Policy Server Guides › Policy Design Guide › Agents and Agent Groups › The SiteMinder Web Agent Model › Advantages of Centrally Configuring Web Agents

Advantages of Centrally Configuring Web Agents

When you centrally configure Web Agents, the settings are stored in the policy store, instead of locally, in a configuration file, on a Web Server.

Compared with local configuration, central configuration provides:

Improved Usability When Using Central Agent Configuration

• Updating the configuration settings of multiple Web Agents is easier and faster. You can change the setting in one place and have it propagate to multiple Web Agents.
• Installing the Web Agent no longer requires the administrator to specify a shared secret. The Policy Server generates the shared secret.

Added Security with Central Agent Configuration

• It is easier to control access to the Web Agent configuration. For example, you can prevent the Web Server administrator from changing the configuration settings.
• You can store the configuration settings behind an internal firewall, instead of on the Web Server.
• You can use a hardware-bound key to generate the shared secret, which is used by the client side to establish a secure connection to the Policy Server. The trusted host handles the connection to the Policy Server.