Checking the agent prerequisites on Windows

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See the following sections to check for the prerequisites and supported versions of operating systems and Java SDKs to install the Instana agent on Windows.

Prerequisites

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Before you install the agent, ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

  • .NET Framework 4.5 is installed.
  • A JVM is installed. For more information, see the Supported Java SDKs section.
  • The Instana host agent is run with administrator privileges to avoid problems with getting monitoring data.
Note: If you choose to install the host agent by using a Windows installer, the installer automatically installs all the prerequisites (.NET Framework 4.5 and a JVM).

Supported operating systems and platform architectures

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The following operating systems and platform architectures support Instana:

  • Windows Server 2025
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2012 [1]
  • Windows 11
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 8 [1:1]
Note: These operating systems are supported on the x64 or amd64 platform architecture.

Supported Java SDKs

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The host agent requires a Java 8 or Java 11 runtime. You are suggested to use a Java SDK from the same vendor as the monitored Java Virtual Machines (JVM) on the same host.

The following Java SDKs support the Instana host agent:

Ensure that the JVM can be used by any user on the system. You are suggested to use the latest available patch release of the Java distribution of your choice. The host agent requires a Java SDK that supports TLSv1.3 (available in all current Java SDK 8 and Java SDK 11 builds). If you use a Java SDK package that does not support strong encryption, you might get errors such as java.lang.RuntimeException: Could not generate DH key pair.

Installing the Java SDK

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To start the host agent, your Windows host computer must have a supported Java SDK. Use one of the following options to install the Java SDK:

  • After you install the host agent, place the Java SDK in the <instana-agent-install-dir>/jvm directory directly, and verify that the <instana-agent-install-dir>/jvm/bin/java.exe file exists.
  • Install the Java SDK in a directory of your choice, and set its path to the environment variable JAVA_HOME. After you install the host agent, you can also set the JAVA_HOME environment variable by using the instana-agent-install-dir>/bin/setenv.bat file.

  1. Instana support coincides with Microsoft Lifecycle Policy. Instana provides official support for end-of-support (EOS) Windows versions only if an official Custom Support Agreement is available. ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. These agent runtimes are available as options for Windows installer packages to install the host agent. ↩︎ ↩︎