The Atera Agent is the backbone of Atera’s monitoring system. Installed on every device you want to monitor, it continuously tracks performance, availability, and health — securely sending data to the cloud for real-time insights. With low system impact, built-in auto-updates, and smart reporting intervals based on big-data analysis, the Atera Agent ensures you’re alerted only when it matters.
Note: Trial accounts are limited to 300 devices.
Supported distributions
The Linux Agent is currently supported by the distributions detailed below. While the agent may work on other Linux distributions, Atera does not guarantee it — nor does it provide any support, bug fixes, or security patches for Linux devices running alternative distributions.
Supported Linux distributions:
- Debian 11 (and above)
- Ubuntu 18 (and above)
- CentOS Stream
- Red Hat 8 (and above)
Additional requirements: Your Linux device must have the following installed and enabled before you can use the Atera Agent:
- Sudo
- LSHW
- .Net runtime 8 (this will be installed by the agent)
Agent versions and updates
View an individual device’s agent version in its Agent Console (Overview tab).
Latest version: Atera Linux Agent v2.5.0.0. This version is automatically installed for all new agent downloads on active subscriptions.
Enhancements in Agent v2:
- Strengthened security with support for TLS 1.2 only.
Note:
- Agents will not yet be upgraded if they:
- Run on 32-bit systems
- Use a proxy
Remote access support
Splashtop
Splashtop supports Linux devices with monitors and Linux VMs with virtual monitors for seamless remote access.
Note:
- Remote management > Remote connection > Server permission is required to connect to Linux devices using Splashtop. For more info, see Roles and permissions
- You can remotely access Linux devices from Windows or Mac, but not from Linux.
To ensure you have optimal Splashtop functionality on your Linux VM, follow these essential setup steps:
- Update system: Ensures all packages are up to date, preventing compatibility issues during installation.
- Install GNOME desktop environment: Adds a user-friendly graphical interface (necessary for Splashtop).
- Install Xrdp: Allows remote desktop connections for graphical access.
- Install virtual display: Generates a virtual output when no physical monitor is present.
- Set LightDM as display manager: Manages session displays (necessary for Splashtop’s virtual display).
- Configure firewall: Secures and opens needed ports for safe, remote connections.
- Install PulseAudio: Enables sound support for remote sessions.
- Ensure DBus is running: Supports system-wide inter-process communication, which is required for PulseAudio and other services to function correctly.
- Configure PulseAudio for system mode: Allows PulseAudio to run with system-wide permissions.
- Restart services: Ensures new configurations take immediate effect.
- Check Logs: Assists in pinpointing and resolving service issues.
AnyDesk
AnyDesk supports Linux devices with monitors and Linux VMs with virtual monitors for seamless remote access.
Note:
- AnyDesk access for Linux devices is available to Expert, Master, and Enterprise plans.
- AnyDesk access for Linux devices is available to Growth, Power, and Superpower plans.
- Remote management > Remote connection > Server permission is required to connect to Linux devices using AnyDesk. For more information on configuring technician permissions, see Roles and permissions
- AnyDesk installation via Atera is not supported on Linux devices with ARM64 architecture.
- You can remotely access Linux devices from Windows or Mac, but not from Linux.
- AnyDesk remote access isn’t supported for CentOS and Red Hat distributions.
Known limitations
The following are some known limitations of the Atera Linux Agent:
- The Linux Agent cannot be removed from the end user's device via the Atera UI. To remove the agent, see Deleting the Linux Agent
- Alerts generated for Linux devices with 'Availability Monitoring' enabled won't appear in the main dashboard as they do for other devices.
- Please note that Atera does not currently support logical volumes, encrypted disks, or encrypted partitions on Linux devices. If the Atera agent is installed on a Linux device with logical volumes or encrypted disks/partitions, this may impact the user interface of the Agent Console as well as some reports.
Install Atera's Linux Agent
You can install the Atera Agent for Linux using the command line, either locally or via SSH.
Note:
- Atera's Linux Agent is available for all IT Department plans.
- Atera's Linux Agent is available for Growth, Power, and Superpower plans.
- Full admin permissions are required to install the Atera Agent.
To install Atera's Linux agent:
1. Click Install agent in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
The Download agent installer window appears.
2. Select Linux (.bash). Then click Next.
3. Assign the agent to a site. Then click Next.
Note: Assigning the agent will automatically allocate all policies, configurations, and automations applied to that site and/or folder. This assignment also comes in handy with any IT automation profiles that are intended to run on newly added devices. However, you also have the option to assign the agent at a later time. Learn more
3. Assign the agent to a customer. Then click Next.
Note: Assigning the agent will automatically allocate all policies, configurations, and automations applied to that customer and/or folder. This assignment also comes in handy with any IT automation profiles that are intended to run on newly added devices. However, you also have the option to assign the agent at a later time. Learn more
4. Click Copy command to copy the installation script.
- Open the terminal.
- Enter the installation script and hit Enter to install the Atera Agent.
- You may need to enter the device's password (not your Atera password), and keystrokes may not appear.
Within a couple of minutes, the Atera Agent will appear on the Devices page.
Uninstall Atera's Linux Agent
You must run this command in the Terminal to remove the Atera Agent from your Linux device.
/usr/lib/atera-agent/uninstall.sh
Once you've removed the agent from your device, you can delete the agent from within Atera.
To delete a Linux agent from Atera:
1. From Devices (on the sidebar), check the box next to the device.
2. Click the ellipses icon (). Then click Delete.
Troubleshooting
If you experience any trouble with agent installation or stability, see:
