This page defines the words the Outpost console and this documentation use, in alphabetical order, each with a link to the page that explains it in full. Where a word means something different in other products, the definition here is the one Outpost uses. For the main terms explained in more depth, see Concepts and vocabulary.
Access mode
Section titled “Access mode”How a remote session opens on an endpoint: Unattended, Attended, Consent required, Escorted, or No remote access. Profiles decide the mode. See Access modes.
Active endpoint
Section titled “Active endpoint”An endpoint that is online for four hours or more in a billing period. The hours do not have to be continuous. Enterprise and MSP bill for active endpoints. See What counts as an active endpoint.
The Outpost software installed on an endpoint. It runs as a service, connects out to your Outpost, reports inventory, and carries out what the console asks. See The Outpost agent.
Agreement
Section titled “Agreement”On the MSP plan, the record of what a client pays you for: its recurring lines and the rules that decide whether logged time is covered or billable. A client has at most one active agreement. See Client agreements.
A record that a condition was found on an endpoint, such as low disk space or a stopped service. There is one alert per condition per endpoint. Alerts are on every plan. See Alerts.
Alert rule
Section titled “Alert rule”A rule that decides which alerts are sent to which notification channels, and when to escalate. See Create alert rules.
A documentation record of something you manage, such as a firewall or a software license, built from an asset layout. See Assets and asset layouts.
Asset layout
Section titled “Asset layout”The template an asset is built from: its name and the fields it holds. See Assets and asset layouts.
Audit log
Section titled “Audit log”The two tamper-evident records the console keeps: Console actions, what people and the system did, and Endpoint changes, what endpoints changed on themselves. See Audit logs.
Baseline
Section titled “Baseline”A built-in profile that implements a compliance framework. Its values become floors that your own profiles cannot weaken. See Compliance framework baselines.
Client
Section titled “Client”One organization whose endpoints you manage, with its own database. On the MSP plan, each organization you serve is a separate client. On the other plans, there is one client: your own organization. See Outpost for MSPs.
Client workspace
Section titled “Client workspace”On the MSP plan, the part of the console that shows one client’s endpoints, tickets, and settings. You enter it from the practice level. See Outpost for MSPs.
Compliance exception
Section titled “Compliance exception”An approved, time-limited decision that an endpoint does not have to meet one compliance control. Excepted endpoints show as Excepted, not compliant. See Request and approve exceptions.
Console
Section titled “Console”The web application your team signs in to at your Outpost address to manage endpoints. See The Outpost console.
Contact tag
Section titled “Contact tag”On the MSP plan, a label such as Primary contact or VIP that you give to people at a client. A tag can be held by one person per client, and can show a banner on that person’s tickets. See Client contacts, sites, and contact tags.
Credentials vault
Section titled “Credentials vault”The encrypted store for passwords and other secrets in the Documentation section. Revealing a credential is written to the audit log first. See Credentials vault.
Custom field
Section titled “Custom field”A field you define on endpoints, filled in by a collector script or by a technician. See Endpoint custom fields.
The server software behind the console. Most pages say “the console” instead. See The Outpost console.
Device activity
Section titled “Device activity”Events endpoints report about themselves, such as USB devices, driver changes, and service changes. See Device activity.
Device group
Section titled “Device group”A named group of endpoints by function, such as front desk computers. Profiles can target a device group. See Organize endpoints.
Direct connection
Section titled “Direct connection”A remote session leg that reaches your Outpost straight over the network, without a relay. Every plan includes direct connections. See Direct and relayed connections.
Effective configuration
Section titled “Effective configuration”The policy one endpoint ends up with, shown setting by setting with the profile that decided each value. The console shows it under Profiles > Effective config. See Check an endpoint’s effective configuration.
End user
Section titled “End user”The person who uses an endpoint day to day. End users do not sign in to the console. They use the tray app. See End users and user groups.
Endpoint
Section titled “Endpoint”A computer with the Outpost agent installed. Also called a managed endpoint. See Endpoints.
Enrollment
Section titled “Enrollment”Connecting an endpoint to your Outpost, by running an installer from the console or the agent with an enrollment token. See Install and enroll the agent.
Enrollment token
Section titled “Enrollment token”A single-use code that lets one computer enroll. The console issues it with Issue token only. See Enroll with a token.
Escort
Section titled “Escort”A member of your team who joins an Escorted remote session to supervise it. The technician’s input is held until enough escorts are present. See Configure access modes and consent.
Escrow
Section titled “Escrow”Outpost keeping a protected copy of a key or secret, such as a backup key, a BitLocker recovery key, or a rotated local administrator password, so that it can be recovered later. See Backup encryption keys and recovery kits and Disk encryption recovery keys.
Evidence pack
Section titled “Evidence pack”A PDF that records one compliance framework’s posture over a closed period, for an auditor. See Generate evidence packs.
FIPS 140-3 mode
Section titled “FIPS 140-3 mode”The mode the Depot server and the agent run their cryptography in by default, using a validated cryptographic module. See FIPS 140-3 mode.
Incident
Section titled “Incident”On Enterprise and MSP, a record of a service problem that affects people, with a status, a severity, and updates you can publish. See Incidents.
Live chat
Section titled “Live chat”A conversation an end user starts from the tray app with your team. See Live chat.
Mandatory setting
Section titled “Mandatory setting”A profile value that beats every profile rank. Setting one needs
profile:manage_mandatory. See Mandatory settings.
Network discovery
Section titled “Network discovery”Agents finding the other devices on their networks, so you can track them or install the agent on them. See Network discovery.
Notification channel
Section titled “Notification channel”A destination alerts are sent to, such as email, a webhook, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, or PagerDuty. See Notification channels.
Outpost address
Section titled “Outpost address”The web address of your console, a name you choose at signup under
outpostplatform.com. It cannot be changed after signup. See
Choose your Outpost address and region.
Outpost Backup
Section titled “Outpost Backup”The endpoint backup built into the agent on every plan, encrypted on the endpoint. See Outpost Backup.
Outpost Cloud Storage
Section titled “Outpost Cloud Storage”Storage that Outpost provides for backups, Outpost Sync files, attachments, session recordings, and installers. Home Lab uses your own S3-compatible storage instead. See Storage destinations.
Outpost portal
Section titled “Outpost portal”Where the account owner signs up, chooses and changes the plan, and manages payment methods and invoices. It is separate from the console. See Account and billing.
Outpost Sync
Section titled “Outpost Sync”A folder that is the same on every Windows computer a person signs in to. It is not a backup. See Outpost Sync.
The console role with full control, including users, roles, and billing. The person who signs up is the first owner. See Roles and permissions.
Paid plans
Section titled “Paid plans”Essentials, Enterprise, and MSP: every plan except Home Lab. See Plans and limits.
Permission
Section titled “Permission”A named right to do one thing in the console, written noun:verb, such as
remote:initiate. Roles are sets of permissions. See
Permissions.
Pioneer AI
Section titled “Pioneer AI”The chat assistant in the console. See Pioneer AI.
What your Outpost account subscribes to: Home Lab, Essentials, Enterprise, or MSP. The plan decides your limits and which features you have. See Plans and limits.
Plan-locked feature
Section titled “Plan-locked feature”A feature your plan does not include. Owners see it in the navigation with a lock. See Plan-locked features.
Policy
Section titled “Policy”The settings an endpoint ends up with after every profile that applies to it is resolved. See Profiles and policies.
Practice
Section titled “Practice”On the MSP plan, the level of the console for work that spans clients or belongs to your business, such as the client roster, sales, and client billing. See Outpost for MSPs.
Probation
Section titled “Probation”The period after an agent update during which the new build must prove it runs. A build that does not confirm itself is rolled back. See Agent and tray updates.
