Less is more: Release 2025 R1 expands Linux, network scanning and security features and retires legacy functions

Linux Devices has captured a lot of attention from both IT admins and baramundi developers since its introduction in 2024 R2, especially in the area of update management. A new job step ensures that an update check can be performed without automatically triggering an update. This job accesses the end devices in read-only mode so it does not disturb normal operation. In other words, an update check can be done automatically and regularly across the entire network without affecting the performance of Linux endpoints in a production environment. Any required updates can then be carried out collectively during regular maintenance windows. This is where another new feature comes into play: The "Sleep" job step allows a precisely defined pause to be scheduled between individual jobs. This allows IT managers to precisely orchestrate their update and management processes and prevent automated processes from falling out of sync due to delays on individual devices. 

Following the technical preview in the last release, the final version of the new Network Discovery Scanner is now available. It contains all of the functions of the old scanner as well as some additional features. For example, it is now possible to record when a particular device first appeared in the scan. This makes it easy to filter for newly found devices. IT also no longer requires the baramundi Management Agent so segmented networks and even pure offline environments can be scanned. Scan results are then forwarded to the baramundi Suite via an export/import function. Combined with support for a range of other industry protocols, the scanner is now perfectly suited for use in secure networked production IIoT environments.