SecurID Authentication

Before you deploy RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows, prepare your
RSA SecurID users as follows:

Register users who will be challenged for passcodes as RSA SecurID users in the
RSA Authentication Manager database and activate their authenticators. For more
information on registering users, see the RSA Authentication Manager
Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).
Important: The Windows user names for RSA SecurID users must be registered in
the RSA Authentication Manager database. These user names cannot contain
spaces and must not exceed forty-eight characters.

30

Give assigned and enabled tokens to users who will be challenged for passcodes.

Provide authentication instructions to users. For more information, see the

documentation that comes with your authenticator.

2 Preparing for Installation

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Installing RSA Authentication Agent

Installation Methods

Installation Considerations

Upgrade to RSA Authentication Agent 7.2

Install the Product on a Single Computer

Test the Installation

Install a Language Pack

Install a Language Pack

Use the Node Secret Load Utility

Modify an Installation

Repair an Installation

Uninstall the Product

RSA Authentication Agent must communicate with RSA Authentication Manager for
RSA SecurID authentication to occur. Before you install RSA Authentication Agent
7.2 for Microsoft Windows, make sure RSA Authentication Manager 7.1 SP3 hotfix 6
(or later) or Authentication Manager 6.1 with Patch 2 is installed on the appropriate
server.
For information on installing Authentication Manager, see the RSA Authentication
Manager 7.1 Installation and Configuration Guide or the RSA Authentication
Manager 6.1 Installation Guide (for Windows or UNIX). The following figure shows
the user datagram protocol (UDP) connection from the users computer to the
Authentication Manager server:
UDP
Connection

User's Computer
with
RSA Authentication Agent

IDC

RSA Authentication Manager

To upgrade from an earlier version of RSA Authentication Agent, see Upgrade to

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 on page 51.
Note: After you install Authentication Agent, you can configure RSA Authentication

Manager to extend the RSA SecurID logon process to users when their computers are
not connected to Authentication Manager through the network. For more information,
see Offline Authentication on page 55.

3: Installing RSA Authentication Agent

31

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Installation Methods
Use one of the following methods to install Authentication Agent:

To install Authentication Agent on a single computer, run the MSI file (RSA
Authentication Agent.msi) on the local computer.

For a large-scale deployment, use the configuration wizard (ConfigWizard.exe)

to create a custom MSI installation package and deploy it to the appropriate users.

Important: If you installed Windows Server 2012 in Server Core mode (without a user

interface or GUI), you need to install Authentication Agent from the command line.
For example, you can run the configuration wizard (ConfigWizard.exe) to create an
Authentication Agent installation package and install it by entering: msiexec /qn /i
RSA Authentication Agent.msi at the command line. (Your installation package
may use another msi name.) Once you install the product, you can access the
Authentication Agent user interface (RSA Control Center) and use the options as
needed. You can also switch between Server Core and Server with GUI mode
after installing Authentication Agent and use it the same way. For more information
on creating a custom installation package and using the command line, see Install the
Product on Multiple Computers on page 38.
If you install Authentication Agent on the Windows Server where you plan to manage
your RSA Group Policy Object templates, you do not need to manually install the
templates. Authentication Agent automatically installs them in the Local Security
Policy. For more information, see the RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Group Policy
Object Template Guide.

Single Installations
You may want to install the Authentication Agent on a single computer to run an
authentication test before deploying an installation package to a larger group. Or, you
may only need to install the product on one or two computers.
During the installation process, you choose a Typical or Custom installation. If you
choose a Typical installation, you import the system configuration file (sdconf.rec). If
you choose a Custom installation, you can select an option to install the
Auto-Registration utility and the RSA SecurID Connected Authenticator feature.
The Auto-Registration utility automatically registers users computers in the
Authentication Manager database the first time users start their computers with
Authentication Agent installed. If you select the Auto-Registration utility, you must
import the server certificate file (server.cer). If you want users to authenticate with a
SecurID 800 authenticator connected to the USB port, you must also select the
RSA SecurID Connected Authenticator feature.

32

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Large-Scale Deployments
To customize the Authentication Agent logon settings and install the product on many
computers, use the ConfigWizard.exe file located in the Configuration Wizard folder
that came in the zipped folder of the product. During the process, you import the
system configuration file (sdconf.rec) and, if necessary, the server certificate file
(server.cer). You obtain the sdconf.rec and the server.cer files from your
RSA Authentication Manager administrator.
After you create an installation package using the configuration wizard, you can
deploy it using Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), the command line, or a
logon script.
Note: You can run the configuration wizard (ConfigWizard.exe) to create an
Authentication Agent installation package on any of the supported Windows operating
systems.

For more information on the Authentication Manager files, see the next section. For
more information on installing Authentication Agent on a single computer, see Install
the Product on a Single Computer on page 36. For more information on using the
configuration wizard, see Install the Product on Multiple Computers on page 38.
Important: If you want to use Authentication Agent in a language other than English,
install the language pack after you install the product. For more information on
installing a language, see Install a Language Pack on page 46.

Import Authentication Manager Files

During the single installation process or when you use the configuration wizard to
customize an installation package, you must import the system configuration file
(sdconf.rec) for Authentication Agent to communicate with Authentication Manager.
To install the Auto-Registration utility, you must also import the server certificate file
(server.cer).
For RSA Authentication Manager 7.1, the Authentication Manager administrator can
generate a sdconf.rec file and download a server.cer file to the Agent from the Access
menu options of the RSA Security Console (Authentication Agents > Generate
Configuration File for the sdconf.rec file and Authentication Agents > Download
Server Certificate File for the server.cer file). The sdconf.rec file creates a snapshot
of the server information available at the time the file was generated. For more
information, see the RSA Authentication Manager 7.1 Administrators Guide or your
Authentication Manager administrator.
For RSA Authentication Manager 6.1 and later, the sdconf.rec and the server.cer files
are located in the ACEDATA directory on the Authentication Manager host computer.
You must request one or both of these files from your Authentication Manager
administrator before you begin installing Authentication Agent.
For more information about installing these files, see Install the Product on a Single
Computer on page 36 or Install the Product on Multiple Computers on page 38.

3: Installing RSA Authentication Agent

33

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Installation Considerations
Before you install RSA Authentication Agent, review the following information:

If you upgrade from RSA Authentication Agent 6.x or 7.0, you must map the old
settings to the new policies in the RSA Authentication Agent Group Policy Object
templates. For more information, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.

Authentication Agent is available as a .zip file that you must download from
www.rsa.com.

Installing RSA Authentication Agent on a computer with RSA EAP Client 6.1.3
removes RSA EAP Client 6.1.3 from the computer.

You must use an administrator account or have administrator privileges to install

the software. If you plan to deploy an installation package, you must also set the
policies to control privileges to user desktops. For more information, see Provide
Account Control Privileges to User Computers on page 41.

If you install Authentication Agent on computers that are not joined to a domain,
you must manually define the Group Policy settings on each computer. For more
information, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.

If you plan to install Authentication Agent on a single computer, copy the system
configuration file (sdconf.rec) and the server certificate file (server.cer) from
RSA Authentication Manager to the computer where you plan to install
Authentication Agent. (You only need the server.cer file if you plan to install the
Auto-Registration utility.) Browse to theses files when you run the
RSA Authentication Agent.msi. For more information, see Import
Authentication Manager Files on page 33.

To use the configuration wizard (ConfigWizard.exe), get the system

configuration file (sdconf.rec) and the server certificate file (server.cer) from the
RSA Authentication Manager administrator so you can import them into your
configuration package. (You only need the server.cer file if you plan to install the
Auto-Registration utility.) Users do not need to browse to these two files when
you deploy the installation package because they are in the installation package.
For more information, see Import Authentication Manager Files on page 33.
Note: You must request one or both of these files from your Authentication

Manager administrator before you install Authentication Agent.

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3: Installing RSA Authentication Agent

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Users may experience problems logging on with a SecurID passcode after

restarting the computer (or after resuming from Sleep or Hibernate mode) if you
install the Auto-Registration utility with the Agent and it attempts to contact an
RSA Authentication Manager replica server instead of an Authentication Manager
primary server. In this environment, the Agent attempts to use offline
authentication.
Important: If the user runs out of offline days, the SecurID authentication process

fails. To ensure that SecurID authentication does not fail when the user attempts to
log on after running out of offline days, you must use a copy of the sdconf.rec file
from an Authentication Manager server that allows automatic registration and
performs authentication. (The authentication service must be running on that
server.) If you only use a primary server to perform database management, do not
use the sdconf.rec file from that primary server. Instead, use a sdconf.rec file
from a replica server. For more information on the Auto-Registration utility, see
Automatic Registration Process on page 64.

If you want to use a more secure way of establishing a node secret between
Authentication Manager and the Agent computer, you can use the Node Secret
Load utility that comes with Authentication Agent. This utility allows you copy
the node secret from Authentication Manager and load it to the appropriate
Authentication Agent computer before users start using SecurID authentication.
That way, you do not have to wait until after the first authentication to establish
the node secret. For more information, see Use the Node Secret Load Utility on
page 47.

3: Installing RSA Authentication Agent

35

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Install the Product on a Single Computer

To install RSA Authentication Agent on one or a few computers, follow the steps in
this section. To install Authentication Agent on many computers, see Install the
Product on Multiple Computers on page 38.
Note: If you installed Windows Server 2012 in Server Core mode, you do not use a

user interface (GUI). You need to install Authentication Agent from the command
line. For more information, see Install the Product on Multiple Computers on page
38.
Before you Begin
Review the following items before you install the product:

Authentication Agent is available as a .zip file that you must download from
www.emc.com/domains/rsa/index.htm.

Authentication Agent requires the trusted root certificate thawte Primary Root
CA. This certificate is automatically provisioned on Windows Vista, Windows
7,Windows Server 2008. and Windows Server 2008 R2, provided the machine has
Internet access. On machines that do not have Internet access, you must use the
appropriate Microsoft root update mechanism to install the certificate in the
Trusted Root CA store of the machine account. For instructions, see Microsoft
Knowledge Base Article 931125.

Contact your Authentication Manager administrator before you begin installing

Authentication Agent to obtain the sdconf.rec file and the server.cer file (If you
plan to install the Auto-Registration utility.). Copy both files onto the local
computer or get the directory location of the files from the Authentication
Manager administrator. For more information, see Import Authentication
Manager Files on page 33.

To install Authentication Agent on a single computer:

1. Log on to the computer as an administrator (or install with administrator

privileges).
2. Double-click RSA Authentication Agent.msi to start the installation wizard.
3. Click Next to advance through the Welcome dialog boxes.
4. Read the License Agreement or click Print to print it. When ready, select I accept
the terms in the license agreement and click Next.
5. Do one of the following:

36

To install only RSA Authentication Agent without the Auto-Registration

utility or the RSA SecurID Connected Authenticator, select Typical, and then
click Next.

To install RSA Authentication Agent and additional features such as the

Auto-Registration utility and the RSA SecurID Connected Authenticator
features, select Custom. Click Next to open the Custom Setup dialog box:

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Select the drop-down arrow next to Auto-Registration Utility. Select the

option you want from the drop-down list.

Select the drop-down arrow next to Connected Authenticator. Select the

option you want from the drop-down list.

6. Leave the default directory for the installation folder or click Change to browse to
another location. Click Next.
7. Click Browse to browse to and open the system configuration file (sdconf.rec).
Click Next. (You must obtain the file or the location of this file from your RSA
Authentication Manager administrator.)
8. Leave the default location for the offline data folder or click Change to browse to
another location. Click Next.
9. If you selected the Auto-Registration utility, click Browse to locate and open the
server certificate file (server.cer), and then click Next. You must obtain the file or
the location of this file from your RSA Authentication Manager administrator.
10. If you want all users that are not administrators to log on to the desktop with
SecurID Authentication, select Challenge all users except administrators. Local
administrators can log on using their Windows method (password or smart card).
Click Next.
11. Click Install. Authentication Agent installs on the local computer. For Windows
Vista or later operating systems, Windows prompts you to allow account control
privileges if you set up account control privileges. Click Allow.
12. Click Finish.
Next Steps

To use a secure method of establishing a node secret between the Authentication

Agent computer and the Authentication Manager server, use the Node Secret
Load utility that comes with the RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 for Microsoft
Windows kit. Use this utility before users begin authenticating with RSA SecurID
passcodes. For more information, see Use the Node Secret Load Utility on
page 47.

To test the installation on a local computer, see Test the Installation on page 43.

To view the product in another language instead of English, you can install a
language pack after you install the standard product. For more information, see
Install a Language Pack on page 46.

For computers you intend to protect with Authentication Agent that are not part of
your domain or subject to Group Policy, you must configure the template settings
with the Local Group Policy Editor. See the Group Policy Object Template Guide
for more information.

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Install the Product on Multiple Computers

To install RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows on multiple computers at
one time, do the following:
1. Review or customize the Authentication Agent options through the
Authentication Agent configuration wizard to create an installation package (MSI
file).
2. Provide the appropriate account control privileges to users computers to allow
the installation.
3. Deploy the installation package. For example, you can use Microsoft Systems
Management Server (SMS) or another third-party product, such as Tivoli. Or, you
can use the command line.
4. Deploy the language pack if users need to view the product in a language other
than English, and they use the operating system in another language.
The following sections describe how to perform these tasks in the order shown.

Create an Installation Package

The configuration wizard, ConfigWizard.exe, allows you to quickly configure the
Authentication Agent settings so you can deploy a custom installation package to
multiple computers.
Before you Begin

38

Decide if you need to create more than one installation package. For example, you
can set up a package for users of 32- or 64-bit operating systems, and you can set
up a package for users of 32- or 64-bit operating systems to use RSA SecurID 800
authenticators.

Authentication Agent is available as a .zip file that you must download from
www.rsa.com. Before installation, you must download the .zip file and extract
either the RSA Authentication Agent.zip or RSA Authentication Agent
x64.zip file depending on whether you are creating a 32-bit or 64-bit installation
package.

Authentication Agent requires the trusted root certificate thawte Primary Root
CA. This certificate is automatically provisioned on Windows 8, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 or later, provided the machine has
Internet access. On machines that do not have Internet access, you must use the
appropriate Microsoft root update mechanism to install the certificate in the
Trusted Root CA store of the machine account. For instructions, see Microsoft
Knowledge Base Article 931125.

Contact your Authentication Manager administrator before you begin installing

Authentication Agent to obtain the sdconf.rec file and the server.cer file if you
plan to install the Auto-Registration utility. Copy both files onto the local
computer or get the directory location of the files from the Authentication
Manager administrator. For more information about getting these files, see
Import Authentication Manager Files on page 33.

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To create a custom RSA Authentication Agent installation package using the

configuration wizard:

1. To start the RSA Authentication Agent Installation Creation Wizard, open the
Configuration Wizard folder and double-click ConfigWizard.exe.
2. Click Browse to locate the RSA Authentication Agent.msi or
RSA Authentication Agent x64.msi file. Click Next.
3. Click Browse to import the system configuration (sdconf.rec) file that identifies
the Authentication Manager server you want to use. You must obtain the system
configuration file from your Authentication Manager administrator. Click Next.
4. Select Enable Auto-Registration to automatically register users computers in
the RSA Authentication Manager database the first time they start their computers
with Authentication Agent installed.
5. If you enable automatic registration, leave the default location to the server
certificate file (server.cer) or click Browse to locate it, and click Next. You must
obtain the server certificate file from your Authentication Manager administrator.
6. If you want to allow users to log on with an RSA SecurID 800 authenticator
connected to the USB port for the Agent to automatically access the tokencode,
select Enable RSA SecurID Connected Authenticator. Otherwise, leave the
default of not selected. Click Next.
7. If you want to challenge all users for an RSA SecurID passcode to log on to the
computer except users who belong to the administrator group on the computer,
select Enable challenge with the exclusion of the administrator group.
Otherwise, leave the default of not selected. Click Next.
Important: Only select this option if all the appropriate users have their
RSA SecurID authenticators and know how to log on with a passcode. If they do
not, they can still log on to their computers if they do not belong to a challenge
group or if they can access the Microsoft Password Provider Credential Provider
option. For more information on setting logon options, see the Group Policy
Object Template Guide.

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8. Review your selections. For example, you can use the scroll bar to check the
following:

Path of the system configuration file (sdconf.rec)

Auto-Registration utility state (enabled or disabled) and the path of the server
certificate file (server.cer)

Connected authenticator state to use an RSA SecurID 800 authenticator in a

USB port for the Agent to automatically access the tokencode (enabled or
disabled)

Authentication challenge state (enabled or disabled)

9. To change any settings, click the back arrow (<-) and make any necessary
changes. Click Finish when done.
10. Enter a name for the installation package file.
Make sure you give the file a unique name to help you distinguish it from other
installation packages that you might create.
11. If necessary, browse to the location where you want to save the installation
package file. Click Save when done.
12. Click OK to save the settings and close the wizard.
Next Steps

40

To install a language pack to convert the Authentication Agent interface and

documentation into a language other than English, see Install a Language Pack
on page 46.

To use a more secure method of establishing a node secret between the

Authentication Agent computer and the Authentication Manager server, use the
Node Secret Load utility that comes with the RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 for
Microsoft Windows kit. Use this utility before users begin authenticating with
RSA SecurID passcodes. For more information, see Use the Node Secret Load
Utility on page 47.

To modify settings of the installation after you deploy it, you can repeat the steps
in this section to create another package and deploy it. New settings override the
previous settings. (For more information, see Modify an Installation on page
48.) Or, you can define settings using the Group Policy Object templates,
depending on the number of computers that need modifications. You can also set
some settings on a local computer through the Control Center. See the
RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help for details.

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The following settings that were in the previous versions of the Configuration
Wizard are now policies configured by the GPO Templates. For more information
about the following settings, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide:

Set the Logon Prompt to use a Passcode or a Password

Set the RSA SecurID PIN to allow users to unlock computers with a PIN
instead of a full passcode

Set the Credential Provider and third-party filtering

Provide Account Control Privileges to User Computers

Administrators can install Authentication Agent to all computers in a domain. Users
who are members of the Administrators group can install Authentication Agent on
their own computers. If you want Authentication Agent installed on the computers of
users, you must set the appropriate policies to ensure that it can install on all the
appropriate computers. For example, Authentication Agent requires access to
Windows registry keys. Users do not have privileges to view or change the registry, so
you must deploy the software as a managed application.
A managed application uses elevated privileges to install the application and make the
required changes to registry keys. This ensures that users can install the software on
their computers.
To provide privileges to user computers:

Use the following tools to control privileges:

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0

Use Group Policy to control MMC usage

For more information on using Group Policy, see Using Group Policy to Control
MMC 3.0 Usage on the Microsoft web site.

Note: Having elevated privileges on the computer allows the installation of

RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows, and it does allow a user with
elevated privileges to remove it. Standard users can use the Repair option to repair the
installation, if necessary.

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Deploy the Installation Package to Multiple Computers

Once you create an installation package as described in Create an Installation
Package on page 38 and set the account privileges to the necessary groups, you can
deploy Authentication Agent. If you want to test the installation on a local computer
after you deploy it, see Test the Installation on page 43.
Important: If you previously deployed RSA Authentication Agent and you later
deploy another RSA Authentication Agent installation package, any changes you
made through the configuration wizard override the previous settings. Before you
deploy an MSI file, make sure all the settings include the options you want.
To deploy the installation package on multiple computers:

Use one of the following methods:

Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or another third-party product,

such as Tivoli

Command line installation

Silent installation from the msiexec command line

Note: Ensure that RSA Authentication Manager is installed before deploying

Authentication Agent. For information on installing Authentication Manager, see the

RSA Authentication Manager 7.1 Installation and Configuration Guide or the RSA
Authentication Manager 6.1 Installation Guide (for Windows or UNIX).
Choose SMS deployment only if you are familiar with SMS operations, such as
adding distribution points and programs and creating advertisements. For more
information on SMS, go to the Microsoft Systems Management Server web site.
Silent Installation
To perform a silent installation from the msiexec command line, use the /qn option.
When the installation is complete, the installer restarts the computer whenever
necessary without displaying any prompt or warning to the user.
Note: You can only perform a silent installation on MSI files you created with the

configuration wizard.

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To install from the msiexec command line:

1. Right-click the command prompt icon from the Start menu and click Run as
administrator to open the command prompt.
2. Navigate to the directory that contains the RSA Authentication Agent.msi
package file (or a renamed Authentication Agent MSI file). Otherwise, you must
provide the full pathname to the package file on the command line.
3. Type a command similar to the following, depending on the name of your MSI
package:
msiexec /qn /i RSA Authentication Agent.msi

To log any errors, add the /lv (log verbose) option at the end of the command. The
product completes the installation and the system restarts automatically.

Test the Installation

Before you deploy the product in your organization, you should test it on a local
computer. Perform the tasks in the following table to test the installation.
Task

Reference

View the status of the server environment.

Review the Server Settings on page 43

Test authentication.

Test Authentication on page 44

If successful, you can deploy the product to multiple users as described in Deploy the
Installation Package to Multiple Computers on page 42.

Review the Server Settings

Review the server settings by displaying information about RSA Authentication
Manager in the RSA Control Center to verify whether the server environment is set up
correctly. For more information on the server settings, see the RSA Authentication
Agent (SecurID) Help.
To review the server settings:

1. Log on to a computer with Authentication Agent with an administrator account or

run as an administrator.
2. Click Start > Programs (or All Programs) > RSA > RSA Control Center to
open the RSA Control Center.
3. Under Application Settings, click Server Environment.
4. Review the RSA Authentication Manager limits, static information, and dynamic
information.
5. (Optional) Click the Server name drop-down to view information about other
servers.

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Test Authentication
It is important to test authentication because, in addition to verifying the server
environment, it creates a node secret for Authentication Agent and stores it in the
RSA Authentication Manager database.
Important: If you want to use a more secure method of establishing a node secret
between the Authentication Agent computer and the Authentication Manager server,
use the Node Secret Load utility that comes with the RSA Authentication Agent 7.2
for Microsoft Windows kit. By creating the node secret before users authenticate, you
use encrypted authentication immediately instead of after the first use. For more
information, see Use the Node Secret Load Utility on page 47.

Node Secret
The node secret is a symmetric encryption key that RSA Authentication Manager and
RSA Authentication Agent use to encrypt and decrypt packets of data as they travel
across the network. The first time a user successfully authenticates or tests
authentication from an Agent host, RSA Authentication Manager creates a node secret
for that Agent host and stores it in the RSA Authentication Manager database. A copy
of the node secret is encrypted and sent to the Authentication Agent. The node secret
is stored on the agent.
If the node secret on the Authentication Agent host is corrupted or does not match the
node secret in the RSA Authentication Manager database, encrypted communications
between the Authentication Agent and Authentication Manager cannot work. If this
happens, Authentication Manager logs a node verification failure message in the RSA
Authentication Manager Activity monitor. For more information on testing
authentication or clearing the node secret, see the RSA Authentication Help. For more
information on how Authentication Manager manages logs node verification failures,
see the RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).
To test authentication with a SecurID authenticator:

1. Log on to a computer with Authentication Agent using an administrator account

(or run as an administrator).
2. Click Start > Programs (or All Programs) > RSA > RSA Control Center to
open the RSA Control Center.
3. Under SecurID Settings, click Advanced Tools.
4. Click Test Authentication.
5. In the Choose authenticator field, do one of the following:

44

If you have a handheld authenticator (an authenticator not inserted into a USB
port), leave the default of Handheld token in the field.

If you have an RSA SecurID 800 authenticator inserted into the USB port,
leave the default serial number or name of the authenticator in the field.

If you have multiple RSA SecurID 800 authenticators inserted into USB
ports, leave the current authenticator serial number or name in the field or
select another one from the drop-down list.

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6. In the User name field, leave the current user name or change it to another one.
7. In the Passcode or SecurID PIN field, do one of the following:

If you use a handheld authenticator without a set SecurID PIN, enter the
tokencode shown on the front of the authenticator. Click OK. The Set New
RSA SecurID PIN dialog box opens. Continue to step 8.

If you use an RSA SecurID 800 authenticator without a set SecurID PIN,
leave the field empty. Click OK. The Set New RSA SecurID PIN dialog box
opens. Continue to step 8.

If you use a handheld authenticator that has a set SecurID PIN, enter the
passcode (PIN followed by the tokencode shown on the front of the
authenticator). Click OK. Skip to step 10, if necessary.

