Runtime Scanning (.NET)

When you run a runtime scan of your .NET application or IIS (web application) with Lineai you can view item dependencies you might not see with a binary scan, such as dynamically generated web calls.

Important

• Due to the performance overhead of the Lineai Agent, we recommend running the scan in a non-production environment.
• You must run a binary scan of your .NET application or IIS (web application) before performing a runtime scan.
• Data is sent to the Lineai server every 5 minutes.

Configure and Run the Agent

• Edit the file: C:\Program Files (x86)\Lineai\NetCape\NetCape.json. Replace all instances of 127.0.0.1 with the your Lineai URL.

• Open the Windows Command Line as an Administrator.

• Run the Agent with your configuration options:

  Options:
  -p|--path                     [Required, SingleSpecification]
                  Path to the application to be analyzed.
                  [Example: --path=OtherFolder/Example.dll]
  
  -g|--show-compiler-generated  [Optional, SingleSpecification, NoValue]
                  [Default: false. Will not show compiler generated code in resulting graph.]
                  Show compiler generated code.
                  [Example: -g]
  
  -pta|--pass-through-args      [Optional, SingleSpecification]
                  [Default: null]
                  Argument string to pass to the application being profiled.
                  [Example: --pta "--some-flag"]
  
  --profiler                    [Optional, SingleSpecification]
                  [Default: <automatically detected by Agent>]
                  Path to profiler. Use this option only when one of the following occurs:
                  1) The Agent is unable to determine the 'bitness' of the target application (x86/x64)
                  2) The profiler dll is not in the installation directory.
                  [Example: --profiler "C:/location/profiler.dll"]
  
  --session                     [Optional, SingleSpecification]
                  [Default: <random guid>]
                  SessionId to use. Under normal use, allow the Agent to generate this id.
                  [Example: --session "babd9f45-9f56-4f2f-bf7f-a43bfca34b91"]
  
  -v|--verbose                  [Optional, SingleSpecification, NoValue]
                  [Default: false. Will not show verbose output.]
                  Show verbose output.
                  [Example: -v]
  
  -i|--iis                      [Windows Only]
                  [ConditionallyRequired, SingleSpecification, NoValue]
                  [Required If: '--path' is not given.]
                  Analyzes IIS websites on this machine.
                  [Example: -i]
  
  -ap|--application-pool        [Optional, SingleSpecification]
                  [Default: DefaultAppPool]
                  When Scanning IIS, the name of the ApplicationPool that will be executing the profiler.
                  [Example: --application-pool "MyAppPool"]
  
  --force-registration          [Optional, SingleSpecification, NoValue]
                  [Default: false. Will attempt to use known agent credentials if they exist.]
                  Deletes previously generated agent credentials and forces the agent to reregister itself.
                  This option is useful in instances where credentials have been revoked or are invalid, but can otherwise be ignored.
                  [Example: --force-registration]
  
  -e|--expunge-scan-sessions    [Optional, SingleSpecification, NoValue]
                  [Default: false - Keeps old data in addition to data found in this scan.]
                  Marks data from previous scans found with the same ScanConfiguration fingerprint as ready to be pruned or garbage collected from the database.
                  Useful in continuous integration pipelines where only the scan of the latest build should be kept.
                  [Example: --expunge-scan-sessions]
  
  -?|-h|--help                  Show help information.

  Example Code for scanning an application

  > & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Lineai\NetCape\NetCape.Profiler\ProfilerAgent.exe' C:\Program Files\MyApplication\MyApplication.exe

  In the example above we are configuring the agent to run a scan on an application named MyApplication.

  Example Code for scanning iis (web application)

  > & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Lineai\NetCape\NetCape.Profiler\ProfilerAgent.exe' -i

  In the example above we are configuring the agent to run a scan on IIS for a web application named WebApplication.

  Note

  If you see the following message with an application you are trying to scan you will need to include the path for the CLProfiler.

  Cannot start Profiler. Unable to determine bit-ness (x86/x64) of application being profiled. Please pass the path to the CLProfiler with the appropriate bit-ness via command line.

  For example, if you have a 64-bit application you would include the path for the 64-bit CLProfiler.dll. > & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Lineai\NetCape\NetCape.Profiler\ProfilerAgent.exe' -p C:\Program Files (x86)\Lineai\NetCape\NetCape.Profiler\profilers\win-x64\CLProfiler.dll .\MyApplication.exe

Authorize the Agent

For security, agents must be authorized before they will send metadata to Lineai.

Obtain AGENT_UUID and AGENT_PASSWORD from your Lineai administrator, or set these environment variables before starting the agent. If credentials are not pre-provisioned, the agent may register with the server and await administrator approval before scans are accepted.

Scanning

Note

When you run a runtime scan it may take longer to open the application than normal. You may also notice a lag while clicking through your application. The lag is a result of Lineai gathering metadata to send to Lineai.

Scan Application

• In the Windows Command Line terminal you will see Profiler connected. Sending configuration. and the application you specified will open.
• Click through your application to gather the metadata.

Scan IIS (Web Application)

• In the Windows Command Line terminal you will see Profiler connected. Sending configuration..
• Open your browser and go to your web application.
• Click through your web application to gather the metadata.

Stop the Scan

Stop Scan – Application

• Close your application to stop the runtime scan.

Stop Scan – IIS (Web Application)

• To stop the scan, restart IIS from a new Windows Command Line terminal as an Administrator.

  > iisreset

  Note

  You may need to run the command twice to restart IIS.

Next Steps: To scan another application or IIS (web application), repeat these steps. It will not be necessary to repeat the authorization step if you are rescanning the same application.