Help CenterAtera's Linux Agent monitors device availability, CPU load, memory usage, and disk usage, all of which can be viewed in the Agent Console. You can also run scripts on Linux devices and execute commands via the Terminal or SSH Terminal. Plus, connect use AnyDesk to remotely connect to any Linux devices that have a GUI. We are continuously working to improve the Linux Agent with additional features so stay tuned for updates!
Note: The Linux Agent is available for all IT Department plans.
Note: The Linux Agent is available for the MSP Growth, Power, and Superpower plans.
Prerequisites
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)
Additional requirements:
Your Linux device must have the following installed and enabled before you can use the Atera agent:
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, please see the section below on 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 the Linux Agent
1. Click the Install agent button in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
The Download agent installer appears.
2. Select Linux OS. Then click Next.
3. Assign the agent to a site (optional).
3. Assign the agent to a customer (optional).
4. Click Next.
5. Copy and paste the command in the Terminal. Then press Enter.
Note: You may be prompted to enter your password, depending on your Linux settings. This is your computer password and not your Atera password. Please be aware that keystrokes may not be visible when you type in your password.
All done! In a few minutes, your Linux Agent will appear in the Atera platform. If you have any issues installing the Linux Agent, please see this troubleshooting article
The Linux Agent Console
General Information
See the 'Machine Name', the date the device was added and last seen (last sync/communication with the agent), 'Last Logged User', 'Last Reboot Time', 'IP Address', and 'Site.' Here, you can also enable or disable 'Availability Monitoring' for your Linux device.
See the 'Machine Name', the date the device was added and last seen (last sync/communication with the agent), 'Last Logged User', 'Last Reboot Time', 'IP Address', and 'Customer.' Here, you can also enable or disable 'Availability Monitoring' for your Linux device.
Alerts Overview
There are 5 alert types available for the Linux Agent in the agent console:
- Hardware
- Disk
- Availability
- Performance
- General
The number of alerts is provided below the alert type.
Metrics
You can view the percentage of average memory usage and average CPU load over a selected period. The available time period options are 'Last 24 hours', 'Last week', and 'Last month'.
Threshold Profiles and Alerts
Below Profiles, on the right-hand side of the page, you can manage the threshold profiles assigned to the selected device. You'll also see a list of all recent alerts specific to the Linux Agent. From this section, you can pause alerts, create a ticket for an alert, and snooze, delete, or resolve an alert.
Note: The alert types currently available for the Linux Agent are: CPU load, memory usage, and disk usage.
Software
In this section, you'll see the OS edition, OS version, and OS build of your Linux device.
Hardware
Here you'll see the hardware details of the Linux device such as the vendor, model, sound, video card, memory, processor, and MAC addresses.
Disks
Below Hardware, you'll see relevant disk information such as the media type, model, storage capacity, how much space is free, and how much space has been used.
Note: Atera's Linux agent is capable of retrieving disk information for both whole or raw disks (i.e., disks without partitions) and disks with partitions. However, it is currently unable to retrieve total, used, and free volume information for disks that have logical volumes or encrypted partitions/disks. If the Linux agent is installed on a device with logical volumes or encrypted disks/partitions, the disk information will not be displayed in the Agent Console, and certain reports and pages in the platform may be affected as a result.
Remote connection via AnyDesk
You can connect remotely to Linux devices via AnyDesk using the Connect button at the top-right of the Agent Console.
Note:
- Remote access via AnyDesk is currently only available for Linux devices with a graphical user interface (GUI)
- Permissions for 'Server Remote Manage' are required to remotely connect with Linux devices using AnyDesk.
- Currently, you can only connect to Linux devices from a Mac or Windows operating system, as AnyDesk does not support connections from one Linux device to another.
- AnyDesk access for Linux devices is only available for IT department plans at the Expert level and above, and MSP plans at the Growth level and above.
Manage and edit your device
The Manage menu at the top-right of the Agent Console enables you to open the Terminal or SSH Terminal and remotely send commands to your Linux devices in addition to running scripts. The Edit menu lets you edit agent details and device relations as well as manage passwords, add attachments, clear device alerts, and remove the Linux device.