If you use an RSA SecurID 800 authenticator that has a set SecurID PIN,
enter the PIN. Click OK. (Authentication Agent automatically accesses the
tokencode from the authenticator for you.) Skip to step 10, if necessary.

8. If you need to generate or create a SecurID PIN, do one of the following:

To receive a system-generated PIN, select Generate my SecurID PIN for

me. Click OK. The system prompts you to memorize your PIN. Click Yes to
memorize it within 10 seconds. Do not write it down. Click OK.

To create your PIN, select Create my own SecurID PIN. In the SecurID
PIN field, enter a PIN. Enter it again in the Confirm SecurID PIN field.
Click OK.
Note: The options available depend on your Authentication Manager settings.

You may have only one option available.

9. If you just received a system-generated PIN or created a PIN, do one of the
following:

If you use a handheld authenticator, wait until your token changes, then enter
your PIN and tokencode in the Passcode field. Click OK.

If you use a USB token, you see a message to wait while Authentication
Agent accesses the next tokencode. You do not need to enter a PIN.

10. If you see a prompt to enter the next tokencode to confirm your possession of the
token and synchronize it with Authentication Manager, do one of the following:

If you use a handheld authenticator, wait for your tokencode to change. Enter
the tokencode in the Next tokencode field and click OK.

If you use a USB authenticator, you see a message to wait while

Authentication Agent accesses the next tokencode. You do not need to enter a
PIN.

Once you successfully authenticate, you see a success message. If you cannot
authenticate, you may need to check your Authentication Manager settings. See the
RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).

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Install a Language Pack

If you installed RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows and you do not
want to view it in English, you can install a language pack file to view it in another
language. To request another language, contact your local RSA sales representative.
Important: The desktop must use an operating system in a language other than

English or the product remains in English. If you attempt to install the MSI language
pack before you install Authentication Agent, you see a message that the system
cannot install the language. You must install RSA Authentication Agent before you
install the language pack.
To install a language pack on a single computer:

1. Log on with elevated privileges (an administrator account) and double-click the
appropriate MSI file.
2. Double-click the RSA Authentication Agent <name of language>
Language.msi file.
3. Restart your computer when prompted to complete the installation.
To install a language pack on multiple computers:

1. Verify that all the appropriate computers have RSA Authentication Agent for
Microsoft Windows installed.
2. Deploy the RSA Authentication Agent <name of language> Language.msi file
using your preferred method. If you use the command line, enter the filename of
the language pack. To log any errors, use the /lv (log verbose) option. For
example, type the following to silently install a language pack:
msiexec /qn /i RSA Authentication Agent <name of language>
Language.msi

The system automatically restarts users computers to complete the installation.

If you want to see Authentication Agent in English again, remove the language pack.
If you remove Authentication Agent and leave the language, users can no longer
access their computer through Authentication Agent. For details on removing a
language pack, see Uninstall the Language Pack on page 53.

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Use the Node Secret Load Utility

Each Authentication Agent computer has a unique node secret associated with it. The
node secret allows the RSA Authentication Agent computer and RSA Authentication
Manager server to use encrypted communication during the SecurID authentication
process. To ensure a secure transaction the first time a user attempts to authenticate
with a SecurID passcode, Authentication Agent and Authentication Manager
automatically communicate using a hashed value of the unique node secret and store it
on the Agent computer. From then on, each authentication interaction uses the node
secret to encrypt the communication between the two systems.
If you want to use a more secure method of establishing a node secret between the
Authentication Agent computer and the Authentication Manager server, use the Node
Secret Load utility (agent_nsload.exe) that comes with the RSA Authentication
Agent kit. You can use this utility to copy the node secret from Authentication
Manager and load it on to the Authentication Agent computer before users start
authenticating with SecurID passcodes.
To use the Node Secret Load utility:
1. Locate the node secret file for the Agent host on the appropriate
RSA Authentication Manager server.
Note: The Authentication Manager administrator creates a unique node secret on

Authentication Manager. For more information, see the RSA Authentication

Manager Help.
2. Copy the node secret file and the agent_nsload.exe utility to the <<Program
Files>>\RSA Shared\Auth API directory on the Agent computer.
3. Open a command prompt and move to the <<Program Files>>\Common
Files>>\RSA Shared\Auth API directory. Enter:
agent_nsload -f <path> -d ..\AuthData

where <path> is the directory location and name of the node secret file. You will
be prompted to enter the password with which your node secret file was
encrypted. The Node Secret Load utility loads the new node secret file into the
Agent computer.
4. Repeat this procedure for each computer that needs the extra encryption
protection during the first SecurID authentication.

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Modify an Installation
If you need to modify the settings of RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft
Windows, the method you use depends on the number of computers that need
modification. For one computer, you can make modifications using the msiexec
command line or from the Control Panel. For multiple computers, you must use the
command line. See the next two sections according to your needs.
Note: You must have administrator privileges to modify the installation package, and

you must open the command prompt as an administrator to run the msiexec
commands.

Modify the Installation for a Single Computer

To modify the installation for a single computer, you can:

Reconfigure the MSI package

Use the Control Panel to access the Change option

You can run the msiexec commands on a single computer and multiple computers.
To modify the installation for a single computer with the MSI package:

1. Double-click the ConfigWizard.exe file and browse to the RSA Authentication

Agent.msi package you used for the original installation.
2. Make the changes you need, and save the package with the same name you
originally used.
3. Open a command prompt with administrator privileges.
4. Use a case-sensitive command similar to the following example to reinstall the
program.
msiexec /qn /i RSA Authentication Agent.msi REINSTALL=ALL
REINSTALLMODE=vomus
Note: For more information on command-line installation modifications, including
removing or adding a feature, see Modify the Installation for Multiple Computers
on page 49.
To modify the installation for a single computer through the Control Panel:

1. For Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, click Start > Control Panel.
Click Programs. Then click the Programs and Features icon. Click RSA
Authentication Agent. Click Change to open the wizard. Click Next to open the
Program Maintenance dialog box. Leave Modify selected, or select it, if needed.
Click Next.
2. Click the Agent Host Auto-Registration Utility drop-down box. Select Install
this feature on the local hard drive, Install this feature and all subfeatures on
the local hard drive, or Do not install this feature.

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3. Click the Connected Authenticator drop-down box, and select Install this
feature on the local hard drive, Install this feature and all subfeatures on the
local hard drive, or Do not install this feature.
4. Click Next.
5. Clear or select the Challenge all users except administrators option. If you
select this option, users will need to log on using SecurID authentication. Local
administrators will not need to log on using SecurID authentication. Click Next.
6. Click Install.
7. Click Finish to restart the computer when prompted.

Modify the Installation for Multiple Computers

The following procedures describe how to modify configuration settings and features
of Authentication Agent installations from a command prompt. You can also use these
procedures on a single computer.
Modify an existing installation
Modify configuration settings with the Configuration Wizard, and redeploy the
package with this command:
msiexec /qn /i "RSA Authentication Agent.msi" REINSTALLMODE=vomus
REINSTALL=ALL

For more information on the Configuration Wizard, see Create an Installation

Package on page 38.
Add a feature to an existing installation
To add a feature to an existing installation, you must use the Configuration Wizard to
create another MSI package and run an msiexec command as an administrator to
deploy the package. For example, if you did not enable the Auto-Registration utility
the first time you deployed Authentication Agent, you can enable it by creating
another MSI package. For more information on the Configuration Wizard, see Create
an Installation Package on page 38. After you create the new MSI package with
Auto-Registration enabled and the server.cer file imported, deploy the package with
this command:
msiexec /qn /i "RSA Authentication Agent.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL
REINSTALLMODE=vomus REINSTALL=LAC

Remove a feature from an existing installation

You can remove a feature from an installation without creating another MSI package.
However, you must use a different msiexec command to remove the feature. Use the
commands below to remove Auto Registration, Connected Authenticator, or both. You
must open a command prompt as an administrator to run these commands.
To remove Auto Registration:
msiexec /qn /i "RSA Authentication Agent.msi" REINSTALLMODE=vomus
REMOVE=AutoReg_x86 or 64

To remove Connected Authenticator:

msiexec /qn /i "RSA Authentication Agent.msi" REINSTALLMODE=vomus

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REMOVE=SID_C_x86 or 64

To remove Auto Registration and Connected Authenticator:

msiexec /qn /i "RSA Authentication Agent.msi" REINSTALLMODE=vomus
REMOVE=AutoReg_x86 or 64,SID_C_x86 or 64

Repair an Installation
Repairing an installation replaces missing files in a damaged installation.
Note: To repair an installation, you must log on as an administrator to the computer

that has Authentication Agent installed, but you do not need to elevate your Microsoft
Windows user privileges.
To repair an installation on a single computer:

For Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, click Start > Control Panel.
Click Programs. Then click the Programs and Features icon. Click RSA
Authentication Agent. A Repair button appears on the menu bar. Click
Repair.

Note: If you double-click the MSI file to repair the installation, select Repair and

click Next. Then click Install to repair the installation. Click Finish when done.

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Upgrade to RSA Authentication Agent 7.2

To upgrade from a previous version of RSA Authentication Agent to
RSA Authentication Agent 7.2, perform the following tasks:
1. If you have Authentication Agent 7.0 or earlier installed, make a note of the
settings in your current version of Authentication Agent. Authentication Agent
now uses Group Policy Object (GPO) templates to configure policy settings for
Authentication Agent. You will need to map your old settings to the new GPO
policy settings after you install RSA Authentication Agent. (Authentication Agent
7.1.x or later retains your policy settings when you upgrade to a later version.)
2. If you have RSA Authentication Agent 5.x or earlier installed, remove it as
described in the documentation that came with it.
3. Install RSA Authentication Agent as described in Install the Product on a Single
Computer on page 36 or Install the Product on Multiple Computerson page 38.
4. Map the settings you noted from your previous version of RSA Authentication
Agent to the new GPO templates. For more information, see the Group Policy
Object Template Guide.

Uninstall the Product

If you need to remove RSA Authentication Agent, the method you use depends on the
number of computers you need to remove it from. If you only need to remove
Authentication Agent from one computer, you can use the method for a single
computer. If you need to remove it from many computers, you use the method
described for multiple computers.
Important: You may need to disable a local security setting to successfully remove the

Authentication Agent from some computers. For example, you can install
Authentication Agent if the local security policy has the User Account Control: Only
elevate executables that are signed and validated setting enabled, but Windows
may not allow you to remove the application.
To remove the application if Windows does not allow you to remove it:

1. Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy.
2. Open the Local Security Policy folder.
3. Then open the Security Options folder. Scroll down to the User Account
Control: Only elevate executables that are signed and validated setting.
4. If enabled, right-click the setting and click Properties.
5. From the Local Security Settings tab, select Disabled, and then click OK. You
can now remove the application from the computer.

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Uninstall the Product from a Single Computer

This section describes how to uninstall Authentication Agent from one computer. If
you need to remove the product from many computers, see Uninstall the Product
from Multiple Computers on page 52.
To uninstall the product from a single computer:

1. Click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features.

2. Click RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows. An Uninstall button
appears on the menu toolbar.
3. Click Uninstall.
4. Do one of the following (if prompted):

If logged on as an administrator, click Allow to elevate your privileges.

If logged on as a user, enter an administrator user name and password to

elevate your privileges and allow the uninstall process to continue.

5. Restart the computer if prompted. If you cancel the uninstall process at any time,
the application reverts back to its previous state.
Note: If you installed a language pack and want to remove it, see Uninstall the

Language Pack on page 53.

Uninstall the Product from Multiple Computers

To remove Authentication Agent from multiple users computers, use an msiexec
command. To log any removal errors, use the /lv (log verbose) option. Put the log file,
for example uninstall.log, in a known location such as %USERPROFILE%.
You can enter a command similar to the following with the /x (REMOVE=ALL)
option (and the /qn option for silent mode) and the fully qualified pathname to remove
Authentication Agent from multiple users computers without user interaction:
msiexec /qn /x RSA Authentication Agent.msi /lv uninstall.log
Note: The /lv (log verbose) option in the command logs any errors. Execute the
command to multiple computers using Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS)
or another third-party product. If you installed a language pack and want to remove it,
see Uninstall the Language Pack on page 53.

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Uninstall the Language Pack

If you installed a language pack to view Authentication Agent in another language,
you can remove it to view the product in English.
Note: You can remove Authentication Agent or the language pack in any order.

