Configure Third party Application Updates & Patches for Linux Devices

The Linux ecosystem allows using third party applications which are often created to serve specific purposes or perform certain functions that are not provided by the core software. Examples of some such applications can be Google Chrome, Slack, Zoom, and the like. They can run either as standalone programs or in conjunction with the Linux operating system.

Now these apps are time and again updated that often include security fixes, performance improvements, and new features. Managing the app updates hence becomes an integral part to ensure that your apps are running smoothly and that your system is protected from potential security vulnerabilities.

Linux Agent based Update & Patch Management feature for third party apps, is an automated patch management (assessment, deployment and updating) solution to keep the third party apps and OS patches on Scalefusion managed Linux devices up-to-date thus keeping them secure.

In this two-document series, first part describes the configurations needed to be done for Application and OS Update Management and the second covers details about the summarized view our dashboard offers and actions that can be taken on the updates.

Pre-requisites

1. Users should be subscribed to Legacy or Modern Enterprise Plan.

2. Linux devices should be enrolled in Scalefusion with the latest Tux MDM agent, that is, version 0.0.0~20241204113849

How does it work

1. Configure Settings for Agent Based Third Party App Update Management from Scalefusion Dashboard.

2. Based on the configurations, the Linux agent queries and syncs the updates with the managed devices.

3. Get a summarized view of the status of updates, device as well as updates wise and perform certain actions on them like syncing of updates, update status, and also download CSV reports.

These are described in detail below.

Configuring Settings for OS and Third Party App Update Management

Global Level

1. Login to Scalefusion dashboard and navigate to Update & Patch Management > Linux OS & App Updates on left panel.

2. Click on Create Config
   

   

   
   

3. The OS & App Update Management Settings dialog box opens where you can configure global settings for syncing updates.
   

   

   Setting	Description
   Enable Scalefusion MDM agent based Update Management	This is a toggle. Toggling this to ON only enables MDM agent based update management and allows to configure rest of the settings.
   Configure Update Sync Interval	Configure the time interval how often the agent queries and syncs the available third party app updates to our backend. Following are the options to choose from: 12 hours (default) 24 hours
   Force Reboot Devices after Updates	Configure the timeframe when the device should reboot once an update is installed. Following are the options to choose from: Never 10 minutes 15 minutes 30 minutes
   Auto Remove Packages	This setting automatically removes packages that were installed as dependencies for other packages but are no longer required.
   Configure Update Schedule	Configure when the updates should be installed on device once they are initiated from the Dashboard. There are two options to choose from. Select one: Deploy upon approval: OS and Apps will be updated as soon as app updates are initiated from Dashboard. Deploy according to the following schedule: Configure a schedule and the updates will get installed accordingly, regardless of when they are initiated from Dashboard. To schedule, select the following: Update Time: Select the time of the day when the updates will be installed. Update Day: Select the day on which updates should be installed. Choose Daily if they have to be installed daily else select particular day/days from Monday to Sunday. Update Week: Select a particular week or every week during the month, when updates should be installed

4. After configuring the settings, click Save

Profile Level

These settings can also be configured at device profile level which will apply to the devices with that profile.

To configure Update settings at profile level:

1. Navigate to Device Profiles & Policies > Device Profiles

2. Create or Edit Linux Device Profile on which updates have to be configured

3. Navigate to OS & App Update Settings and toggle on the setting Enable this setting to override the Global Linux Update Settings
   

   

4. Based on the configuration settings, once the Scalefusion agent syncs the available updates, their status will start appearing on Dashboard.

5. For the first time sync, it may take around 4 to 6 hours for updates to start appearing. You can also perform other actions on the updates. Please refer to Managing the App updates & patches document for more info.