The multiple flavors of Linux

[dlafleur]

Hello fellow Lansweepers.

With all the many flavors of Linux in the Tech world environment, what is the best way to scan those devices?
My company, for instance, has Linux, Ubuntu Linux, Debian GNU/Linux 11, Other Linux, Amazon Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Oracle Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise.

Of course all these have different credentials for logging in which makes it even harder to inventory those device.  Does anyone have any helpful tips / trick or suggestions to point me in the right direction to being able to scan these devices?

Thanks in advance.

[Katgroup]

My recommendation would be to create a dedicated user for scanning via Lansweeper and deploy it to all your devices (e.g. via RMM). If your Linux environment is integrated with AD (LDAP), you could use a domain user.

Then, you can scan via SSH. For full information, make sure to have the relevant packages installed for your environment: Scanning commands run on Linux computers - Lansweeper.

You can also use LsAgent if you prefer.

[DavidPK · Accepted solution]

You're absolutely right scanning a diverse Linux environment is challenging due to the mix of flavors, authentication mechanisms, and configurations. Here's a practical guide for achieving consistent, accurate, and efficient scanning of all these Linux systems in Lansweeper:

Use SSH Credential Scanning
Lansweeper discovers Linux-based systems primarily via SSH (port 22), and uses credentials to pull system information like hardware, software, and OS details.

Requirements:

• SSH service running on the target Linux machine.
• Port 22 open from the Lansweeper scanning server.

Credential Management via Credential Mapping

To manage different systems with different credentials, use:

•  Scanning → Credential Mapping
• Map specific SSH credentials to IP ranges

More information and requirements can be found in the following KB articles:

• https://community.lansweeper.com/t5/requirements/linux-and-unix-agentless-scanning-requirements/ta-p...
• https://community.lansweeper.com/t5/scanning-your-network/how-to-scan-a-linux-or-unix-computer/ta-p/...