NinjaOne Quick Deployment Guide

Topic

This article provides a step-by-step walkthrough for setting up NinjaOne. 

Environment

NinjaOne Platform

Description

This deployment guide is designed to help new users set up their NinjaOne account and deploy agents as efficiently as possible. The guide walks through creating a template organization, importing organizations, generating a NinjaOne agent installer, and deploying the agent to endpoints. We provide multiple options for mass deployment, including:

• Using a third-party endpoint management solution.
• Deploying via PowerShell.
• Using an MDM solution.
• Using NinjaOne's built-in Active Directory deployment feature.
• Deploying via group policy.
• Enabling end-users to install the agent via a link.

Index

• Create an Organization Template
• Import Organizations
• Enable Installer Management
• Obtain the Installation Details
• Install the NinjaOne Agent
• Additional Resources

Procedure

Create an Organization Template

In NinjaOne, organizations control critical functionality such as:

• Which remote access solution is on an endpoint.
• How policies are mapped to device roles.
• How devices are added to the platform.

If you plan to have multiple organizations in your environment, creating the first organization as a template with the correct configurations will save you time and enable you to mass-create additional organizations via import.

1. Create an organization. Refer to Organizations: Creating and Editing Organizations for instructions.
2. Configure your organization. You can make dozens of configuration choices when setting up an organization. The following are the most important configurations:
   • Policy Mapping: Policies define how NinjaOne manages devices. Every device is managed by a single policy. Organizations define how each device, based on its role, is mapped to a policy when added to NinjaOne. Having the correct policy mapping can save a lot of time during the deployment process.
     • Use Default Policies: If you have not created any new policies, you can leave the default policy mapping.

     • Custom Policies: If you have created custom device roles and custom policies, you must map each device role to a policy type. Custom device roles let you map custom roles (such as SQL Server, Exchange Server, and C-Suite Laptop) to custom policies that provide specific management instructions for those roles. Refer to NinjaOne Platform: Device Roles to learn more.

       Make sure to activate custom roles in Advanced Settings. Refer to NinjaOne Agent: Device Role selection for more information. The Custom Role option will appear every time you generate a new NinjaOne installer.

   • Systray Icon: The SystemTray icon gives end-users the ability to interact with your team and the NinjaOne agent in predefined ways. Setting up the system tray once for all your organizations will save significant time. Configuration recommendations include adding:

     • The help form
     • Your support phone number
     • A contact email.

     To customize the Systray, navigate to Administration → General → Branding and click the Systray tab. Here, you can create custom icons for organizations that meet this requirement.

   • Device approval: This security setting defines whether a newly onboarded device:

     • Goes directly into the NinjaOne dashboard (automatic)
     • Needs an administrator to approve it (manual)
     • Is rejected by default.

     During initial onboarding, it is recommended that you set device approval to automatic to avoid duplicating work.

   • Remote access: If your subscription includes remote access, activate the remote access solution of your choice when setting up your organization template. Key configurations to consider include remote access solution, end-user confirmation, and device roles. 

Import Organizations

If you only plan to have a single organization in your NinjaOne instance, you can skip this step. This step allows you to import organizations via CSV so that each organization is configured the same as the template organization you created above. This can save you significant time. For instructions to import an organization, refer to Organizations: Creating and Editing Organizations.

Enable Installer management

Before you can manage installers from the Device Dashboard, you must enable the feature in Settings. 

1. In NinjaOne, Click Administration in the left Navigation bar, then click General and select Settings from the drop-down menu. Scroll down to the Agent Installer card and click Edit. 

2. In the Agent Installer Settings modal, activate Installer Management. If you are bulk-installing the agent onto multiple machines, activate Automatic Token Creation as well. This will automatically create an installation token for each machine. When finished, click Update. 

Obtain the Installation Details

In the NinjaOne Dashboard, click the Devices tab and select Agent Installers from the drop-down menu.

2. In the Installers list, find the agent installer you wish to use and click anywhere within its row. 

3. The Installer Details window will open. Here, you will find the Installer URL and the install command, complete with the authentication token for this installer. You can use the command itself to install an agent on any device, but the token will be device-specific. The URL/URI will vary based on the organization's region. 
   
   The install command will be structured differently depending on the device OS. See the examples below.

Example installer commands by operating system

Windows:

  Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://app.ninjarmm.com/ws/api/v2/generic-installer/NinjaOneAgent-x86.msi"
  -OutFile ".NinjaOneAgent-x86.msi" msiexec.exe -i NinjaOneAgent-x86.msi TOKENID="the token value"

MacOS (PKG):

curl https://app.ninjarmm.com/ws/api/v2/generic-installer/NinjaOneAgent.pkg -L --output NinjaOneAgent.pkg
sudo echo ""the token value""  /tmp/.~; sudo installer -pkg NinjaOneAgent.pkg -target /

Linux (Debian):

curl https://app.ninjarmm.com/ws/api/v2/generic-installer/NinjaOneAgent-x86_64.deb -L --output NinjaOneAgent-x86_64.deb
sudo TOKENID="the token value" dpkg -i NinjaOneAgent-x86_64.deb

The token is populated in the Token column on the Installer list and contains the system's approval for an installer to access NinjaOne resources.

Install the NinjaOne Agent

Now that you have set up all your organizations and created all your installers, you can deploy the NinjaOne agent to your endpoints. There are several deployment methods:

• Manually install the agent on a machine: For a small number of devices, you can either physically visit the machine with a USB containing the NinjaOne agent or use an existing remote access tool to install the agent on endpoints manually, one by one. We only recommend this method for small organizations or in cases where no other option is feasible.
• Send MSI links to end-users: If end-users have permissions to install applications on their endpoints, you can send them the direct link to the installation file. This link is under Download Installer in the Installer Details window, shown in Figure 5 above. We only recommend this method for small organizations or in cases where no other option is feasible.
• Leverage Group Policy for Windows Devices: If you are leveraging Active Directory (AD), you can deploy the NinjaOne agent at scale via Group Policy. Refer to Microsoft's instructions for GPO-based mass deployment (external link) for more information.
• Deploy via Azure / Intune: If you are leveraging Intune, you can add NinjaOne to Intune and assign the application to end-user devices. Refer to Microsoft's instructions (external link) for more information.
• Use NinjaOne's native Active Directory Discovery and Deployment: NinjaOne includes a native Active Directory Discovery and Deployment feature, which allows you to see all your Active Directory OUs and deploy the NinjaOne agent ad hoc or on a schedule. You will first need to install the agent on your Active Directory server, then follow the instructions in our Active Directory-Based Discovery and Deployment Dojo article.
• Deploy via your existing RMM or Endpoint Management solution:
  • Leverage your tool's native application deployment feature: Most endpoint management tools have a software deployment feature that allows you to install an application silently via MSI or EXE. Upload the NinjaOne installer to your existing tool and deploy the application using this functionality for the fastest deployment.
  • Deploy NinjaOne through a PowerShell script: Most endpoint management tools can deploy a PowerShell script remotely. Use the Deployment of Ninja Agent through other RMM script or the appropriate tools from our NinjaOne Installer: Mass Deployment article to deploy the NinjaOne agent via PowerShell with your existing tool.

Additional Resources

• Organizations: Creating and Editing Organizations
• NinjaOne Platform: Device Roles
• NinjaOne Agent: Device Role Selection
• OAuth Token Configuration
• Shared scripts from the NinjaOne Community
• GPO-based mass deployment (external link)
• Microsoft Ignite site: Add and Deploy Apps to Devices (external link)
• Active Directory Discovery and Deployment
• Deployment of Ninja agent through other RMM (NinjaOne Community script)
• NinjaOne Installer: Mass Deployment