Alpine Docker Agent

Innovation Overview

Preparing for the end of support of the Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal) operating system in April 2025, ThousandEyes released a Alpine-based Docker Agent with a reduced size of the base image. Moving forward, all container-based installation types for the ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent will be built against an Alpine base instead of an Ubuntu base. This conveys numerous advantages for customers, primarily due to the reduced size of the base image, which improves the performance of installation and upgrades, reduces the security footprint, and enables us to enhance the velocity for our engineering teams.

Feature Highlights:

• Smaller Disk: Alpine Docker Agent leaves a minimal footprint and can be installed in smaller Linux hosts

• Smaller Attack Surface: Alpine image only installs the minimal packages, which reduces the security risk

• Cisco Cloud9: Cisco Cloud9 hardened image for extra security to meet Cisco security benchmarks

Customer Benefits:

• Secure and Efficient Agent: This agent improves the performance of builds, installation, and upgrades, and it reduces the security footprint

Here are the quick steps to deploy a virtual appliance:

1. Open Cloud & Enterprise Agent > Agent Setting > Add New Enterprise Agent

2. Select the Docker tab

3. Enter a name for your agent in the textbox

4. Copy & Paste the commands in the Docker host

5. A new Docker agent will appear in the Agent list

6. To upgrade the existing Ubuntu-based Docker Agent, run docker ‘pull thousandeyes/enterprise-agent’ to pull the Alpine Agent image. Then, restart Docker.