---
title: "UA Portal Management"
slug: "ua-portal-management"
description: "Manage Universal Agent instances in the Kentik portal, edit settings, install capabilities, and resolve alert policy warnings effectively."
tags: ["Agent Capabilities", "Alert Policies", "Universal Agent"]
status: "new"
updated: 2026-10-01T23:12:11Z
published: 2026-10-01T23:12:11Z
canonical: "kb.kentik.com/ua-portal-management"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.kentik.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# UA Portal Management

This article describes how to manage Universal Agent instances and capabilities through the Kentik portal, including editing agent settings, installing and configuring capabilities, and resolving alert policy warnings.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Step 6 in [**Deploy a Universal Agent Through the Kentik API**](/v1/docs/ua-deployment#deploy-a-universal-agent-through-the-kentik-api) describes how to enable and configure agent capabilities programmatically.

## Edit a Universal Agent

To edit a deployed Universal Agent instance through the portal, follow these steps:

1. Go to the [**Universal Agents UI**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference) page via **Settings** **»** **Universal Agents** in the Kentik portal navbar.
2. Click the edit button (pencil icon) in the agent's row in the list.
3. Update the Name, Description, Closest Network Device, and/or Site.
4. Click **Save** to save changes and exit or **Cancel** to exit without saving.

## Install a Capability

To install a capability (see [**Agent Capabilities**](/v1/docs/universal-agents#agent-capabilities)) on a Universal Agent instance through the portal, follow these steps:

1. Go to the [**Universal Agents UI**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference) page via **Settings** **»** **Universal Agents** in the Kentik portal navbar.
2. Click the agent's row in the list to open the [**Agent Details Drawer**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference#agent-details-drawer).
3. Under Capabilities » **Available: Compatible and Supported**, click **Install** for any capabilities you wish to add this Universal Agent instance.

## Manage a Capability

To manage an installed capability on a Universal Agent instance through the portal, follow these steps:

1. Go to the [**Universal Agents UI**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference) page via **Settings** **»** **Universal Agents** in the Kentik portal navbar.
2. Click the agent's row in the list to open the [**Agent Details Drawer**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference#agent-details-drawer).
3. Under **Capabilities** **»** **Installed: Running or Paused on this Agent**, click **Details**.
4. In the [**Capability Drawer**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference#capability-drawer), you can take the following actions:
  1. View the capability’s details like Status, Run State, Command Line Args, and metrics visualizations.
  2. When applicable, click **Edit** to reveal additional capability settings like command line arguments/values.
    1. Click **Save** to save changes and exit or **Cancel** to exit without saving.
  3. Click **Back** to return to the Agent Details drawer.
  4. Click **Disable this Capability** to temporarily turn off this capability for this Universal Agent instance.

## Configure the DNS OTT Tap Capability

Telemetry is collected via the **DNS OTT Tap** capability, which supports three primary data ingestion modes:

- **Direct (On-Server)**: Agent installed directly on BIND9 or Linux-based resolvers.
- **Promiscuous (SPAN/Mirror)**: This mode is used when the agent is installed on a separate host and receives a copy of the traffic from a network tap or port mirror. The agent interface must be set to promiscuous mode to capture traffic not specifically destined for the host's MAC address.
- **DNSTAP Receiver (Preferred)**: Agent acts as a listener for real-time DNS logs from appliances like Infoblox. This mode must be explicitly configured to listen on a specific port for the incoming DNSTAP stream.

To edit the **DNS OTT Tap** capability through the portal, follow these steps:

1. Go to the [**Universal Agents Page**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference) via **Settings** **»** **Universal Agents** in the Kentik portal navbar.
2. Click the agent's row in the list to open the [**Agent Details Drawer**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference#agent-details-drawer).
3. Under **Capabilities** **»** **Installed: Running or Paused on this Agent**, click **Details** for DNS OTT Tap.
4. Click **Edit** to reveal the current command line argument/value settings.
5. Make the changes, as follows:
  1. **Update an Existing Argument**: Select a different **Command Line Value** from the drop-down.
  2. **Add a New Argument**: Click **Add** to add a row, then choose the argument and value (see supported combinations below).
6. Click **Save** to save changes and exit or **Cancel** to exit without saving.

