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Error: Activation Failed
Several events can trigger an "Activation Failed" alert:
- Activation Failed - Protocol Error
- Activation Failed - Unable to resolve hostname
- Activation Failed - No Agent/Appliance
- Activation Failed - Duplicate Computer
Activation Failed - Protocol Error
This error typically occurs when you use Deep Security Manager to attempt to activate an agent and the manager is unable to communicate with the agent. The communication directionality that the agent uses determines the method that you should use to troubleshoot this error.
Agent-initiated communication
When the agent uses agent-initiated communication, you need to activate the agent from the agent computer. (See Activate an agent.)
When using Deep Security as a Service, agent-initiated communication is the recommended communication directionality.
Bidirectional communication
Use the following troubleshooting steps when the error occurs and the agent uses bidirectional communication:
- Ensure that the agent is installed on the computer and that the agent is running.
- Ensure that the ports are open between the manager and the agent. (See Port numbers, URLs, and IP addresses and Create a firewall rule.)
Activation Failed - Unable to resolve hostname
The error: Activation Failed (Unable to resolve hostname) could be the result of an unresolvable hostname in DNS or of activating the agent from Deep Security Manager when you are not using agent-initiated activation.
If your agent is in bidirectional or manager-initiated mode, your hostname must be resolvable in DNS. Check the DNS on your Deep Security Manager to ensure it can resolve your hosts.
If you are a Deep Security as a Service user or your computers are in cloud accounts, we recommend that you always use agent-initiated activation. Learn how to configure policy rules for agent-initiated communication and deploy agents using deployment scripts, see Use agent-initiated communication with cloud accounts.
Activation Failed - No Agent/Appliance
This error message indicates that the agent software has not been installed on the computer that you would like to protect.
Activation Failed - Duplicate Computer
This error typically occurs when you activate a computer using a name that already exists, or a computer that is already active in a different connector.
To resolve this issue you can use one of the following methods:
- Remove one of the duplicate computers and reactivate the remaining computer if necessary.
- From the Deep Security Manager, go to Administration > System Settings > Agents and select your preferences for agent-initiated activation. If a computer with the same name already exists, there are options to re-activate the existing computer, activate a new computer with the same name, or not allow activation. For more details, see Agent-Initiated Activation.