Managing Linux Devices: Blueprints and Device Actions

You can manage your Linux device in the same directory as your Android and iOS devices. Go to Devices & Groups to view all the devices provisioned on your tenant. Then use the filters and views to find the devices you’d like to manage. 

In this article: 

• Managing Linux Devices with Blueprints
  • Scripts
• Managing Devices at the Individual and Group Level
  • Individual Device Actions
  • Multiple Device Actions
• Event Feed

Managing Linux Devices with Blueprints

Blueprints control the desired state of the device. Think of a blueprint as the overarching controller for your device fleets. You can assign any number of devices to a blueprint, and every device is assigned one blueprint at a time. Blueprints are applied to a device when they are converged. Learn more about Blueprints.

Currently, a blueprint sends scripts to all the devices assigned to that blueprint. Blueprints may also have other Linux actions based on what is set up in Custom Actions. 

To create a blueprint, go to Blueprint Manager and select Create Blueprint. 

Scripts

In the blueprint, go to the Scripts section and click on the Linux tab. 

Then add scripts. You can add up to 10 scripts and up to 16,600 characters per script.

Then save the blueprint. 

After saving the blueprint, it can be published and converged to devices. You can choose to simply publish it and converge the devices applied to it.

You do not need to converge devices immediately at this step. You can also converge devices at the individual and group level. 

Managing Devices at the Individual and Group Level 

Much like how blueprints control the device fleet at large, individual and group actions control can control one-off device actions. 

Individual Device Actions

In Devices & Groups, click on the device’s ellipsis (...) menu to perform device actions.

• Move to group: Move the device to a different group. The blueprint linked to that group can be converged to that device.
• Modify Tags: Add or remove tags associated with the device.
• Rename Device: Change the device's name or add an alias.
• Run Script: Run a script on the device.
• Change Blueprint: Change the device’s blueprint. You can choose to just change the blueprint, or change and converge to the new blueprint.
• Converge: Converge the device to its current blueprint.
• Remove Device: Remove the device from Esper. Learn more about what it means to remove a Linux device.

Multiple Device Actions 

Select multiple Linux devices to perform actions. 

When multiple Linux devices are selected, you can: 

• Move to group: move all the selected devices to a group.
• Run Script: run a script on all selected devices.

Event Feed

Check the status of commands (including the converge command) in the Event Feed.

Click on a script to see the script. 

The script will appear. 

An option to download the script will appear.