Supported argument/value combinations for the DNS OTT Tap capability:

| **Command Line Argument** | **Accepted Values** | **Description** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | All, lo, eth0, [other network interfaces] | Specifies the interface(s) from which to capture DNS OTT data (e.g., "All" for all available interfaces, "lo" for the loopback interface, "eth0" for the first Ethernet interface). |
| Promiscuous Mode | On, Off | Determines whether the interface should operate in promiscuous mode. When "On," the interface captures all packets on the segment. "Off" means it only captures packets addressed to its MAC address. > [!NOTE] > **Note**: If DNS traffic is being collected through SPAN/mirror ports, the interface may need to run in promiscuous mode so it can capture mirrored packets. However, most deployments (like Direct or DNSTAP) do not use promiscuous mode. |

## Configure the Flow Proxy Capability

To configure the **Flow Proxy** capability of the Universal Agent, which receives, processes, and forwards your flow telemetry data to Kentik, through the portal, follow these steps:

> [!NOTE]
> **Note**: The **Flow Proxy** capability packages the standard Kentik Proxy (`kproxy`) binary into a managed component within the Universal Agent framework.

1. Go to the [**Universal Agents UI**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference) page via **Settings** **»** **Universal Agents** in the Kentik portal navbar.
2. Click the agent's row in the list to open the [**Agent Details Drawer**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference#agent-details-drawer).
3. Under **Capabilities** **»** **Installed: Running or Paused on this Agent**, click **Details** for Flow Proxy.
4. Click **Edit** to reveal the current command line argument/value settings.
5. Configure the command-line arguments as necessary (see below table), and click **Save**.
  1. The Universal Agent downloads the `kproxy` binary, applies the configuration, and starts the process.
  2. The agent’s **Status** field on the Universal Agents page updates from 'Pending' to 'Up'.
6. Configure your routers, switches, and other network devices to export flow telemetry to the IP address of the Universal Agent host on the UDP port specified in the **Port** field (e.g., 9995).

| **Command Line Argument** | **Description** | **Example Value** | **Required?** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Host** | The IP address on which the proxy will listen for incoming flow packets. Use 0.0.0.0 to listen on all available network interfaces on the host. | 0.0.0.0 | No |
| **Port** | The UDP port used to listen for flow packets from your network devices. | 9995 | No |
| **Base Port** | The port used by Flow Proxy to send flow to Kentik. Adjustable in case of conflict on the host machine. | 40010 | No |
| **Sflow Agent Address** | (sFlow only) Specifies the IP address of the sFlow agent. Can be used to override the agent address in sFlow datagrams if its being reported incorrectly by the device. | 192.168.1.1 | No |
| **Site** | Associates all flow data processed by this Flow Proxy with a specific Site configured in your Kentik portal. This is essential for data filtering and organization. | data-center-frankfurt | No |

### Troubleshooting a Flow Proxy

- **Status is Down**: If the capability status displays 'Down' with an error, such as exit status 10, it typically indicates a configuration error. Ensure that all required fields are correctly populated.
- **No Data in Portal:** If the capability status is ‘Up’ but you see no flow data in the Kentik portal, verify the following:
  - Network devices are configured with the correct destination IP and port.
  - There are no firewalls on the agent’s host or in the network path blocking the flow export UDP port.
  - Check the agent logs for connection errors or other warnings.

## Uninstall a Capability

To uninstall a capability from a Universal Agent instance through the portal, follow these steps:

1. Go to the [**Universal Agents UI**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference) page via **Settings** **»** **Universal Agents** in the Kentik portal navbar.
2. Click the agent's row in the list to open the [**Agent Details Drawer**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference#agent-details-drawer).
3. Under **Capabilities** **»** **Installed: Running or Paused on this Agent**, click **Uninstall** for the capability you wish to remove from this Universal Agent instance. Once the capability has been removed, you’re returned to the Agents list.

> [!TIP]
> **Tip**: You can reinstall a capability on an agent at any time by clicking the capability’s **Install** button in the [**Agent Details Drawer**](/v1/docs/ua-ui-reference#agent-details-drawer).

## Resolve Observation Deck Alert Policy Warnings

When you have Kentik Universal Agents deployed but no alert policies configured to monitor them, the following warning banners might appear on the [**Observation Deck**](/v1/docs/observation-deck) prompting you to take action:

- ![Warning message indicating agents lack an alert policy configuration in the observation deck.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/082e25b5-afce-42d4-8f47-70bd3f1d02b7/Images/Documentation/OD-alert-policy-warning2(1).png)**“Your agents do not have an associated alert policy defined and require configuration”**: Appears when agents are deployed but no [**Agent type alert policy**](/v1/docs/ua-portal-management#create-an-agent-alert-policy-from-a-template-recommended) is enabled to monitor their health (CPU, memory, disk, status).
- ![Warning message indicating agent capabilities require configuration in the observation deck.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/082e25b5-afce-42d4-8f47-70bd3f1d02b7/Images/Documentation/OD-alert-policy-warning(1).png)**“Your agent capabilities do not have an associated alert policy defined and require configuration”**: Appears when agent capabilities are running (e.g., Flow Proxy, SNMP Polling, Streaming Telemetry) but no [**Agent Capability type**](/v1/docs/ua-portal-management#create-an-agent-alert-policy-from-a-template-recommended) alert policy is enabled to monitor capability health and status.