However, if you remove the Agent and leave the language pack installed, users can no
longer log on through Authentication Agent. If you remove the language pack and
leave Authentication Agent, users see Authentication Agent in English.
To remove the language pack from a single computer:

1. Click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features.

2. Click RSA Authentication Agent for Windows - <name of language> Language.
An Uninstall button appears on the menu toolbar.
3. Click Uninstall.
4. Do one of the following (if prompted):

If logged on as an administrator, click Allow to elevate your privileges.

If logged on as a user, enter an administrator user name and password to

elevate your privileges and allow the uninstall process to continue.

5. Restart the computer if prompted.

To silently remove the language pack from multiple computers, enter the
following command:
msiexec /qn /x RSA Authentication Agent <name of language> Language.msi
Note: Deploy the command to multiple computers using Microsoft Systems

Management Server (SMS) or another third-party product.

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Managing Authentication Agents

Offline Authentication

Manage Offline Days

Emergency Access

Set Up Offline Authentication

Automatic Registration Process

Prevent Automated Registration During Specified Events

Automated Registration and the Node Secret

Automated Registration and Offline Authentication

Maintain the Primary IP Address of the Authentication Agent Host

Multidomain Group Support

Automatic Password Synchronization

Offline Authentication
Offline authentication extends RSA SecurID authentication to users when the
connection to RSA Authentication Manager is not available, for example, when users
work away from the office. You can enable and disable offline authentication and set
the number of offline days users receive for individual Authentication Agents, groups
of users, or system-wide through the RSA Authentication Manager. For more
information, see the RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).
If offline authentication is enabled, Authentication Manager generates offline data
(also called offline days) and downloads it to the Authentication Agent host when
Authentication Agent connects to the host. Authentication Agent hosts begin
receiving offline data during their second connected authentication to Authentication
Manager. For example, if you perform the authentication test as described in Test
Authentication on page 44, and then authenticate, Authentication Manager generates
and downloads the offline data. This allows the Agent user to authenticate offline.
By default, offline data is stored in the following location:

C:\ProgramData\RSA\RSA Authentication Agent\Local\dayfiles for Windows

Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2,
and Windows Server 2012.

You can specify the location during installation. If you specify a location, offline data
is stored in specified_path\RSA\RSA Authentication Agent\Local\dayfiles.
When a user authenticates offline, Authentication Agent verifies the users
authentication information against the offline data stored on the users computer. If the
users authentication information is correct, the user gains access to the protected
computer.

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The following graphic shows a scenario where a users computer, not connected to the
RSA Authentication Manager, can use offline data to access a protected computer.
Broken
UDP
Connection
IDC

Users Computer with

Offline Data

RSA Authentication Manager

Password Changes and Offline Authentication

Users who change their passwords while offline can still authenticate even though the
new password does not match the one in their offline day files. In this scenario, the
system prompts users for their new passwords after they enter their SecurID
passcodes. Authentication Manager cannot capture or store the new password in the
offline day files while the user works offline. Once the user works online,
Authentication Manager can automatically synchronize the passwords and update the
users offline day files.

Clock Changes and Offline Authentication

Offline authentication monitors clock changes and maintains a system clock offset
between the PC clock and the offline data. Users who change their PC clocks while
offline instead of adjusting time zones cannot authenticate. For example, if you
usually work in the United States and you take a trip to Japan, you cannot change your
clock on your computer to the time in Japan and authenticate offline. Your offline day
files continue to use the time set for the time zone. If the times do not match the
correct time zone, you cannot authenticate. Change the time zone on your computer
instead of the clock. You can then use your offline day files to authenticate when
offline. You must use administrator privileges to change the time zone on a computer.

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Manage Offline Days

This section describes how to refresh offline days under various circumstances and
check the supply of offline days.
Before anyone can use offline days, the RSA Authentication Manager administrator
sets the following in Authentication Manager:

Authentication Agents allowed to use offline authentication

Number of offline days issued

Number that triggers the low supply warning.

For more information on the Authentication Manager settings, see the

RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).

Refresh Offline Days

Offline days are automatically refreshed when the user performs any of the following:

Authenticates directly to the network.

Establishes a connection online after authentication offline.

Even if the users supply of offline days is full, offline days are automatically updated
when:

The user changes the Windows password while authenticated online.

An administrator issues a new policy to the Authentication Agent on the users

computer allowing emergency codes while the user is online. For information
about emergency codes, see Emergency Access on page 60.

Offline days are not automatically refreshed if the authentication session has expired
(the user remains online for 24 hours or more). In this situation, the user has to refresh
offline days manually. Additionally, unlocking a computer with only an RSA SecurID
PIN does not initiate an automatic refresh.
You can also configure how many days of offline data a user is allowed to download.
This is the number of days worth of tokencodes that are downloaded to the users
machine. This is configured in the RSA Security Console on the RSA Authentication
Manager server as part of an offline authentication policy.
The following sections describe refresh scenarios.
Refresh When a Network Connection Exists
Authentication Agent recognizes that a network connection exists and attempts to
download offline days.

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Refresh When No Network Connection Exists

When the user logs on without a connection to the network, Authentication Agent
attempts to automatically download offline days, but recognizes that no network
connection exists. It displays an alert on the RSA Control Center icon to notify the
user that the offline day supply is low. The user can click on the message in the
notification area to open the RSA Control Center and refresh the days manually.
Note: If the RSA Control Center icon does not appear in the notification area of the

Windows taskbar (for Windows 7), click the arrow to Show hidden icons, click
Customize, find RSA Control Center Notification Icon in the Notification Area
Icons dialog box, and then select Show icon and notifications from the drop-down
list.
To refresh the offline days without a network connection, the user can:

1. Click the RSA Control Center icon. The RSA Control Center opens the Offline
Days dialog box.
2. Connect to the network, and then click Refresh to manually refresh offline days.
Authentication Agent does one of the following:
Description

Icon

If the connection to the network is successful, the system automatically

downloads offline days and the RSA Control Center icon returns to
normal.
If the connection to the network fails, the system informs the user that
a problem occurred and prompts the user to try again later. The
RSA Control Center icon remains in the alert state and continues to
display the low on offline days notification message each time the
user logs on.

3. Click OK.

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Refresh When the Authentication Session Expired

If Authentication Agent attempts to automatically download offline days, but
recognizes that the authentication session has expired, Authentication Agent sets the
RSA Security Center icon to alert state to indicate that the supply of offline days is
low. (For example, this can occur when the user has been logged on to the network for
more than 24 hours.)
To refresh the offline days after an authentication session expired, the user can:

1. Click the notification message from the RSA Control Center icon. The
RSA Control Center opens the Offline Days dialog box.
2. Click Refresh. Authentication Agent prompts the user for a passcode.
3. Enter the passcode. Authentication Agent does one of the following:
Description

Notification
Icon

Downloads offline days and sets the RSA Control Center icon to
normal.

Informs the user that a problem occurred and to try again later. The
RSA Control Center icon remains in the alert state.

Check the Supply of Offline Days

Users can check their supply of offline days by looking at the icon in the notification
area. The state of the icon tells the general status of the supply. The following table
describes the icons that indicate the supply of offline days.
Notification
Icons

Description

Indicates the supply of offline days has not dropped below a specified
number.

An caution icon appears on the keyhole to warn that the number of offline
days has dropped below a specified number. For more information, see the
RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help.

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Clear Offline Data

Clearing offline data removes it from the agent. Without offline data, the user
cannot access the protected resource without connecting through the network.
You need to clear offline data under the following circumstances:

You changed the offline settings on the RSA Authentication Manager (for
example, you disabled offline authentication for an Agent, or you changed the
number of offline days the Authentication Manager generates and downloads).

You change the authenticator properties for a user (for example, clear the users
PIN or synchronize the users authenticator).

You want to reassign a protected computer to a different user.

You disable the users authenticator.

You set a tokens status to lost in RSA Authentication Manager.

After you remove offline data from an agent, the next time that computer successfully
authenticates to the RSA Authentication Manager, the Authentication Manager
generates new offline data and downloads it to the agent. For instructions on clearing
offline data, see the RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help.

Emergency Access
Offline users can substitute offline emergency codes for passcodes by calling their
SecurID Authentication Manger Help Desk administrator. The Help Desk
administrator provides users with the offline emergency codes they need to use. For
example, if offline users:
Forget their PINs or run out of offline days, they can authenticate with an offline
emergency passcode. Users enter the offline emergency passcode instead of an
RSA SecurID passcode.
Lose their tokens or cannot log on or unlock the computer because of too many
failed authentication attempts, they can authenticate with an offline emergency
tokencode. Users combine the offline emergency tokencode with their RSA SecurID
PINs to authenticate.
The first time a user attempts to authenticate with a token after performing an offline
authentication with an offline emergency tokencode, Authentication Manager places
the users authenticator into lost authenticator temporary password mode (if
allowed).
The temporary password is the same as the offline emergency tokencode. It may have
an expiration date set by the Help Desk administrator. Before the password expires,
the user must contact the Authentication Manager Help Desk administrator to replace
the lost authenticator with a new one or return the lost authenticator to a not lost
status. For more information on how Authentication Manager manages emergency
codes, see the RSA Authentication Manager Administrators Guide (6.1 or 7.1).

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Emergency Access Options

Plan how you want users to authenticate when they lose, misplace, or damage their
tokens. Authentication Manager provides these SecurID emergency access methods
for Windows deployments.
For online users:

Temporary fixed tokencode. For users whose computers are online with the
network. They can access their protected computers without a tokencode (for
example, when they have lost their tokens).

One-time tokencode. For users whose computers are online with the network.
They can access their protected computers with a tokencode that allows one
access.

On-demand tokencode. For users with digital mobile devices and home e-mail
accounts. If enabled, they can receive one-time tokencodes as text messages.

For offline users:

Offline emergency access tokencode. For users whose computers are not
connected to the network. They can access their protected computers without a
tokencode (for example, when they have lost their tokens).

Offline emergency access passcode. For users whose computers are not connected
to the network. They can access their protected computers without a PIN (for
example, when they have forgotten their PINs).

Reserve Passwords
The reserve password feature is an emergency access method that enables you, the
administrator, to authenticate to a users protected computer as that user without
entering an RSA SecurID passcode under the following circumstances:

The offline authentication service is not running on the local computer

The computer cannot connect to RSA Authentication Manager

No offline day files are available to allow offline authentication

To set up a reserve password, you use one of the following Authentication Agent
options:

Local Authentication Settings Group Policy Object (GPO) template

RSA Control Center

If you select All Users as the challenge option, and the network connection fails, no
one, including an administrator, can access the desktop on the protected computer. For
this reason, RSA strongly recommends setting a reserve password or using another
emergency access method for administrators. (For information on other emergency
access methods, see Choose Emergency Access Methods on page 28.)
Only the Authentication Agent administrator knows the reserve password. If a user
needs to log on to the computer that requires a reserve password, the user needs to
contact the appropriate administrator for assistance.

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Important: The reserve password is less secure than other emergency access methods.
For example, it does not require a SecurID PIN and it remains valid unless an
administrator changes it. With a one-time password, a user must include the SecurID
PIN and the user can only use it once.

If the reserve password feature is enabled, and the Windows system is unable to
communicate with the RSA Authentication Manager at the time of authentication,
instead of displaying a message that the Authentication Manager is unreachable, the
system prompts you to enter a reserve password. Users also need to enter a Windows
password.
For information on setting the reserve password option through the Local
Authentication Settings GPO template, see the Group Policy Object Guide. For
information on setting the reserve password through the RSA Control Center, see the
RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help.

Set Up Offline Authentication

To accommodate different work environments, you can set up different ways to
deploy offline authentication to users who work remotely.

Users Who Work Locally and Remotely

If you want to set up offline authentication for users who work both in the office and
remotely, you can deploy offline authentication to these users by requiring them to
perform an initial online authentication at the office before taking their computers
offline.
To set up offline authentication before remote users leave the office:

1. Connect the users computer to the network.

2. Add the users computer to the domain (optional).
3. Instruct the user to perform a connected authentication to the
RSA Authentication Manager. (If necessary, you can perform the authentication
test described in Test Authentication on page 44.)
4. If the users authenticator is in New PIN mode, instruct the user to authenticate a
second time, using the new RSA SecurID PIN. If the authentication is successful,
the RSA Authentication Manager downloads offline data to the users computer.

