FAQ

Frequently asked questions and answers about JFrog Connect

What are the benefits of JFrog Connect and how can it help my business?

Here are some of the major ways JFrog Connect can help your business:

Streamlined Operations & DevOps Integration: Connect unifies artifact management, security, and scalability into a single platform, helping your DevOps and Security teams work more efficiently without switching between multiple tools. Integration with JFrog Artifactory lets you manage all packages, containers, and build artifacts in one repository and deploy them seamlessly to connected devices, bringing established DevOps practices to your projects.

Enhanced Security: The platform enables secure development-to-device workflows with vulnerability analysis for deployments to connected devices, addressing the top security concerns of developers for connected devices.

Cost Reduction: Device monitoring capabilities reduce product maintenance costs through proactive management that prevents failures before they impact customers. Streamlined operations and enhanced security also lead to significant cost reductions.

Scalable Fleet Management: Connect offers seamless over-the-air updates, security, and automation to ensure reliable and scalable deployments, allowing you to manage growing device fleets without proportional increases in operational overhead.

JFrog Connect helps you move from proof-of-concepts to production-ready, secure deployments while maintaining operational efficiency.

How does JFrog Connect fit into the broader JFrog platform?

JFrog Connect is part of the JFrog Platform, which includes components like Artifactory for artifact management and JFrog Advanced Security and Xray for security scanning and evaluation. Connect integrates with the rest of the JFrog supply chain, helping to make connected devices first-class citizens in a DevOps pipeline. Some examples of integrated functions include:

User and Token Management: Users and roles for Connect are defined and managed in JFrog Platform. Certain kinds of access tokens (user scoped tokens) are created and managed in JFrog Platform. Resource-scoped tokens, such as the device details tokens are created in Connect, but then managed in JFrog Platform.

Scoping: A method of ensuring that only the intended artifacts are distributed to the intended devices. A Connect device fleet is associated with an Artifactory or Artifactory Edge registry, an Artifactory project, and an environment configuration. Devices in that fleet can receive artifacts only from those associated resources.

Security: When software update flows are created and deployed in Connect, JFrog Security (Xray and JFrog Advanced Security) scans the binaries and other artifacts and provides detailed information about vulnerabilities and their severities.

Registries/Repositories: Connect works seamlessly with JFrog Artifactory, JFrog’s premier binary repository management system. So, for example, when Connect runs a software deployment, Connect Agent pulls the binaries and artifacts directly from Artifactory.

Who is the typical user of JFrog Connect?

Connect is designed by and for developers of connected devices in a wide range of industries. Typical users include a wide range of developers and DevOps engineers, including many specialties such as embedded, CI/CD, test automation, operations, delivery, and technical support engineers.

How do I get a JFrog Connect account?

If you want to get up and running with JFrog Connect, or if you would just like a demo, fill out the form at Contact Us. You can also Book a Demo. A JFrog representative will contact you and help you get started.

How can I register a large number of devices with JFrog Connect?

You can register new devices at scale by duplicating an image that has the Connect Agent installed. Methods include installing the agent on a single device, disconnecting it, and then duplicating/distributing the image, or inserting the agent into an OS image build. See Register Devices at Scale.

How can I organize and manage a large number of devices with JFrog Connect?

Once you have a number of devices registered, you can organize them hierarchically into Fleets, Groups, and Sub-groups. You can also use non-hierarchical types of organization, such tags and deployment tags, which you can use to identify devices across group boundaries. Connect’s filtering mechanism enables you to perform actions on and deploy software to any subset of devices in a fleet. See Organize Your Account, Filter Devices.

What are the prerequisites for installing the Connect Agent on a device?

You can install JFrog Connect Agent on devices that meet the minimum hardware and software requirements. These are detailed in Connect Agent Specifications and Compatibility.

Where can I find the JFrog Connect agent?

When you register a device, the latest Connect Agent version is downloaded to the device. To obtain the Connect Agent binary file for embedding in an OS image, contact JFrog Connect Customer Support.

How do Over-the-Air software deployments work with JFrog Connect?

Software deployments are implemented using Update Flows, which are customizable procedures for deploying software. A Deployment associates an Update Flow with a set of devices and triggers the update. The Connect Server sends the flow to the Connect Agent on the device, which then pulls the software from a designated registry, usually JFrog Artifactory. See Software Update Process.

What types of updates can I deploy using JFrog Connect (e.g., applications, scripts, files, containers, OS updates)?

With JFrog Connect, you can deploy various types of content, such as artifacts from Artifactory, scripts, Docker images, device image updates, and others. Update Flow steps enable you to build procedures using various step types. Some examples of step types include Run Script, Deploy Docker, Download Artifact, Download Release Bundle, and Install Debian Package. By using these step types to create steps in a flow, you can construct reusable flows for deploying software. See Step Types.

What remote tools are available in JFrog Connect for troubleshooting devices and deployments?

JFrog Connect provides several tools for accessing and controlling edge devices remotely: Terminal (web-based SSH access), Port Tunnel (remote connection to local device ports), Command Runner (remote command execution), and File Fetch (retrieval of files and folders). See Remote Tools.

How can DevOps teams use JFrog Connect to implement DevOps methods for connected devices? How can developers leverage Connect in their development workflow?

JFrog Connect integrates with the JFrog Platform to incorporate modern DevOps governance and empower automation of DevSecOps activities. Developers can leverage Connect to simplify and secure their development lifecycle, manage their software supply chain, and deploy updates efficiently. The Connect REST API enables embedding of Connect functionality into CI/CD pipelines for automated software deployments. See Connect API Reference.

How does JFrog Connect address security for connected devices and their management?

JFrog Connect is designed to secure the entire development lifecycle and adheres to industry standards and relevant security regulations. Security features include using JWTs for secure interactions, a secure AWS-based infrastructure with encryption and VPC, a client-only communication model from devices, Device-Fleet pairing tokens for secure device communication, token rotation for low security risk, and MFA for login security.

JFrog Advanced Security and Xray scan all content and provide information about CVEs, malicious packages, exposures, and applicability in the context of the scanned artifacts. In addition, Connect provides overall risk evaluations for your devices. See Vulnerability Scans, Artifacts on Device.