The differences between ESET Bridge (HTTP Proxy), Mirror Tool, and direct connectivity
ESET module communication involves detection engine and application module updates as well as the exchange of ESET LiveGrid® data (see the table below) and subscription information.
ESET PROTECT On-Prem downloads the latest applications for distribution to client computers from the repository. When distributed, the application is ready to be deployed on the target machine.
After an ESET security application is installed, it must be activated, meaning the application needs to verify your subscription information against the activation server. After activation, detection engine and application 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 application module updates. In general, an ESET security application downloads approximately 23.9 MB of application 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).
|
Read this Knowledgebase article to set up Mirror Tool chaining (configure Mirror Tool to download updates from another Mirror Tool). |
ESET communication types
Communication Type |
Communication Frequency |
Network traffic impact |
Proxy-forwarded communication |
Proxy Caching Option1 |
Mirroring Option2 |
Offline Environment Option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agent Deployment (Push / Live Installers from repository) |
One time |
Approximately |
YES |
YES3 |
NO |
YES (GPO / SCCM, edited live installers)4 |
Endpoint Installation (Software Install from repository) |
One time |
Approximately |
YES |
YES3 |
NO |
YES (GPO / SCCM, installation by package URL)4 |
Detection engine module / Application Module Update |
6+ times a day |
23.9 MB per month5 |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES (Offline Mirror Tool & Custom HTTP Server)6 |
Update version file update.ver |
~8 times a day |
2.6 MB per month7 |
YES |
NO |
- |
- |
Activation check |
4 times a day |
negligible |
YES |
NO |
NO |
YES (Offline activation files generated in ESET Business Account or ESET PROTECT Hub)8 |
ESET LiveGrid® Cloud Based Reputation |
On-the-fly |
11 MB per month |
YES |
NO |
NO |
NO |
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 application module updates will be downloaded. We recommended to install one client initially, and let it update, so the needed detection engine and application 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 application 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 activation files from ESET Business Account or ESET PROTECT Hub.