Distributing software to Linux devices

Once you've deployed the Linux agents, you can distribute software to your Linux devices. The initial Linux agent deployment uses an SSH connection. Once the agents are installed, the core server uses the standard Ivanti agent to communicate with the Linux server and transfer files. To distribute software to a Linux device, you must have Administrator rights.

You can only distribute RPMs to Linux devices. The Linux agents will automatically install each RPM you distribute. The RPM itself isn't stored on the server after installation. You can install and uninstall the RPM you specify using software distribution. You can only use push delivery methods with Linux software distribution. For Linux software distribution, the settings in the push delivery method are ignored, so it doesn't matter which push delivery method you select or what the settings in it are.

The distribution follows this process:

  1. The core server connects to the Linux device through the Standard Ivanti agent
  2. The device downloads the package
  3. The device runs a shell script that uses RPM commands to install the RPM package
  4. The device sends status back to the core server.

You can store Linux RPMs on HTTP shares. Linux software distribution doesn't support UNC file shares. For HTTP shares, make sure you've enabled directory browsing for that share. If you use an HTTP share on a Windows device other than the core, you need to configure IIS with the correct MIME type for RPM files. Otherwise, the default MIME type IIS uses will cause the RPM to fail to download the file.

To configure the RPM MIME type on Windows devices
  1. From Windows Control Panel, open Internet Services Manager.
  2. Navigate to the folder that hosts your distribution files. From that folder's shortcut menu, click Properties.
  3. On the HTTP Headers tab, click the File Types button.
  4. Click New Type.
  5. For the Associated Extension, type rpm. Note that rpm is lowercase.
  6. For the Content type, type text/plain.
  7. Click OK to exit the dialog boxes.

Once you've hosted the files on your package share, create a new Linux distribution package in the Distribution packages window, associate it with the delivery method you want, and schedule the delivery.

Understanding Linux software dependencies 

When you click Save in a Linux package's Distribution package-properties dialog box, software distribution parses the primary RPM and any dependent RPMs you selected for dependencies those RPMs require. These dependencies then appear in the Missing libraries dialog box. Checking a dependency in this dialog box tells software distribution to not prompt you about it again. You can check dependencies you know are installed on managed devices. This dialog box is for your information only. If a dependency is missing on a target device and you didn't specifically include that dependency as a dependent package, the RPM probably won't install successfully.