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5. Verify that offline data has been downloaded to the users computer. To do this,
use Windows Explorer to verify that the offline data is stored in the users
computer. For information about where offline data is stored, see Offline
Authentication on page 55. The directories where offline data is stored are
hidden directories. To see the offline data files, you must configure Windows
Explorer to view hidden files.

Different Remote Users Who Share a Computer

If you want to set up offline authentication for several different users who share the
same computer for working remotely, you can instruct users to download their offline
data remotely instead of requiring each user to perform a connected authentication and
download offline authentication data in the office.
To configure a shared computer for offline authentication:

1. Create a challenge group that includes the names of everyone who will share the
computer. If you need to create new Windows groups, see the appropriate
Microsoft documentation.
2. Set a reserve password for the computer.
For more information, see the RSA Control Center (SecurID) Help.
3. Specify the challenge for the group you created using the GPO template. For more
information, see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.
4. Instruct the remote user to contact the administrator for the reserve password and
then to log on to the computer. When a user attempts to access the computer while
it is offline, the user is prompted first for the reserve password, and then for the
Windows password.
5. Instruct the user to connect to the network remotely.
6. Instruct the user to lock the computer, and then unlock it by providing an
RSA SecurID passcode when prompted. This downloads offline data to the users
computer. From this point forward, the user must provide RSA SecurID passcodes
to authenticate locally.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each user account sharing the computer.

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Users Who Only Work Remotely

You may want to deploy Authentication Agent and offline authentication to remote
users who cannot come into the office to install Authentication Agent and perform an
initial online authentication. Because users are added to the offline authentication
challenge list only after downloading their initial set of offline days, remote users can
access their desktops using their Windows passwords, and then open a remote
connection to download offline days. Once a user downloads an initial set of offline
days, that user is challenged for RSA SecurID passcodes on all subsequent
authentications to the desktop.
To deploy offline authentication to remote users who cannot visit the office:

1. Instruct the user to install RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 using the MSI file. For
information, see Install the Product on a Single Computer on page 36.
2. Instruct the user to log on to the desktop using a Windows password, and then
connect remotely to the network.
3. Instruct the user to lock the computer, and then unlock it by providing an
RSA SecurID passcode when prompted. This downloads offline data to the users
computer.
Important: Remote users can refresh their offline data remotely, but must do so before

the last offline day expires. Otherwise, they must perform a connected authentication
to download more offline days. Users can continue to refresh their supplies of offline
days this way until their RSA SecurID authenticators expire.

Automatic Registration Process

Every computer that hosts RSA Authentication Agent must have a corresponding
Agent host record in the RSA Authentication Manager database. If the Agent Host
Auto-Registration Utility (sdadmreg.exe) is installed on a new Authentication Agent
host computer, the utility registers the computer in the Authentication Manager
database and eliminates the need for an administrator to manually create the Agent
host record.
The IP address of an Authentication Agent client computer enables the
Authentication Manager to identify the computer during authentication. If the AutoRegistration utility is installed on an Authentication Agent client computer, the utility
automatically records the Agent host IP address to the Authentication Manager
database the first time you start the computer.

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Additionally, Authentication Agent launches the utility under the following

circumstances:

If the IP address of the Authentication Agent client computer changes

During RSA SecurID authentication to the local desktop

When you use the RSA Control Center to clear the node secret on the
Authentication Agent client computer

When the utility is launched, it determines whether the IP address of the

Authentication Agent client computer has changed. If the IP address has changed, the
utility updates it in the Authentication Manager database. If the IP address has not
changed, the utility shuts down.
The Auto-Registration utility is useful for systems that use the Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign IP addresses, and environments that use
wireless and Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections to access the corporate
network. The utility also permits a registered Authentication Agent to update its own
information with changes from the Authentication Manager sdconf.rec configuration
file.
The Auto-Registration utility also assists in managing the node secret. For more
information, see Automated Registration and the Node Secret on page 66.
To use the utility, you install it during the installation process as described in
Chapter 3, Installing RSA Authentication Agent.
In addition, an RSA Authentication Manager administrator must configure
Authentication Manager to allow automatic registration. For more information, see the
RSA Authentication Manager Help.
Note: When you use the Auto-Registration utility to register a new Authentication

Agent in the Authentication Manager database, the new Authentication Agent is

registered with the offline authentication and password integration system settings
specified in the Authentication Manager database.
You can configure the Auto-Registration utility to exempt events that, by default,
trigger the utility to run. For more information, see Prevent Automated Registration
During Specified Events on page 65.

Prevent Automated Registration During Specified Events

To reduce network traffic and maximize performance, you can configure the
Auto-Registration utility to exempt events that, by default, trigger the utility to run.
For example, you can specify that changes to the IP addresses of devices such as
VMWare hosts or wireless routers do not trigger the utility to run. To specify
exemptions, create the ExcludeAdaptor string in the Windows registry. Changes to the
IP address of devices named in the ExcludeAdaptor string value list do not cause the
Auto-Registration utility to run.

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To configure the Auto-Registration utility to exempt an event:

1. On the Authentication Agent client computer, log on with an Administrator

account.
2. Open the Registry Editor. For example, click Start. Then enter regedit in the
Start Search prompt and click regedit from the Programs list.
3. In the Registry Editor, click HKLM\ SOFTWARE\RSA\RSA Authentication
Agent\AgentAutoRegistration.
4. In the right pane of the Registry Editor window, right-click, and then click New >
String Value.
5. For the new value name, enter ExcludeAdapters.
6. In the right pane of the Registry Editor window, right-click ExcludeAdapters,
and click Modify.
7. For the value name, enter information to identify each of the devices you want the
Auto-Registration utility to exclude from monitoring. Use semicolons to separate
the identifiers for each device. For example, if you enter VPN;VMWARE, the
ExcludeAdapter value exempts all devices whose names include VPN and all
devices whose names include VMWARE.
Important: The ExcludeAdapter value is case sensitive.

Automated Registration and the Node Secret

The node secret is required for communication between Authentication Agent and
Authentication Manager. For successful communication, the node secret generated by
Authentication Manager must be installed on the Authentication Agent client
computer. The node secret is transferred from Authentication Manager to
Authentication Agent during initial authentication. Authentication problems may
occur if the node secret on the Authentication Agent client computer does not match
the one in the Authentication Manager database.
When the Auto-Registration utility connects to Authentication Manager,
Authentication Manager detects when the node secret on the Authentication Agent
client no longer matches the one stored in the Agent host record in the Authentication
Manager database. Authentication Manager clears the node secret in the Agent host
record and causes Authentication Agent to clear the node secret on the Authentication
Agent client computer. Authentication Manager generates a new node secret and
downloads it to the Authentication Agent client computer during the next
authentication. For information on troubleshooting node secret issues, see Node
Verification Fails on page 72. For details on using the Node Secret utility, see Use
the Node Secret Load Utility on page 47.

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Automated Registration and Offline Authentication

Offline authentication extends RSA SecurID authentication to users when the
connection to RSA Authentication Manager is not available (for example, when users
work away from the office, or when network conditions make the connection
temporarily unavailable). If offline authentication is enabled, Authentication Manager
generates offline data (also called offline days) and downloads it to the Authentication
Agent client computer when Authentication Agent connects to the
RSA Authentication Manager server.
Authentication Agent launches the Auto-Registration utility during RSA SecurID
authentication to the local Windows desktop. If the Auto-Registration utility is unable
to connect to Authentication Manager during the process, Authentication Agent
checks for offline data. If offline data exists, Authentication Agent attempts to
authenticate the user offline. If offline data does not exist, Authentication Agent
attempts an online authentication to Authentication Manager. If online authentication
fails, Authentication Agent issues a message that authentication was not successful.
For more information, see Offline Authentication on page 55.

Maintain the Primary IP Address of the Authentication Agent Host

Each Agent hosts primary IP address must be identified in its Agent host record in the
RSA Authentication Manager database. You can also list other IP addresses for the
host as secondary nodes for failover.
If your RSA Authentication Manager system automatically registers Agent hosts, the
primary IP address of each Agent host is automatically entered in the Authentication
Agent record on RSA Authentication Manager. The address is updated in the record
whenever it changes. For more information, see Automatic Registration Process on
page 55.
If your system does not use automatic registration, you must ensure that the
RSA Authentication Manager administrator knows the primary and secondary IP
address of the Authentication Agent host as soon as the Authentication Agent host is
initially configured. If an Agent host address changes, inform the
RSA Authentication Manager administrator immediately so that the administrator can
update the Authentication Agent host record in RSA Authentication Manager.
If Agent hosts are registered manually, the RSA Authentication Manager
administrator must make sure the primary IP address in the Authentication Agent host
record in the RSA Authentication Manager database matches the one specified in the
RSA Control Center, the Authentication Agent host record, or the load balancing
options (sdopts.rec) file. If the addresses do not match, communication between the
Authentication Agent host and the RSA Authentication Manager server fails. If
secondary IP addresses are specified for the Authentication Agent host, these must
also be entered in the record, and all addresses must be updated if they change.

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Multidomain Group Support

When you select a Windows group as an RSA Authentication Agent challenge group
using the GPO Policy templates, all users in the group are challenged by
RSA SecurID. Authentication Agent supports all Windows groups. For more
information about setting up challenge groups, see the Group Policy Object Template
Guide.
There are many different combinations of Windows groups; universal, global, and
domain local. Windows also allows groups to be nested within other groups. It is
important to understand the possible combinations of groups so that when you
challenge or exclude a group from an RSA SecurID challenge, you get the results that
you expect.
The following guidelines determine which users are challenged by RSA SecurID:

Users in a Windows group are challenged when the Windows group is in a

challenge group.

Users in a Windows group are not challenged when the Windows group is in an
excluded challenge group.

The following table lists an example of a multidomain environment that has two
domains and different types of groups. All of the users and groups are in the same
forest. Authentication Agent cannot determine the membership of a user if the user or
group is in a different forest.
Example of Groups and Member in a Multidomain Environment
Type of Group

Description

Member

U1D1

Universal Group 1 in Domain 1

User 1 (who is in Domain 1)

U2D2

Universal Group 2 in Domain 2

User 2 (who is in Domain 2)

U3D1

Universal Group 3 in Domain 1

U1D1

Universal Groups

U2D2
G1D1
G3D1
Global Groups
G1D1

Global Group 1 in Domain 1

User 3 (who is in Domain 1)

G2D2

Global Group 2 in Domain 2

User 4 (who is in Domain 2)

G3D1

Global Group 3 in Domain 1

G2D2

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Example of Groups and Member in a Multidomain Environment

Type of Group

Description

Member

Domain Local Groups

L1D1

Domain Local Group 1 in Domain 1

User 5 (who is in Domain 1)

User 6 (who is in Domain 2)

L2D1

Domain Local Group 2 in Domain 1

U3D1

L3D1

Domain Local Group 3 in Domain 1

G1D1
G3D1

The following table shows the users who are challenged to log on using RSA SecurID
authentication or excluded from it depending on what groups you selected in the
previous table.
Challenge or Exclude Group Settings
Group Setting

Users Challenged or Excluded

U1D1

User 1

U3D1

User 1, User 2, User 3, User 4

G1D1

User 3

G3D1

User 4

L1D1

User 5, User 6

L2D1

User 1, User 2, User 3, User 4

L3D1

User 3, User 4

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Automatic Password Synchronization

When password changes are made on computers running RSA Authentication Agent,
passwords are synchronized in the corresponding RSA Authentication Manager
accounts. If a users password is changed out-of-band (either from a computer not
running Authentication Agent or by an administrator on the domain controller),
however, the password is not automatically synchronized unless you take the
following steps:
1. Install the Authentication Agent on all of the domain controllers in your
environment. Restart your domain controllers after the installation has completed.
Installing the Authentication Agent installs the password synchronization
component that is required for out-of-band password synchronization. The
domain controllers must be running the offline authentication feature.
Note: You are not required to enable the RSA SecurID challenge on the domain

controllers, because the challenge and password synchronization are independent

of each other.
2. Perform a test authentication on the domain controllers.
The test authentication establishes node secrets between the domain controllers
and RSA Authentication Manager. The node secrets allow communication
between the domain controllers and Authentication Manager.
3. Configure the password synchronization component by specifying settings in the
RSA Group Policy Object templates. If you use both the Synchronize User
Passwords template and the Challenge Users template on the domain controller,
passwords will be synchronized for users in either group. For more information,
see the Group Policy Object Template Guide.
If you install Authentication Agent on the domain controllers, but do not use the
password synchronization setting to specify which users should have their passwords
synchronized, challenge settings on the domain controller determine the users for
whom passwords are synchronized. For example, if you set the challenge for all users,
but you do not set up password synchronization, passwords are synchronized for all
users.

