Beacon-parent-connection-test.ps1 troubleshooting script

The Beacon-parent-connection-test.ps1 script attached to this article can be used to troubleshoot many types of connection failures.

Download and save the script to a child beacon experiencing a problem.

Here are some examples of how this script can be run.

.\Beacon-parent-connection-test.ps1 *>beacon-test.txt

Test connecting to this beacon's parent to download beacon policy details, writing diagnostic output to the file beacon-test.txt.

.\Beacon-parent-connection-test.ps1 -Url /inventory-beacons/api/download/inventory-settings -OutFile content.dat *>beacon-test.txt

Test connection to this beacon's parent to download the specified URL endpoint. Downloaded content is saved to the file content.dat, and diagnostic output from the script is written to beacon-test.txt.

Interactive troubleshooting

The following PowerShell examples illustrate how you could execute commands in a Windows PowerShell environment to interactively test connectivity.

The Beacon-parent-connection-test.ps1 script described above contains many of these techniques.

Step 1. Initialize the PowerShell environment

Run the following script to align proxy settings, authentication credentials, and TLS versions with the beacon’s configuration. This sets up details required by later steps.

if ($PSVersionTable.PSEdition -ne "Desktop") {
    Write-Error "This script must be run in Windows PowerShell" -ErrorAction Stop
}

$beaconInstallPath = Get-ItemPropertyValue `
    -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft" `
    -Name ETDPInstallDir

Add-Type -Path "$beaconInstallPath\DotNet\bin\Flexera.Beacon.Common.dll"
Add-Type -Path "$beaconInstallPath\DotNet\bin\Flexera.SaaS.Transport.dll"

$bc = New-Object Flexera.Beacon.Common.BeaconConfig

if ($bc::ProxySettingsProxyServerConnectionEnabled) {
    $proxy = [Flexera.SaaS.Transport.Core.ProxyHelper]::GetBeaconConfiguredProxy("http")
    Write-Output "Web proxy details:" $proxy
    [System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy = $proxy
} else {
    Write-Output "No proxy in use"
    [System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy = $null
}

$password = ConvertTo-SecureString $bc::BeaconServicesPassword -AsPlainText -Force
$cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($bc::BeaconServicesUserName, $password)

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.SecurityProtocolType]'Tls,Tls11,Tls12,Tls13'

Step 2. Upload test using PowerShell

Checks whether a dummy .ndi file can be uploaded to the parent server. These commands test the process of making a connection to upload a dummy inventory NDI file to the beacon’s parent using the PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet.

$ul = $bc::GetUploadLocationDetails()

$url = "$($ul._URL)$($ul._Directory)/Inventories/testing.ndi"

Write-Output "Testing upload using Invoke-WebRequest to $url"

Invoke-WebRequest $url -Credential $cred -Method PUT -Body "test-NDI-content" -UseBasicParsing

Step 3. Upload test using curl.exe

Performs the same test with curl.exe, which may reveal different or more detailed errors. These commands test making a connection to upload a dummy inventory NDI file to the beacon’s parent using the curl.exe tool.

This is similar to testing using the PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet, but sometimes testing using different approaches can help to identify issues that may be evident with one approach that are not evident with another approach. Using curl.exe may also be helpful for producing additional diagnostic information that the Invoke-WebRequest may not so easily provide.

$ul = $bc::GetUploadLocationDetails()
$url = "$($ul._URL)$($ul._Directory)/Inventories/testing.ndi"
$curlArgs = @("--verbose", "--request", "PUT", $url, "--data", "test-NDI-content")

if ($bc::BeaconServicesUserName) {
    $curlArgs += @("--user", "$($bc::BeaconServicesUserName):$($bc::BeaconServicesPassword)")
}

if ($bc::ProxySettingsProxyServerConnectionEnabled) {
    $curlArgs += @("--proxy", $proxy.Address)
    if ($proxy.Credentials) {
        $curlArgs += @("--proxy-user", "$($proxy.Credentials.UserName):$($proxy.Credentials.Password)")
    }
}

Write-Output "curl.exe $curlArgs"
curl.exe $curlArgs

Step 4. Policy download test using PowerShell

Verifies that the beacon can download its policy from the parent by making a connection to download beacon policy details from the beacon’s parent using the PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet.

$url = "$($bc::BeaconServicesEndpoint)inventory-beacons/api/policy/?tenantUid=$($bc::TenantUID)"

Invoke-WebRequest $url -Credential $cred -UseBasicParsing

This test can help to confirm that the beacon can successfully download its policy, verifying both authentication and endpoint accessibility.

Step 5. Policy download test using curl.exe

Same policy test, run with curl.exe for additional diagnostic output. These commands test making a connection to download beacon policy details from the beacon’s parent using the curl.exe tool.

$url = "$($bc::BeaconServicesEndpoint)inventory-beacons/api/policy/?tenantUid=$($bc::TenantUID)"
$curlArgs = @("--verbose", $url)

if ($bc::BeaconServicesUserName) {
    $curlArgs += @("--user", "$($bc::BeaconServicesUserName):$($bc::BeaconServicesPassword)")
}

if ($bc::ProxySettingsProxyServerConnectionEnabled) {
    $curlArgs += @("--proxy", $proxy.Address)
    if ($proxy.Credentials) {
        $curlArgs += @("--proxy-user", "$($proxy.Credentials.UserName):$($proxy.Credentials.Password)")
    }
}

Write-Output "curl.exe $curlArgs"
curl.exe $curlArgs

Outcomes

• Successful test → confirms the parent server is reachable and responding.
• Failure → inspect the error details to identify whether the issue is related to proxy, firewall, certificate validation, or authentication.