Note: To remove the Linux device from Atera you must first delete the Linux Agent using the Terminal and then delete it from Atera ( see below for detailed instructions.)
Create ticket
You can create a support ticket directly from the Linux Agent console by clicking Create ticket in the top-right corner of the console. The ticket is automatically assigned to the associated customer and contact.
Linux Device Filter
To filter by Linux devices:
1. From Devices (on the sidebar), select Filters.
2. Select Linux Agent from the 'Device Type' dropdown menu.
You can save this filter to easily see your Linux devices. To do this, once you have created your desired filter, click Save View and choose whether you'd like to update the current view or save a new view. When you next want to access this view, simply select the view from the 'View' dropdown on the top right-hand side of the page.
Alert Threshold Profiles for Linux
An alert threshold profile determines the alerts you receive about your customer’s devices. An admin can create or edit a threshold profile, which can be customized for the types of alerts you receive (information, warning, critical).
There are three alert types currently available for the Linux Agent: CPU load, memory usage, and hard disk usage. Atera offers a preset threshold profile for Linux devices similar to those offered for MacOS and Windows, as well as the option to customize your own threshold profiles.
To create a threshold profile for Linux devices:
1. From Admin (on the sidebar), click Thresholds.
2. The Threshold Profiles page appears. Scroll down and click Add Profile.
3. We recommend selecting the preset threshold profile for Linux on the right-hand side of the page. Alternatively, you can create a custom threshold profile by selecting New Item at the top of the page.
Note: The Alert Category dropdown menu includes alert types for Windows, Mac, and Linux devices. You can see whether or not the selected alert type is available for your device by checking the Supported OS within the threshold item as in the image below:
To edit a threshold profile for Linux devices:
1. From Admin (on the sidebar), click Thresholds.
2. The Threshold Profiles page appears. Click on the threshold profile you want to edit.
3. With your mouse, hover over the threshold item you want to update.
4. Select the Edit icon that appears. The Threshold Item window appears.
5. Make any required changes and click Add.
6. Navigate to the Edit Threshold section on the left-hand side of the page and click Save.
Running scripts on your Linux device
To run a script on your Linux device, you must first create a new script or upload an existing one. You can also clone a script from the Shared Script Library and modify it to suit your needs. Once you have a script you'd like to run, you can do so from the Devices page or the Agent Console.
Note: Currently, scripts can only be run on Linux devices on an ad hoc basis and are not supported as auto-healing scripts for Linux threshold profiles.
To run a script on your Linux devices
1. From Devices (on the sidebar), select your Linux device.
The Agent Console appears.
2. Navigate to the Manage dropdown menu on the top right-hand side of the page and click Run script from the dropdown options. The Run script window appears.
3. Choose a script from your own files or the Shared Script Library tab. Once you've selected your script you can click View to see the script content and details or click Run to execute it immediately.
Note: Only .sh files are supported on Linux devices.
4. Once the script finishes running, you'll receive a summary with its output and exit code to indicate if it ran successfully.
You can access the detailed outcomes of script execution, including success or failure on specific devices, at any time by viewing the Recent Processes report under Reports (sidebar) > Classic Reports > Recent Processes.
Note: To run a script from the Devices page, navigate to the dropdown menu next to the device on which you want to execute the script, and click Manage > Run Script. Alternatively, you can run a script on multiple devices at once by bulk-selecting your devices and clicking Run script at the top of the page. Then, continue with steps 3-4 above.
Uninstalling the 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 have removed the agent from your device you can delete the agent from within Atera. This can be done in one of two ways.
To delete the agent from the Devices page:
1. From Devices (on the sidebar), check the device.
2. Click the ellipses icon () at the top of the page and select Delete from the dropdown menu.
To delete the agent from the Agent Console:
1. From Devices (on the sidebar), select your device. The Agent Console appears.
2. Click Edit on the top right of the page.
3. Select Delete from the dropdown menu.
We are continuously working to improve the Linux Agent with new features so check back for updates! If you have any questions or run into any issues regarding the Linux Agent, please contact support
Dana Grob Seligman