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    Server roles

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    This page lists the server roles Outpost detects on endpoints and the evidence each one is detected from. Detected roles appear in the Roles & tags column of the endpoint list, on the endpoint’s Overview tab, and in the Roles & tags filter. Your own tags appear in the same places; see Define a tag.

    How roles are detected

    Section titled “How roles are detected”

    Outpost reads roles from the endpoint’s inventory each time the endpoint reports it. Nothing extra runs on the endpoint.

    • Services are the main evidence. A role is detected when one of its service names is installed and not disabled. Service names are compared without regard to case.
    • A disabled service does not count. A role whose service has been disabled is treated as switched off.
    • Some roles come from Windows Server roles. Print Server and RD Session Host are also detected from the enabled Windows Server role, by its English name.
    • An inventory with no services changes nothing. If an endpoint reports no services at all, Outpost keeps the roles it already had instead of clearing them.

    Roles are detected by Outpost, so a new detection rule reaches every endpoint at its next inventory without an agent update.

    The roles

    Section titled “The roles”
    RoleDetected from
    Domain ControllerThe NTDS or samba-ad-dc service, or the endpoint reporting it is a domain controller.
    PDC EmulatorThe endpoint reporting it is the primary domain controller. It also gets Domain Controller.
    DNS ServerThe DNS, named, bind9, unbound, or dnsmasq service.
    DHCP ServerThe DHCPServer, isc-dhcp-server, or kea-dhcp4 service.
    Exchange ServerThe MSExchangeIS, MSExchangeTransport, or MSExchangeFrontEndTransport service.
    IIS Web ServerThe W3SVC service.
    Web ServerThe nginx, apache2, httpd, or caddy service.
    SQL ServerThe MSSQLSERVER service, or a named instance MSSQL$<name>. The Windows Internal Database (MSSQL$MICROSOFT##...) does not count.
    Database ServerThe mysql, mysqld, mariadb, or mongod service, or a service whose name starts with postgresql.
    Hyper-V HostThe vmms service.
    Proxmox VE hostThe pveproxy, pvedaemon, or pve-cluster service.
    KVM/libvirt hostThe libvirtd service. Suppressed when Proxmox VE host is detected.
    File ServerThe DFSR, Dfs, smbd, or nfs-server service. On a domain controller, DFSR and Dfs do not count, because every domain controller runs them.
    Print ServerThe cups service, or the Print Server Windows Server role.
    RD Session HostThe Remote Desktop Session Host Windows Server role.
    Certificate AuthorityThe CertSvc service.
    WSUSThe WsusService service.
    AD FSThe adfssrv service.
    NPS / RADIUSThe IAS or freeradius service.
    Backup ServerThe VeeamBackupSvc, VeeamEnterpriseManagerSvc, or Veeam.Archiver.Service service. A computer running only a backup agent is not a backup server.
    Container HostThe docker or containerd service.

    Limits

    Section titled “Limits”
    • Windows Server role names are matched in English. A Print Server or RD Session Host on a server with another display language is not detected from its role, though a Print Server running cups still is.
    • Backup servers are detected for the Veeam products listed only.
    • A role that is not listed here is shown by its internal name if Outpost detects it before the console has a label for it.
    Section titled “Related”

    Content is licensed CC BY 4.0. Code samples are MIT. Outpost and the Outpost mark are trademarks of Outpost Business Solutions, PBC and are not covered by either license.