Plugins4Automate developed the Linux Update Manager to provide MSPs with a standardized interface within ConnectWise Automate. This interface allows them to identify the Linux systems in their environment, view available updates for each system, and automate the installation of patches. MSPs can also check if systems have pending updates or reboots, quickly review the available package update versions, and manually run updates or install individual packages as needed.
Linux Distro Support
LUM can identify agents using either Apt or YUM as their distribution package managers. Apt is the package manager for Debian-based distributions of Linux, which include Debian and Ubuntu. YUM, on the other hand, is a package manager commonly used in Red Hat-based Linux distributions, such as Red Hat Enterprise, CentOS, and Rocky Linux. LUM will scan all Linux distributions to determine if they can be managed. If they are, you will see the Package Manager type and version displayed in the Global Manager tool.
LUM has 2 consoles available in the Automate Control Center. A Global Manager and the Agent Console.
Global Manager
You can access the Global manager from the Control Centers Tool Menu.
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This will launch the Global Manager which will display the list of Linux based systems you have deployed with in your Automate environment.
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This view will provide you some basic information on the status of each of the the Linux agent's updates, the last scan dates, if reboots are needed and the package manager used by the agent.
By selecting any one agent and then right clicking the agent, this will open a menu that provides you a few tools.
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- Open Agent Console - Opens the agents control center console
- Update - Schedules script to update agent packages
- Reboot Now - Checks for active users and sends reboot to agent.
- Install - Allows you to directly install any package by name
Open Agent Console
This launches the Agent Console and allows you to navigate to the Plugins view, where you can open the Linux Update Manager Plugin view. In the Plugin view, you are able to see each installed package, its current installed version, and the most recent version available. In this view you can rescan the agent manually and have the agent attempt updates.
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Update Agent
This command schedules an Automate script for the agent to update packages. Depending on the Automate environment and the settings configured for each agent, updates may take just a minute or longer to complete. You can check the script's status in the Agent Console by navigating to the Script Log section. Look for the "LUM Maintenance Service" script, which should display a "MYCMD" entry in the Results column. Once the script runs, it will update the packages it can. Afterward, it will refresh a scan to update the package views and counts in Automate.
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Reboot Agent Now
This will cause the plugin to test for a logged-in user and their idle time. If a logged-in user exists, a prompt will be displayed, allowing you to either confirm the reboot or exit without rebooting. If the reboot is confirmed, a command will be sent to the agent to initiate the reboot.
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Install Package
You can use this function to manually install any package supported by the package manager, simply by specifying its package name.
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By selecting the option to install a package, a command is sent to the agent to install the specified package using the provided name. You can review the agent's command logs to track the installation process and view the output returned by the agent.
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Enable Auto Updates
LUM can automatically update your Linux agent by scheduling the "LUM Maintenance Service" script during Automate's nightly maintenance cycle, which occurs shortly after midnight (based on the Automate server's host time). The update script does not reboot the Linux machine after completing the updates. Instead, it checks whether a reboot is required and flags this status in the Global and Agent views. To enable this functionality, select the appropriate checkbox. Once enabled, all Linux agents are included in the update schedules, except for those that are offline.
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Exclude Some Agents From Auto Updates
If you enabled auto updates but want to exculde soe agents, you can exclude any Linux agent from Auto Updates by opening the agent's console and navigating to the Extra Data Fields section. Under the Default EDFs, you will find a single EDF labeled "Do not autoinstall LUM updates." By selecting this checkbox, you can exclude the agent from any automated updates managed by the LUM plugin.
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