Resolve your agent installation issues

The most common one we see looks like this:

Link fail: [409] Agent with uuid agentUuid=df3d15c2-97ab-4b5b-a2af-3fc7b5886ee2 attempt to link, but another agent in container containerUuid=ee2f47bd-7354-4fd3-ade6-d318e219dfe7 with different token already exists.. Request UUID: a7c122b168fae5545fdf2811e79c7d3a

Why does this happen?

This is shown in cases where you attempt to link a machine that has already been linked or a cloned machine (where all files, parameters, settings, etc. are exactly the same).

How do I resolve it?

To resolve this issue, you will need to replace the value in the /etc/tenable_tag file with a valid UUIDv4 value or delete the file. The value stored in the file specified below matches that of a linked device:

Linux : /etc/tenable_tag
Windows: HKLM/Software/Tenable/TAG
macOS: /private/etc/tenable_tag

To begin,

Stop the Nessus agent service

Windows

C:\Windows\system32>net stop "Tenable Nessus Agent"

Linux

systemctl stop nessusagent

macOS

sudo launchctl stop com.tenablesecurity.nessusagent

Delete the tag file using the OS-specific instructions below
Windows
1. Open regedit
2. Delete the following registry entry:
```
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Tenable/TAG 
```
Linux
1. SSH into the target as root (Using sudo will work as well)
2. Run the following command:
```
rm /etc/tenable_tag
```
macOS
1. SSH into the target as root (using sudo will work as well)
2. Run the following command:
```
rm /private/etc/tenable_tag
```

Start the Nessus Agent service

Windows

C:\Windows\system32>net start "Tenable Nessus Agent"

Linux

systemctl start nessusagent

macOS

sudo launchctl start com.tenablesecurity.nessusagent

Relink the machine