Install (Manual)

Installation Options

Prerequisite(s)

Stairwell Environment ID
Stairwell Forwarder Authentication Token
.NET Core 5.0 or newer (Included in the 'Bundled' installer)

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Warning!
The initial scan (we refer to as the backscan) is a comprehensive physical disk scan that is very resource intensive for a short period of time. We do not recommend installing the forwarder on critical assets early in your deployment. Think of your first several deployments as "sacrificial" in that they will take the biggest hit because they will be uploading the greatest number of unique files and each subsequent install will have less and less unique files and therefore, shorter and less intensive backscans.

Installation via UI

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This method is suggested for initial deployment on a single host to reduce assessment time and upload traffic on subsequent installations in your environment.

Download the Inception Forwarder .exe (you will have received a link to the download during onboarding)
Open the Inception Forwarder .exe to begin the installation wizard process
Enter your Environment ID and Authentication Token when prompted
Click Finish to complete the installation of the Windows File Forwarder

Installation via CLI

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This method is suggested for mass deployment to multiple assets.

Download the Inception Forwarder .exe from our Download Center. The 'Bundled' installer is recommended as it includes all required libraries.
Run PowerShell as administrator
Navigate to the folder containing the downloaded installer EXE.
Using the following command, replace file_name.exe with your Inception Forwarder .exe file location, auth_token with your Authentication Token, and env_id with your Environment ID:
```
.\\InceptionForwarderBundle.exe TOKEN="<AUTH_TOKEN>" ENVIRONMENT_ID="<ENV_ID>" /quiet /norestart /log C:\\stairwell.log
```
Press Enter on your keyboard to run the installer. and complete the installation of the Windows File Forwarder. A restart is NOT required.

Confirm Installation

Navigate to https://app.stairwell.com and log in
Click on Assets
Click on the newly created asset name(s) to confirm the retrieval of files
Take note of the data under All Objects

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It may take a few minutes for file ingestion to begin and show in the application.