Profile
Section titled “Profile”A named bundle of settings, such as a patch schedule or a password policy, assigned to your organization, a site, a device group, an endpoint, or people. See Profiles and policies.
Recovery kit
Section titled “Recovery kit”A file you download that restores Outpost backups without Outpost, using the open-source kopia tool. See Backup encryption keys and recovery kits.
Region
Section titled “Region”Where your Outpost and its data are hosted, chosen at signup. It cannot be changed. See How Outpost is hosted.
Relayed connection
Section titled “Relayed connection”A remote session leg carried through a relay server when no direct path works. Enterprise and MSP include relayed connections. See Direct and relayed connections.
Remote Outpost
Section titled “Remote Outpost”Outpost for an air-gapped network. It never contacts Outpost and is available by arrangement. See Remote Outpost.
Retire
Section titled “Retire”Removing an endpoint from management. A retired endpoint stays in the console with the status Retired, so its history is kept. See Retire or uninstall the agent.
A named set of permissions. Each console user holds one or more roles. See Roles and permissions.
Satisfaction survey
Section titled “Satisfaction survey”On Enterprise and MSP, the rating request a requester receives when their ticket is solved. See Satisfaction surveys.
Script library
Section titled “Script library”The scripts your team can run on endpoints, including the built-in scripts. Approving a script signs it. See Scripting.
Secure transfer code
Section titled “Secure transfer code”The six-digit code the technician’s browser and the endpoint both show for clipboard and file transfer, so the two people can confirm nothing sits in between. See Clipboard and file transfer.
Security notice
Section titled “Security notice”An email, and for the most serious changes a text message, that tells a console user something changed on their account. Notices cannot be turned off. See Security notices and SMS.
Server role
Section titled “Server role”A role the agent detects on a server, such as Domain Controller or SQL Server, from the services it runs. See Server roles.
Session recording
Section titled “Session recording”On Enterprise and MSP, a recording of a remote session’s screen video. See Record remote sessions.
A physical location that groups endpoints, such as an office or a data center. See Organize endpoints.
A service level agreement: response and resolution targets for tickets, measured in business time. Enterprise and MSP. See Service level agreements.
Software catalog
Section titled “Software catalog”The list of software your team can deploy to endpoints or offer to end users in the tray app. See Software catalog and self-service.
Status page
Section titled “Status page”On Enterprise and MSP, a public page that shows your services’ status and incidents. See Status pages.
Storage destination
Section titled “Storage destination”A place Outpost keeps files: Outpost Cloud Storage, your own S3-compatible bucket, or another destination listed in Settings > Storage. See Storage destinations.
A label applied to endpoints so you can find and target them. Tags can be applied by rules. See Organize endpoints.
Technician
Section titled “Technician”Anyone on your team who signs in to the console. What they can do depends on their role. See Invite your team.
Ticket
Section titled “Ticket”On Enterprise and MSP, a request or problem your team works in the service desk. See Tickets.
Tray app
Section titled “Tray app”The Outpost app end users see on their computer. It shows your support contact and lets them ask for help, chat, and answer remote session prompts. See The Outpost tray app.
Unmanaged device
Section titled “Unmanaged device”A device Outpost tracks without an agent, such as a switch, printer, or camera found by network discovery. It counts toward your plan only when you track it. See Track unmanaged devices.
Wake-on-LAN
Section titled “Wake-on-LAN”Waking an offline endpoint by having another online agent on the same network send it a magic packet. See Wake-on-LAN.
Watchdog
Section titled “Watchdog”A Windows service installed with the agent. It restarts an agent that stops responding, and puts the previous version back if an update fails. See The Outpost agent.
Zero-knowledge mode
Section titled “Zero-knowledge mode”A per-client backup setting under which Outpost keeps no copy of the backup keys. Without the endpoint’s key or a recovery kit, those backups cannot be recovered. See Backup encryption keys and recovery kits.
Related
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.