Without these policies, you will not receive notifications if an agent goes offline, runs out of resources, or if a capability stops functioning.

To dismiss these warnings, [**create and enable at least one alert policy**](/v1/docs/ua-portal-management#create-an-agent-alert-policy-from-a-template-recommended) of the appropriate NMS policy type:

- **Agent** (for the agents warning) OR
- **Agent Capability** (for the agent capabilities warning)

### Create an Agent Alert Policy from a Template (Recommended)

Kentik provides preconfigured policy templates for agent and agent capability monitoring. This is the fastest way to get started, and can be used for either warning by selecting the appropriate NMS policy type in step 3.

1. Go to **Settings »** **Alert Policies** from the main navigation menu.
2. Click the drop-down arrow on the **Add Alert Policy** button and select **Add Alert Policy from Template**.
3. In the template drop-down, search for “Agent” to find agent-related templates.
4. Select the desired template, **Agent** or **Agent Capability**, matching the warning you want to resolve and click **Continue**.
5. Review and customize the policy settings for your environment on the following tabs:
  1. **General** tab: Give the policy a meaningful name (e.g., “Agent Health Monitoring”)
  2. **Dataset** tab: Confirm the measurements and devices are appropriate (by default, templates monitor all devices)
  3. **Activate & Clear** tab: Review threshold conditions and add notification channels (e.g., email, Slack, PagerDuty) so you are alerted when issues arise.
6. Click **Save**.
7. Repeat these steps for the other policy type (**Agent** or **Agent Capability**) if both warnings are displayed.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note**: Templates are starting points. Review and adjust thresholds, notification channels, and device scope to match your organization’s needs.

### Create an Alert Policy from Scratch

If you prefer to build a policy manually, follow the steps below for the appropriate NMS policy type.

#### Create an Agent Alert Policy

1. Go to **Settings »** **Alert Policies** from the main navigation menu.
2. Click **Add Alert Policy**.
3. Under NMS policy types, select **Agent**.
4. On the **General** tab, enter a name and optional description (e.g., “Agent Health - All Agents”).
5. On the **Dataset** tab, under Measurements, select the metrics you want to monitor. Available agent metrics include:
  1. `/kentik/agent/cpu`: Agent CPU utilization
  2. `/kentik/agent/memory`: Agent memory usage
  3. `/kentik/agent/disk`: Agent disk usage
  4. `/kentik/agent/health`: Overall agent health
  5. `/kentik/agent/status`: Agent up/down status
  6. `/kentik/agent/status/alert`: Agent alert status
6. Under Devices, choose **All Devices** to monitor all agents, or click **Edit Devices** to scope to specific sites or labels.
7. On the **Activate & Clear** tab:
  1. Set the Severity level (e.g., Major or Critical).
  2. Configure alert conditions (e.g., agent status equals down, or CPU utilization greater than 90%).
  3. Under Notification Channels, select where alerts should be sent (e.g., email, Slack, PagerDuty). Click **Add New Channel** if you haven’t configured one yet.
8. On the **Baseline** tab, accept the default preset or adjust as needed.
9. Click **Save**.

#### Create an Agent Capability Alert Policy

1. Go to **Settings »** **Alert Policies** from the main navigation menu.
2. Click **Add Alert Policy**.
3. Under NMS policy types, select **Agent Capability**.
4. On the **General** tab, enter a name and optional description (e.g., “Agent Capability Health - All Capabilities”).
5. On the **Dataset** tab, under Measurements, select the metrics you want to monitor. Available agent capability metrics include:
  1. `/kentik/agent/capability/health`: Capability health status
  2. `/kentik/agent/capability/status`: Capability enabled/running status
6. Under Devices, choose **All Devices** or scope to specific sites or labels.
7. On the **Activate & Clear** tab:
  1. Set the Severity level.
  2. Configure alert conditions for capability status changes.
  3. Add Notification Channels for alert delivery.
8. On the **Baseline** tab, accept the default preset or adjust as needed.
9. Click **Save**.

### Verify the Warnings Are Resolved

After creating and saving your alert policies:

1. Return to the **Observation Deck** (portal home page, depending on configuration).
2. The warning banners should no longer appear once the policies are enabled.

If the warnings persist after creating both **Agent** and **Agent Capability** policies, verify that:

- The policies are Enabled (not Disabled) on the **Settings »** **Alert Policies** page.
- The policies cover the devices/agents that triggered the warnings.