If you're a Technical Leader who's new to Syncro, here are some important first steps you should take to get Syncro's Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) features configured for your business and your team.

Notes: 

• Throughout the documentation, you'll sometimes see text in italic font. This means the term is defined in our Syncro Glossary.
• For a high-level overview of where things are in Syncro, see About the Syncro Header & Primary Navigation Bar.

Step 1: Customize RMM Settings

Before you start working with RMM features, it's a good idea to look at the global RMM settings. You'll find these under Admin > RMM - Preferences.

Here are two settings you may want to review:

• Default Top-Level Policy for New Customers: Sets the default Top-Level Policy for all new Customer Organizations (i.e., those that have yet to be created). If you don't set this, new Organizations will have “No Policy” applied. (See Step 3 below for more details.)
• Asset Approval: You can require that new assets need manual approval before being added to your fleet. You'll be able to Approve/Deny each from a Pending Assets list. You can optionally Auto Approve Assets from Known IPs.

View the RMM Settings Reference for more details. (Bonus: Enable the Asset Approval and/or Asset Warranty Tracking features.)

Step 2: Create an RMM Agent Installer

To bring devices into the Syncro's RMM ecosystem, you need to install the Syncro Agent on them. Installing the Syncro Agent is what transforms a device into an officially managed Asset. Assets that are capable of having the Syncro Agent installed on them are also referred to as Syncro Devices.

Both Windows and Mac Agents are available, and if a device isn't capable of having an agent installed (a printer for example), you can manually create the Asset. These are referred to as Manual Assets.

Installing the Syncro Agent makes your Asset visible in the Assets & RMM page in Syncro, and automatically applies a default Top-Level Policy so you can do things like remote into it.

Watch this short video to learn more:

Navigate to one of your Organizations and use the step-by-step instructions in Install a Syncro Agent on a Device to create an installer. (Bonus: Install the Syncro Agent on a test machine or manually create an asset.)

Step 3: An Overview of Policies in Syncro

We'll talk more about Policies in RMM Training 102, but for now here's a brief overview of how policies work in Syncro.

Policies in Syncro are essentially collections of checks and monitors that define your operational rules for Syncro Devices. You update them to consistently configure RMM features like patch management, antivirus, and scheduled scripts, ensuring proper security and system maintenance across your fleet.

Syncro's policy structure leverages Policy Inheritance, which functions like a Group Policy Object (GPO) model. 

• A Top-Level Policy is typically assigned to a Customer (Organization) and any folders below it. Its settings cascade down to all assets. 
• The Effective Policy for any given asset is the final, merged collection of all policy settings applied to it, starting from the Top-Level Policy and incorporating any specific overrides from policies applied lower down the folder hierarchy, or directly to the asset itself.

Unless you make policy adjustments, the device you installed the Syncro Agent on in Step 2 inherits the Top-Level Policy called [Example] Sample Policy, which is set by default on your account. This default Top-Level Policy includes:

• Remote access to the asset via Splashtop, and
• Some basic monitors and alerts: low hard drive space, high CPU usage, high memory, and HD smart failures.

 Although we provide an example, you can create and set your own Top-Level Policy. As a best practice, a Top-Level Policy should include settings that apply to all Syncro devices.

Navigate to the Policies tab, then click the [Example] Sample Policy to take a look at what it includes. (Bonus: You'll get more information about this in RMM Training 102, but if you want to jump ahead you can create a new Policy to function as your Top-Level Policy.)

Step 4: Assets & RMM Page Overview

Once you have the Syncro Agent installed on your assets, the Assets & RMM tab/page is your one-stop shop for everything asset-related. 

It displays both a tabular list of all your managed assets, and above it, an at-a-glance visual representation that's also interactive. You can search your asset list by various criteria, and perform asset-related actions like running scripts, rebooting, and sending broadcast messages. If you have appropriate permissions you can also remote into your assets. 

A quick preview of each asset can also help you save time; you don't need to navigate away from the page to see what's happening or take action.

Watch this short video to learn more:

Review About the Assets & RMM Tab/Page to learn about at least one other action you can take on managed Assets.

Step 5: Customize Asset Table Columns

Next, let's take a look at how you might customize the Assets table so you can see the exact information you're looking for. Many of our tables also offer sorting and filtering, grouping, hiding, and pinning. 

Watch this short video to learn more:

 

Customize your Assets table. (Bonus: Learn more about how you can generally use tables in Syncro.)

Step 6: Asset Details Page Overview

The Asset Details page displays whenever you’re viewing a specific Asset. 

The page's content depends on whether you're viewing a Syncro Device or an asset you've manually created. Either way, you'll find information about the Asset's Owner and information about the asset itself. You'll also have access to monitoring information and Tickets associated with the asset.

Watch this short video to learn more about what you'll find on the Asset Details Page:

Learn more about the Monitoring subtab. (Bonus: Navigate to the Details Page for an Asset you created in Step 2 and locate the list of applications that are currently installed on that machine.)

Step 7: Assign Assets to End Users

It's always a good idea to connect an End User with an Asset. You can assign End Users to Assets from an Asset's Details Page, in the Owner Information section (the "Assigned Contact" field).

Note: End Users were formerly known as Contacts. For the time being, you may see both terms used in the product.

Most times assets DO belong to specific End Users, but even for shared devices, it's best practice to have an End User assigned. You can create an “info” or “office” end user to assign to the asset.

Watch this short video to learn more:

Navigate to the Details Page for an Asset you created in Step 2, and assign the asset to an End User/Contact. (Bonus: use the Assigned Contact field to create a brand new End User.)

Step 8: Discover & Manage New Devices

Whether you're onboarding your business to Syncro or onboarding a new client, you'll want to discover and manage new devices in a way that doesn't require you to install the Syncro Agent one by one. There are two ways you can do this.

A. Use a Network Discovery Profile

If you're on the Team Plan, you can use Syncro's Network Discovery feature to discover unmanaged assets for your Organizations and quickly install the Syncro Agent on several of them at once (or easily add manual assets when that's not possible). 

Note: While Group Policy Object (GPO) Software Deployment via an MSI is often considered the technical best practice for domain environments, Network Discovery provides a powerful, platform-native alternative. It allows you to use one existing Windows Agent as a primary node to scan the local network for other devices and automate the deployment process.

Watch this short video to learn more:

Note: If you're on the Team Plan but don't see the top-level Network Discovery tab, click your User Profile Menu, then select Tabs Customization to add it. Reload the page to see the changes.

B. Use the Agent Installer Utility

If you're not on the Team Plan or just prefer another method, you can use the Agent Installer Utility, which is available under Admin > RMM Settings - Migration Tools. This is a PowerShell script that helps you mass install Syncro Agents. You can use it to migrate to Syncro from another tool, or to make it simpler to install agents simultaneously.

Set up a Network Discovery Profile so you can locate and install the Syncro Agent on new devices. If you can't do this, learn more about the Agent Installer Utility instead. 

Next Steps

If you've completed these steps, you have a great start to your RMM setup in Syncro!

• To continue building your knowledge of RMM, proceed to RMM Training Guide (102). That's where you'll learn more about Policies and patches.
• If you're looking to migrate from another platform to Syncro, check out our other resources for importing data.
• Or, explore the other available Training Guides.