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Troubleshooting

Offline Authentication and the Auto-Registration Utility

Authentication Issues

Diagnose Authentication Issues

Error and Event Viewer Log Messages

The following sections contain details on connection and authentication issues you
may encounter while using Authentication Agent. This chapter also includes
troubleshooting information and details on error messages. For additional
troubleshooting information, log on to RSA SecurCare Online at
https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com.
Note: RSA SecurCare Online is only available to customers who have a valid

software service contract.

Offline Authentication and the Auto-Registration Utility

If you perform a custom installation of RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft
Windows and you choose to install the Auto-Registration utility, Authentication Agent
launches it when users authenticate with their RSA SecurID passcode to access the
local desktop. Auto-Registration determines whether the IP address of the computer
has changed. If the IP address has changed, the service updates it in the Authentication
Manager database.
If the Auto-Registration utility cannot connect to Authentication Manager,
Authentication Agent checks for offline data. If offline data exists, Authentication
Agent attempts to authenticate the user offline. If offline data does not exist,
Authentication Agent attempts an online authentication to Authentication Manager. If
online authentication fails, Authentication Agent issues a message to indicate that the
authentication process failed.
The delay between an authentication attempt and notification of authentication status
depends on your configuration. For example, if you have a configuration of one
RSA Authentication Manager Primary instance and five replica instances, each with
one alias in addition to the main IP address, automatic registration spends two seconds
attempting to connect to the Authentication Manager server at each IP address
assigned to each Authentication Manager server. Each Authentication Manager server
can have one primary IP address and three alias IP addresses.
For this configuration, if none of the Authentication Manager instances are available,
the Auto Registration utility takes 24 seconds before it determines that the
Authentication Manager server is unavailable. The utility then instructs
Authentication Agent to attempt offline authentication. If the user is not set up for
offline authentication, the Authentication Agent host attempts to authenticate online.

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By default, Authentication Agent attempts to authenticate to Authentication Manager

five times and, by default, each attempt takes five seconds. This equals a total elapsed
time of 25 seconds. The 24 seconds that the Auto-Registration utility requires, plus the
25 seconds for attempted authentication equals a total wait time of 49 seconds
between the authentication attempt and notification of authentication status.

Authentication Issues
The following sections describe issues that you may encounter while running
Authentication Agent.

RSA SecurID 800 Driver Might Not Install Automatically

The RSA SecurID 800 Authenticator (SecurID 800) has a built-in smart card reader.
On most systems, the first time you insert the SecurID 800 into a USB port, the
Microsoft Found New Hardware wizard automatically recognizes the device and
installs the required Microsoft CCID USB driver. If a system cannot automatically
install the driver, you can manually install it through the Microsoft web site
(http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Home.aspx).
For more information on manually installing the driver, see the SecurID 800
Authenticator Shipment Information file that came with the SecurID 800 order.

Authentication Fails After Changing the Send Domain and Username Option
Whenever you apply a new GPO Template to users, you may need to restart the
computer for the policy to take effect.

Test Authentication Succeeds, but Actual Authentication Fails

If the test authentication succeeds, but actual authentication fails, restart the
Authentication Agent computer. Authentication Manager automatically creates and
sends the node secret to the agent in response to the first successful authentication on
the agent. Therefore, if you restart the Authentication Agent computer before a node
secret exists, Authentication Agent remains unaware of the node secret even after
Authentication Manager passes it to the Authentication Agent host computer.
Important: This scenario only occurs if you did not enable Auto-Registration on RSA

Authentication Manager. If you enable it (and install the Auto-Registration utility

when you install Authentication Agent), you should not experience this issue.

Node Verification Fails

If the node secret on the Authentication Agent host is corrupted or does not match the
node secret in the Authentication Manager database, encrypted communications
between Authentication Agent and Authentication Manager cannot work. If this
happens, the message Access Denied, Node Verification Failed is logged in the
Authentication Manager Activity monitor.

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Important: If Authentication Manager allows Auto-Registration and you installed the

Auto-Registration utility when you installed Authentication Agent, try to resolve the
node secret issues listed in this section without user intervention.
The following events can cause node verification failure:

The Authentication Manager successfully authenticates a user and sends the node
secret to the RSA Authentication Agent 7.2, along with a successful
authentication message. Authentication Agent times out or fails (for example, due
to a power failure) before storing the node secret.

An administrator uninstalls Authentication Agent and then installs it again. When

Authentication Agent is uninstalled, the node secret is removed.

Authentication Agent is not identified in the Authentication Manager database.

This event may generate either a Node Verification Failed error message or an
Agent Host Unknown error message.

You are using Authentication Manager replica instances, and the replica instance
that sent the node secret to Authentication Agent has not yet notified other replica
instances. In this case, some users can successfully authenticate and others cannot.

You are using replica instances, and one or more replica instances are not running.
In this case, some users can successfully authenticate and others cannot.

You clear the node secret on Authentication Agent or Authentication Manager, but
not on both.

You clear the node secret on Authentication Agent and Authentication Manager,
but do not restart Authentication Agent if it does not have the Auto-Registration
utility installed.

You enter an invalid user name on the first authentication after clearing the node
secret.

Correct a Node Verification Failure

After you review the events that can cause node verification failure in the previous
section, if the Auto-Registration utility is not installed and enabled on Authentication
Manager, you can correct the node verification failure.
To correct the node verification failure:

1. Clear the node secret from the Authentication Agent host.

2. At the same time, your Authentication Manager administrator must clear the node
secret specified for the Authentication Agent host in the Authentication Manager
database.
3. Perform a test authentication on the Authentication Agent host.
Important: You must clear the node secret on both the Authentication Agent host and

the Authentication Manager server.

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For instructions on how to clear the node secret on Authentication Agent, see the
RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help. For instructions on how to clear the node
secret on Authentication Manager, see the RSA Security Console Help.

Enable Tracing
You can enable tracing from the RSA Control Center to diagnose a range of
authentication issues. Typically, you would not enable tracing unless instructed to do
so by RSA Customer Support. Customer Support will also instruct you on which
components to trace and the levels to set for the tracing.
Note: Tracing is disabled by default. When enabled, the tracing output files are
written to C:\ProgramData\RSA\Logfiles for Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server
2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2.
To enable tracing:

1. From the computer with Authentication Agent installed, open the RSA Control
Center.
2. Click Advanced Tools.
3. Click Tracing.
4. As directed by Customer Support, configure the tracing settings.
5. Click OK.

Diagnose Authentication Issues

The following sections describe tasks that you can perform to help diagnose authentication
issues.

Verify the Accuracy of the Computer Clock

If a user cannot authenticate, make sure the clock on the users computer is accurate. If the
computer clock drifts from its previous setting, the user may not be able to authenticate.

Verify the System Configuration (sdconf.rec) File

If the RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 and the Authentication Manager computers do not have
compatible copies of the system configuration file (sdconf.rec) file, the computers will not be
able to communicate with each other.
To make sure you have the correct sdconf.rec file, verify the file settings by opening the
Server Environment dialog box.
To view the Server Environment dialog box and verify the sdconf.rec file:

1. Open the RSA Control Center.

2. Click Server Environment.The left side of the dialog box displays information about
the status of the RSA Authentication Manager server and how it communicates with the
agent.

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3. If you receive an error message, Unable to retrieve server environment, the system
configuration (sdconf.rec) file is corrupt. You must replace the sdconf.rec.
For more information about replacing the file, see the Replace the System
Configuration (sdconf.rec) File.

Replace the System Configuration (sdconf.rec) File

When you view the system configuration file in the previous section, if you receive an
Unable to retrieve server environment error message, the system configuration
(sdconf.rec) file is corrupt and you must replace it.
To replace the sdconf.rec file:

1. Locate the system configuration (sdconf.rec) file on the computer.

2. Obtain a new sdconf.rec file from your RSA Authentication Manager administrator.
3. Open the folder with the corrupt sdconf.rec file and replace it with the new file.
Important: Make sure that your anti-spy or anti-virus software does not automatically

remove the node secret or sdconf.rec file.

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Error and Event Viewer Log Messages

This section lists RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows error and event
messages and describes the circumstances that cause the error. The messages are listed
alphabetically.
AVOID command has invalid IP address in SDOPTS.REC file.
The IP address associated with the AVOID parameter in the sdopts.rec file is not
valid. For information about creating a correctly formatted sdopts.rec file, see
Manage an sdopts.rec File on page 82.
Cannot AVOID default IP Address in SDOPTS.REC file address.
The AVOID parameter does not work with the default IP address specified in the
sdopts.rec file. For information about creating a correctly formatted sdopts.rec file,
see Manage an sdopts.rec File on page 82.
Cant create socket during initialization in SecurID Authentication. The
data is the WINSOCK error code.
Socket services may not have started. Check the Event Log to find out if there is a
problem with the network card or the TCP/IP services.
Also, make sure echo services are running on your Authentication Manager by doing
one of the following:

If the Authentication Manager is running on a Windows computer, open the

Network control panel, and confirm that Simple TCP/IP Services are installed. If
they are not, add the Simple TCP/IP Services.

If the Authentication Manager is running on a UNIX computer, confirm that the

echo service is running on the Authentication Manager computer. See your UNIX
operating system documentation for information about starting the echo service.

Data download error encountered for user: <user name>.

An error occurred while offline data was being downloaded for the specified user.
Duplicate AVOID statements in SDOPTS.REC file.
There are two identical AVOID statements in the sdopts.rec file. For information
about creating a correctly formatted sdopts.rec file, see Manage an sdopts.rec File
on page 82.
Failed to create service thread, aborting.
Too many other processes were running, so the service did not start.
Incorrect size for file: sdconf.rec.
The sdconf.rec file was probably not copied in binary mode. Ask the
Authentication Manager administrator for a new copy of sdconf.rec.

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File not found: aceclnt.dll.

Software may have been installed incorrectly or aceclnt.dll may have been deleted.
Reinstall the RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows software from the
MSI file (RSA Authentication Agent.msi) to correct the problem.
File not found: sdconf.rec.
The sdconf.rec file is not in the HKLM\Software\RSA\RSA Authentication
Agent\AuthDataDir directory. It was either removed or never copied from the
Authentication Manager. Ask your Authentication Manager administrator for a new
copy of sdconf.rec.
Initialization of the Offline Authentication Service Failed.
The offline authentication service failed to start. If this error recurs, restart the
computer.
Network Timeout - Authentication Manager was responding but has now
stopped.
Make sure the Authentication Manager process is running on the server. Check for a
network problem such as a router malfunction or unplugged network cable.
Offline Authentication: Access Denied.
The users attempt to authenticate offline was unsuccessful.
Offline Authentication: Access Denied - Passcode Reuse Attack
Detected.
Someone attempted to reuse a passcode that the user entered to authenticate offline.
Offline Authentication: Access Denied - Previous Tokencode.
The users attempt to authenticate offline was unsuccessful because the user entered
the previously issued tokencode instead of the current one.
Offline Authentication: Authentication Failure Limit Reached. Only
Emergency Access Authentication Allowed.
The users attempt to authenticate offline was unsuccessful and the user has been
locked out of the system. The user must contact the Help Desk for an emergency
access code.
Offline Authentication: Emergency Access Passcode Accepted.
The user successfully authenticated using an emergency access passcode.
Offline Authentication: Emergency Access Tokencode Accepted.
The user successfully authenticated using an emergency access tokencode.
Offline Authentication: Passcode Accepted.
The user has successfully authenticated offline.

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The Offline Authentication service ended abnormally.

