Agents are software packages that gather interesting values from or on the clients (systems to be monitored, sources). The agents are pieces of software that run on the client! Not on the ULS-server! The gathered values are sent to the ULS-server for further processing.

Remember: Any system that sends values to the ULS-server is an ULS-client! It might also be, and often is, a server (or generally: a computer).

The agents are sending values to the ULS-server. That is probably uncommon since most central systems management servers acquire the values from the clients.

The advantage is apparent if e.g. you do have encapsulated network areas for each of your customers. You will have less problems in security audits when transfering data from inside the encapsulated network area to the central ULS-server.

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Agents (as the whole ULS) are not restricted to the field of computer technology. You may also write agents that get the weather forecast and send that to the ULS-server.

Or you may send your running exercise results to the ULS-server, your colleagues perhaps, too, and then you may compare the results in a daily report.