DCA Security Overview: Ensuring Safe Network Deployment
It’s a familiar situation: a salesperson walks into the IT department asking for a Data Collection Agent (DCA) to be installed on the corporate network. For most network administrators, the immediate reaction is to hit the brakes. Questions arise—What does it do? What data does it send? Is it secure? Does it open our network to external systems? This article is written specifically to answer those questions and to support network and security teams with the facts they need to confidently authorize the DCA installation.
The DCA is a critical part of modern print service automation. It provides near real-time data to support efficient consumable fulfillment and remote support—without requiring any inbound network access, without collecting any user or document data, and with full encryption and data protection compliance.
The DCA only sends data out—it never accepts incoming connections. This means there’s no exposure to outside-initiated traffic. It acts much like antivirus software checking for updates: it communicates securely with its designated cloud server, and that’s it.
Data is encrypted using SSL and transmitted using XMPP, a highly secure, real-time communication protocol.
XMPP is an open standard, recognized and used in finance, network infrastructure, and even by NATO.
Communication is restricted to secure cloud endpoints defined by the service provider.
| Protocol | Port | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| XMPP | 5222 (preferred), 443 (fallback) | Sends device data to the cloud |
| HTTPS | 443 | Web portal access, HP device integration |
| HTTP | 80 | Legacy support for older monitors |
| SNMP | 161 | Local device discovery only |
All connections are initiated from inside your network and are fully encrypted.
Only technical device data necessary for service automation:
Printer identifiers (model, serial number, IP, MAC address)
Consumable status (e.g. toner level, type)
Service alerts (error codes, alert severity, timestamps)
No user data. No document data. No job content. Ever.
Hosted on Microsoft Azure, which complies with over 90 global security standards.
Data is stored in your chosen region (UK, EU, US, Australia, etc.).
The cloud infrastructure is Cyber Essentials Plus certified.
The DCA was built for network environments that demand high security and low exposure. With outbound-only encrypted communication, zero user data transmission, and strict regional data controls, it meets or exceeds expectations in even the most sensitive IT environments.
If you're responsible for securing the network, rest assured: the DCA is engineered to respect your perimeter, protect your data, and support your organization’s operational needs.
The DCA sends only encrypted printer data.
It does not open your network to outside connections.
No personal or document data is ever accessed.
All communication is outbound, encrypted, and standards-compliant.
Data is stored in trusted, region-specific Microsoft data centers.
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