The differences between ESET Bridge (HTTP Proxy), Mirror Tool, and direct connectivity

ESET product communication involves detection engine and program module updates as well as the exchange of ESET LiveGrid® data (see the table below) and license information.

ESET PROTECT On-Prem downloads the latest products for distribution to client computers from the repository. When distributed, the product is ready to be deployed on the target machine.

After an ESET security product is installed, it must be activated, meaning the product needs to verify your license information against the license server. After activation, detection engine and program modules are updated on a regular basis.

ESET LiveGrid® Early Warning System helps ensure that ESET is immediately and continuously informed of new infiltrations to quickly protect our customers. The system allows new detections to be submitted to the ESET Research Lab, where they are analyzed and processed.

Most network traffic is generated by product module updates. In general, an ESET security product downloads approximately 23.9 MB of module updates in a month.

ESET LiveGrid® data (approximately 22.3 MB) and the update version file (up to 11 kB) are the only distributed files that cannot be cached.

There are two types of updates – level and nano updates. See our Knowledgebase article for more information about update types.

There are 2 ways to decrease network load when distributing updates to a network of computers, ESET Bridge (HTTP Proxy) or Mirror Tool (available for Windows and Linux).

ESET communication types

1.For proxy caching impact / benefits see When to start using ESET Bridge (HTTP Proxy)?

2.For mirroring impact see When to start using Mirror Tool?

3.Once per installation / upgrade we recommend that you deploy one agent (one per specific version) / endpoint initially so that the installer is cached.

4.To deploy the ESET Management Agent across a large network, see Agent deployment using GPO and SCCM.

5.Your Initial detection engine update may be larger than normal depending on the age of the installation package, because all later detection engine updates and module updates will be downloaded. We recommended to install one client initially, and let it update, so the needed detection engine and program module updates are cached.

6.Without an internet connection, Mirror Tool cannot download detection engine updates. You can use Apache Tomcat as an HTTP server to download updates to a directory available to the Mirror Tool (available for Windows and Linux).

7.When checking for detection engine updates, the update.ver file is always downloaded and parsed. By default, ESET endpoint product's scheduler is querying for a new update each hour. We assume a client workstation is turned on 8 hours a day. The update.ver file contains approximately 11 kB.

8.Download offline license files from ESET Business Account.