The offline authentication service stopped due to an uncommon condition.
The Offline Authentication service was started. Port: port.
The offline authentication service was started and is listening on the specified local
port.
The Offline Authentication service was stopped.
The offline authentication service was stopped.
The Offline Authentication Time Offset was adjusted to <time>.
The clock setting on RSA Authentication Agent for Microsoft Windows or
Authentication Manager changed.
User <user name> canceled out of New PIN routine.
The user canceled the authentication attempt in New PIN mode.
User <user name> canceled Authentication routine.
The user canceled without entering a user name.
User <user name>: ACCESS DENIED.
The user was denied access. Check the Authentication Manager Activity Log for the
specific reason.
User <user name>: ACCESS DENIED. Next Tokencode failed.
The user failed to authenticate in Next Tokencode mode and must attempt to
authenticate again.
User <user name>: ACCESS DENIED. Server signature invalid.
This message indicates that the identity of the Authentication Manager could not be
verified by Authentication Agent. If you see this message, contact RSA Customer
Support.
User <user name>: canceled out of Next Tokencode routine.
The user canceled out of the Next Tokencode process.
User <user name>: New PIN accepted.
The users new RSA SecurID PIN was verified.
User <user name>: New PIN rejected.
The RSA SecurID PIN was rejected by the Authentication Manager. The user needs to
reauthenticate to set the RSA SecurID PIN. Check the Authentication Manager
Activity Log.

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User <user name>: PASSCODE accepted.

The users passcode was accepted.
User <user name>: Reserve password accepted.
The user was prompted for the reserve password and entered it correctly.
User <user name>: Successfully logged on with Next Tokencode.
Authentication Manager accepted the next tokencode and granted access to the user.
USESERVER and AVOID cannot both be used in sdopts file.
The sdopts.rec file is trying to use both USESERVER and AVOID. For information
about creating a correctly formatted sdopts.rec file, see Manage an sdopts.rec File
on page 82.

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Configuring Automatic Load Balancing

Automatic Load Balancing

Manage an sdopts.rec File

Automatic Load Balancing

You configure RSA Authentication Agent to automatically balance authentication
request loads by creating a load balancing options (sdopts.rec) file. The sdopts.rec
file is a text file stored on the Authentication Agent host (the machine on which an
agent is installed). Within the file, you can specify dynamic or manual load balancing.
Important: You must log on with an administrator account if you plan to modify the

sdopts.rec file.

Dynamic Load Balancing

With dynamic load balancing, Authentication Agent sends a time request to each
RSA Authentication Manager server in the realm and determines a priority list based
on the response time of each Authentication Manager server. The Authentication
Manager server with the fastest response time gets the highest priority and receives the
greatest number of authentication requests. Other Authentication Manager servers get
lower priorities and fewer requests. This arrangement lasts until Authentication Agent
sends another time request or times out.
To perform dynamic load balancing, Authentication Agent connects to the
Authentication Manager server through firewalls by using alternate IP addresses
(aliases) for the Authentication Manager servers. The Authentication Manager servers
provide the aliases to Authentication Agent upon request. The addresses are stored in
the configuration record file (sdconf.rec) on the Authentication Agent host.
You specify dynamic load balancing by excluding the USESERVER statement from
the sdopts.rec file. For more information, see Manage an sdopts.rec File on page
82.

Manual Load Balancing

With manual load balancing, you specify the RSA Authentication Manager server that
each Agent host uses. You also assign a priority to each Authentication Manager
server so Authentication Agent can direct authentication requests to some
Authentication Manager servers more frequently than others. You specify manual load
balancing by including the USESERVER statement in the sdopts.rec file and
associating priority settings with each Authentication Manager server you specify for
use. For more information, see Manage an sdopts.rec File on page 82.

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Manage an sdopts.rec File

This section describes the components that you can use to create an sdopts.rec file. It
also gives examples of ways you can use the components to set up load balancing.

Create an sdopts.rec File

You can create and edit an sdopts.rec file using any text editor. After you create the
file, save it in the directory specified by the following registry setting: AuthDataDir
value under the HKLM\Software\RSA\RSA Authentication Agent key. To protect
the file from unauthorized changes, change the permission settings so that only
administrators can modify the file.
Important: Each time you modify the sdopts.rec file, restart Authentication Agent to

register the changes.

The file can include:

Comment lines, each preceded by a semicolon.

Keyword-value pairs, which can be any of the following:

CLIENT_IP=ip_address. Specifies an overriding IP address for the

Authentication Agent host. The CLIENT_IP keyword can appear only once
in the file. For information, see Specify an Overriding IP Address on
page 87. (Authentication Agent ignores this setting if the IP override is
already set through the Advanced Tools option in the RSA Control Center.
For more information, see the RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help.)

USESERVER=ip_address, priority. Specifies an

RSA Authentication Manager server to receive authentication requests from
the Authentication Agent host according to a specified priority value. Use one
setting for each RSA Authentication Manager server that the Authentication
Agent host uses. The combined maximum number of Authentication Manager
servers you can specify in the sdopts.rec and sdconf.rec files is 11.
Note: Including this value in the sdopts.rec file enables manual load

balancing.

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Each USESERVER keyword value must consist of the actual

RSA Authentication Manager IP address separated by a comma from the
assigned priority. The priority specifies if or how often an
RSA Authentication Manager server receives authentication requests. The
following table lists the priority values that you can specify.
Priority

Meaning

210

Send authentication requests to this RSA Authentication Manager

server using a randomized selection based on the assigned priority of
the Authentication Manager server. The range is from 210. The
higher the value, the more requests the Authentication Manager server
receives. A Priority 10 Authentication Manager server receives about
24 times as many requests as a Priority 2 Authentication Manager
server.

Use this RSA Authentication Manager only if no Authentication

Manager servers of higher priority are available.

Ignore this RSA Authentication Manager server. A Priority 0

Authentication Manager server can only be used in special
circumstances:
It must be one of the four Authentication Manager servers listed in
the sdconf.rec file.
The Priority 0 Authentication Manager server can only be used for
the initial authentication of Authentication Agent, unless all
Authentication Manager servers with priorities of 110 listed in the
sdopts.rec file are known as unusable to Authentication Agent.
Generally, a priority value of 0 allows you to put an entry in the file
for an Authentication Manager server without using it. You can change
the priority value if you decide to use the Authentication Manager server.
Note: You must enter keywords in uppercase.

If none of the servers with USESERVER statements are responsive,

then the default server is the master (if one exists) or the
Authentication Manager server used to create the sdconf.rec file is the
master.

You must assign a priority to each RSA Authentication Manager that you add
to the sdopts.rec file. Otherwise, the entry is invalid. The IP addresses in the
file are verified against the list of valid RSA Authentication Manager servers
that Authentication Agent receives as part of its initial authentication.

ALIAS=ip_address, alias_ip_address_1, alias_ip_address_2,

alias_ip_address_3. Specifies one or more alternate IP addresses (aliases) for
an Authentication Manager server in addition to the aliases listed for the
Authentication Manager server in the sdconf.rec file. You can specify up to
three additional aliases in the sdopts.rec file.
The value for the ALIAS keyword must consist of the actual IP address for
the RSA Authentication Manager server, followed by up to three aliases for
that Authentication Manager server. Authentication Agent sends timed
requests to the actual and the aliases.

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Only the actual IP address specified by the ALIAS keyword must be known
by the specified RSA Authentication Manager server. In addition, the actual
IP address must be included on any Authentication Manager server list
received by Authentication Agent. The Authentication Manager server list
provides actual and alias IP address information about all known
Authentication Manager servers in the realm. Authentication Agent receives
the list from the Authentication Manager server after Authentication Manager
validates an authentication request.

ALIASES_ONLY=ip_address. When you provide an actual IP address of an

RSA Authentication Manager server as the value, this keyword tells
Authentication Agent to use only the alias IP addresses to contact
Authentication Manager.
When you do not provide a value, this keyword tells Authentication Agent to
send requests only to the RSA Authentication Manager servers that have alias
IP addresses assigned to them. You can create exceptions by including no
more than 10 IGNORE_ALIASES keywords in the sdopts.rec file to specify
which Authentication Manager servers must be contacted through their actual
IP addresses. For an example showing these exceptions, see Specify Alias IP
Addresses for Use or Exclusion on page 86. (If you use this keyword, make
sure that at least one RSA Authentication Manager has an alias IP address
specified for it in the sdconf.rec file or in the sdopts.rec file.)

IGNORE_ALIASES=ip_address. When you do not provide a value, this

keyword specifies that all alias IP addresses found in the sdopts.rec and
sdconf.rec files, or on the RSA Authentication Manager list, are ignored. You
can create exceptions by including no more than 10 ALIASES_ONLY
keywords in the sdopts.rec file to specify which Authentication Manager
servers must be contacted through their alias IP addresses. For an example
showing these exceptions, see Specify Alias IP Addresses for Use or
Exclusion on page 86.
When you provide an actual IP address as the value, this keyword tells
Authentication Agent to use only the actual IP address to contact
Authentication Manager.

AVOID=ip_address. When you provide an actual IP address of an

RSA Authentication Manager server as a value, this keyword tells
Authentication Agent to exclude this Authentication Manager server from use
during dynamic load balancing.
Important: Use the AVOID keyword only for dynamic load balancing. Do

not use it with the USESERVER keyword for manual load balancing.

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Exclude an Authentication Manager Server During Dynamic Load Balancing

In dynamic load balancing, you exclude an RSA Authentication Manager server from
use for authentication by including the AVOID keyword in the sdopts.rec file. When
you provide an actual IP address of an RSA Authentication Manager server as a value,
this keyword tells Authentication Agent to exclude this Authentication Manager
server from use during dynamic load balancing.
Important: Use the AVOID keyword only for dynamic load balancing. Do not use it
with the USESERVER keyword for manual load balancing. If the AVOID keyword is
included in an sdopts.rec file that includes a USESERVER statement, the AVOID
statement is considered an error.

If you use the AVOID statement with the IP address of the default
RSA Authentication Manager server, the statement is ignored unless another
Authentication Manager server is available. The default Authentication Manager
server is the one where the sdconf.rec file was created. If an Authentication Manager
server is designated as the master, however, it becomes the default Authentication
Manager server regardless of where the sdconf.rec file was created.
The following example shows how to use the AVOID keywords in the sdopts.rec file:
AVOID=192.100.123.5

In this example, the RSA Authentication Manager server with the IP address
192.100.123.5 will not be used for authentication.

Configure Manual Load Balancing

You configure manual load balancing by including the USESERVER keyword in the
sdopts.rec file to specify the IP addresses of the RSA Authentication Manager servers
that you want each Agent host to use.
You can list the IP addresses in the sdopts.rec file in any order, but you must list each
separately, one per line. The following example shows how to use the USESERVER
keywords to specify the IP addresses.
;Any line of text preceded by a semicolon is ignored
;(is considered a comment).
;Do not put a blank space between a keyword and its
;equal sign. Blank spaces are permitted after the
;equal sign, after the IP address, and after the
;comma that separates an IP address from a priority
;value.
USESERVER=192.168.10.23, 10
USESERVER=192.168.10.22, 2
USESERVER=192.168.10.20, 1
USESERVER=192.168.10.21, 0

In this example, the Authentication Manager server identified by IP address

192.168.10.23 receives more authentication requests than Authentication Manager
server 192.168.10.22. Authentication Manager server 192.168.10.20 is used only if
the Authentication Manager servers of higher priority are unavailable. Authentication
Manager server 192.168.10.21 is ignored except in rare circumstances (as described in
Manage an sdopts.rec File on page 82).

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Note: You can use the USESERVER and ALIAS keywords together in the

sdopts.rec file. However, USESERVER keywords do not affect the alias addresses
used to connect to the Authentication Manager servers, and ALIAS keywords have no
effect on which Authentication Manager servers are specified for use.

Specify Alias IP Addresses for Use or Exclusion

You can use the sdopts.rec file to specify alias IP addresses for use or for exclusion.
Important: Authentication Agent ignores this setting if the IP override is already set

through the Advanced Settings option in the RSA Control Center. For more
information on setting the IP address through the Control Center, see the
RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help.
You can list the settings in the sdopts.rec file in any order, but you must list each
setting separately, one setting per line. The following example shows how to use the
ALIAS keywords in the sdopts.rec file.
;Any line of text preceded by a semicolon is ignored
;(is considered a comment).
;Do not put a blank space between a keyword and its
;equal sign. Blank spaces are permitted after the
;equal sign, after the IP address, and after the
;comma that separates an IP address from a priority
;value.
USESERVER=192.168.10.23, 10
USESERVER=192.168.10.22, 2
USESERVER=192.168.10.20, 1
USESERVER=192.168.10.21, 0
ALIAS=192.168.10.23, 192.168.4.1, 192.168.4.2, 192.168.4.3
ALIAS=192.168.10.22, 192.168.5.2, 192.168.5.3
ALIAS=192.168.10.20, 192.168.5.1
ALIAS=192.168.10.21, 0, 192.168.1.1
ALIAS_ONLY=192.168.10.23
IGNORE_ALIASES=192.168.10.22

In this example, the default is to use alias or actual IP addresses, with some
exceptions. The RSA Authentication Manager server with the actual IP address
192.168.10.23 has three alias addresses specified for it, while Authentication Manager
servers 192.168.10.20 and 192.168.10.21 each have only one alias.
RSA Authentication Manager server 192.168.10.22 has two alias addresses. The
aliases specified by the ALIAS keywords are additions to any aliases specified in the
sdconf.rec file and in the RSA Authentication Manager server.
This example shows how to use the USESERVER and ALIAS keywords together in
the sdopts.rec file. However, USESERVER keywords do not affect the alias
addresses used to connect to the Authentication Manager servers, and ALIAS
keywords have no effect on which Authentication Manager servers are specified for
use.

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In this example, the default is to use aliases with two exceptions.

RSA Authentication Manager server 192.168.10.23, as specified by the
ALIASES_ONLY keyword, will be contacted only through its alias IP addresses.
RSA Authentication Manager server 192.168.10.22, specified by the
IGNORE_ALIASES keyword, will be contacted only by using its actual IP address.
In the following example, the default is to ignore aliases, with two exceptions:
IGNORE_ALIASES
ALIASES_ONLY=192.168.10.23
ALIASES_ONLY=192.168.10.22

The ALIASES_ONLY exceptions specify that Authentication Agent should send its
requests to RSA Authentication Manager server 192.168.10.23 and 192.168.10.22 by
using only their alias IP addresses.
In the following example, the default is to use aliases, with two exceptions:
ALIASES_ONLY
IGNORE_ALIASES=192.168.10.23
IGNORE_ALIASES=192.168.10.22

The IGNORE_ALIASES exceptions specify that Authentication Agent should send

its requests to RSA Authentication Manager server 192.168.10.23 and 192.168.10.22
by using only their actual IP addresses.

Specify an Overriding IP Address

When Authentication Agent runs on a host that has multiple network interface cards,
and therefore multiple IP addresses, you must specify a primary Agent host IP address
to use for encrypted communications between Authentication Agent and
RSA Authentication Manager. Agent hosts typically attempt to discover their own IP
addresses. An Agent host with multiple addresses might select one that is unknown to
RSA Authentication Manager, making communication between Authentication Agent
and Authentication Manager impossible. You can specify an overriding primary IP
address by including the CLIENT_IP keyword in an sdopts.rec file on the
Authentication Agent host.
Note: The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allocates IP addresses to

Agent hosts dynamically. To avoid address conflicts, install the Auto-Registration

utility when you install Authentication Agent. For more information, see Chapter 3,
Installing RSA Authentication Agent and Chapter 5, Troubleshooting.

A: Configuring Automatic Load Balancing

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

To specify an IP address override in the sdopts.rec file, follow this example:

CLIENT_IP=192.168.10.19

This statement ensures that the Authentication Agent host always uses the specified IP
address to communicate with Authentication Manager.
Important: Authentication Agent ignores this setting if the computer has the IP
address override option set in the RSA Control Center. However, if you installed the
Auto-Registration utility (during or after the Authentication Agent installation
process), the address that the utility registers overrides the IP setting in the Control
Center. (The IP address override setting field also appears inactive once you install
the Auto-Registration utility.) For more information on setting the IP address through
the Control Center, see the RSA Authentication Agent (SecurID) Help.

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A: Configuring Automatic Load Balancing

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Glossary
Term

Definition

agent

A software application installed on a device, such as a

domain server, web server, or desktop computer, that
enables authentication communication with Authentication
Manager on the network server.

agent auto-registration utility

A utility included in the RSA Authentication Agent

software that enables you to automatically register new
authentication agents in the internal database, and updates
the IP addresses for existing agents.

agent host

The machine on which an agent is installed.

challenge group

A group of users that will be challenged by the

RSA SecurID Agent.

connected

Refers to a USB authenticator that is plugged into a USB

port or extender cable.

Credential Provider

See Microsoft logon (Credential Provider)

disconnected

Refers to a USB authenticator that is not connected to a

USB port or extender cable.

domain

A group of server and client machines that exist in the same

security structure. Domains are defined by the administrator
and share a common database.

emergency access

Alternative procedures that users can follow in an

emergency to gain access to their machines or other
protected resources when they do not have access to their
normal credentials.

emergency access passcode

A complete authentication code that, if enabled, can be used

by a user to perform an offline authentication without an
authenticator or PIN.

emergency access tokencode

A partial authentication code that, if enabled, can be used by

a user to perform an offline authentication without an
authenticator. The user is required to provide his or her PIN.

exempt administrator account

An agent group that is exempt from challenge.

local authentication client

An RSA Authentication Agent component that requires

users to enter valid RSA SecurID passcodes to access their
Microsoft Windows desktops

Glossary

89

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Term

Definition

Microsoft logon (Credential Provider)

A logon method that uses the Microsoft Credential Provider

and presents standard Windows logon dialog boxes for
Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, and Windows Server 2008.

node secret

A long-lived symmetric key that the agent uses to encrypt

the data in the authentication request.
Authentication Manager generates the authentication
request when a user makes a successful authentication
attempt. The node secret is known only to the
Authentication Manager and the agent.

notification area

An area on the taskbar of a computer using Widows that is

used to display notifications to the user. The area contains
small icons for each notification facility.

notification icon

An icon in the notification area that may contain a pop-up

icon used to tell users of events or actions to take.

offline authentication

An option in RSA Authentication Agent that requires users

to enter RSA SecurID passcodes to authenticate to their
Windows desktops even when their computers are not
connected to the RSA Authentication Manager through the
network.

offline data

Data generated by the RSA Authentication Manager and

downloaded to the agent o enable offline authentication.
This term is used in administrator documentation. See also
offline days.

offline days

Data generated by the RSA Authentication Manager and

downloaded to the agent o enable offline authentication.
This term is used in end-user documentation. See also
offline data.

offline days status icon

An icon in the Windows notification area that tells users the

general status of their supply of offline days.

offline emergency access

An alternate way for users to access protected resources

while offline without using their normal credentials.

passcode

A code used in RSA SecurID authentication to gain access

to a protected resource. It is made up of two factors: a
Personal Identification Number (PIN) and the tokencode
(random number) currently displaying on the front of an
RSA SecurID token.

remote authentication client

A remote authentication client computer that hosts the RSA

Authentication Agent remote authentication client
component.

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Glossary

RSA Authentication Agent 7.1 Installation and Administration Guide

Term

Definition

refresh offline days

Enables users to get more offline days.

reserve password

An emergency access method that enables the administrator

to authenticate to a users protected computer as that user
without entering an RSA SecurID passcode under the
following circumstances:
The offline authentication service is not running on the
local computer
The computer cannot connect to RSA Authentication
Manager

RSA Credential Provider

A replaceable DLL component that performs user

identification and authentication interactions during logon
for Windows 7, Vista, and Windows Server 2008.

RSA SecurID 800 Authenticator

An authenticator that users can use as a smart card or as a

SecurID token. Users can attach the SecurID 800 to a USB
port for SecurID authentication or use it as a handheld
device, depending on the RSA application they use.

RSA SecurID Connected Authenticator

The software used with a connected RSA SecurID 800

Authenticator. The software is installed on the desktop and
is accessed through the RSA Control Center.

RSA SecurID PIN

A user-created or system-generated PIN (personal

identification number) that is used with a tokencode to
generate a passcode.

Server administrator

A person with access to certain administrative features on

an RSA Authentication Manager software product through
the administration user interface. The administrator
privileges may range from viewing information stored on
the server to performing user-specific and system-wide
operations.

tokencode

The random number displayed on the front of a user's RSA

SecurID token. Tokencodes change at a specified time
interval, typically every 60 seconds.

two-factor authentication

An authentication protocol requiring two different ways of

establishing and proving identity, for example, something
you have (such as an authenticator) and something you
know (such as a PIN).

USB authenticator

A hardware authenticator with a connector for connecting

the authenticator to a USB port.

Windows account

A user name, password, and domain that identify a

particular user to the Windows operating system.

Glossary

91

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Term

Definition

Windows password integration

A feature that integrates the Microsoft Windows password

into the RSA SecurID logon process.

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Glossary

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

Index
A
account privileges, 41
agent
definition, 89
agent auto-registration utility
definition, 89
agent host
definition, 89
Agent Host Auto-Registration utility
affect on the node secret, 66
alias IP addresses, excluding from load
balancing, 86
ALIAS keyword, 83, 86
ALIASES_ONLY keyword, 84
Authentication Agent
description, 9
managing with GPO templates, 12
authentication problems, diagnosing, 74
authentication, offline, 10, 55
authenticator
supported, 17
using, 17
Automated Agent Host Registration and
Update utility
configuring for exemptions, 65
automatic
refresh of offline days, 57
update of IP addresses, 13
Auto-Registration utility
behavior during offline
authentication, 67
overview, 64
AVOID keyword, 84, 85

C
challenge
options, 10
challenge group
definition, 89
challenging users, 10
Citrix ICA Client, 24
CLIENT_IP keyword, 82, 87
command line, 43
configuration wizard, 38
connected
definition, 89
Control Center, 18

Index

creating
sdopts.rec file, 82

D
deploying installation package, 42
description
RSA Control Center, 18
description, Authentication Agent, 9
diagnosing authentication problems, 74
disconnected
definition, 89
documentation, 7
dynamic load balancing
excluding an Authentication
Manager, 85
overview, 81

E
elevated privileges, installing product
with, 41
emergency access, 60
for administrators, 11
offline, 60
encrypted communication, 47
error messages, 76
Event Viewer
log messages, 76
ExcludeAdaptor, 65
exempt administrator account, 11

G
Group Policy Object (GPO) templates, 12

I
icon, notification area, 59
IGNORE_ALIASES keyword, 84
installation
command line, 43
language, 16, 46
methods, 32
multiple computers, 38
repair, 50
silent, 38
single computer, 36
installation package
deploying, 42
IP addresses, automatic update, 13

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RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installation and Administration Guide

K
keywords
ALIAS, 83, 86
ALIASES_ONLY, 84
AVOID, 84, 85
CLIENT_IP, 82, 87
IGNORE_ALIASES, 84
USESERVER, 81, 82, 85

L
language, 46
uninstall, 53
language, for installation, 16
load balancing, 81
dynamic, 81
excluding alias IP addresses, 86
maintaining primary IP addresses, 67
manual, 81
specifying an overriding IP address, 87
logs
Event Viewer, 76

M
managed applications, 41
managing Authentication Agent, 12
manual load balancing
configuring, 85
overview, 81
modifying options, 48

N
node secret, 47
node secret, clearing and replacing, 72
node verification failure, 72
notification icon, 59

O
offline authentication, 10, 55, 62
for remote users, 62
offline days
checking the supply, 59
managing, 57
refreshing
automatically, 57
when there is a network
connection, 57
without network connection, 58
offline days status, 59
options for challenging users, 10

94

overriding IP address, specifying for load

balancing, 87

P
password integration, 11
ports, required, 21
preparations
RSA SecurID users, 30
primary IP addresses, maintaining, 67
product
description, 9

R
refreshing offline days
when there is a network connection, 57
without network connection, 58
reinstall properties, 48
remote access products, 24
Remote Desktop Connection, 24
remote users, 62
removing Authentication Agent, 51
repairing an installation, 50
required operating systems, 22
required ports, 21
requirements, 21
RSA Control Center, 18
RSA SecurID users, preparing, 30

S
sdconf.rec file
copying from RSA Authentication
Manager, 26
viewing, 74
sdopts.rec file
creating, 82
sdopts.rec file, creating, 82
settings
node secret, 72
silent installation, 38
status, offline days, 59

T
tokencode, emergency, 60

U
uninstalling Authentication Agent, 51
uninstalling language, 53
updating IP addresses automatically, 13

Index

RSA Authentication Agent 7.2 Installaation and Administration Guide

upgrade
RSA Authentication Agent 7.0 for
Microsoft Windows, 51
upgrade to Windows Vista, 51
users, challenging, 10

Index

USESERVER keyword, 81, 82, 85

W
Windows password integration, 11

95