Linux version updates

Yes, this situation is extremely frustrating.  ConnectWise spent a ridiculous amount of time stringing us along to finally release an updated 20.2 "Linux-specific" version, and since then there has been no activity at all.  The original thread with TONS of feedback was also closed (why was that necessary?).

The ConnectWise Control development team needs to commit to the required resources to modernize the codebase (for both Windows and Linux).  If they don't then their user base will slowly fade away as the product ages on a legacy platform.  I've said it many time before, but I'll state it again here since the old thread was closed: Move to .NET Core/.NET 5.x and you no longer have to deal with Mono or special Linux builds, as all the code will work on any supported .NET runtime environment.  You'll gain increased performance on all platforms and won't be stuck dealing with tricky edge-case scenarios that Microsoft won't help with because they've moved on to newer, better things.

Please, please stick with your promises over the last several years that you won't abandon your long-time users and the Linux platform.  It really shouldn't be a hard decision at all since you wouldn't have to dedicate special resources for a "Linux" version if you just migrated to the latest .NET architecture.  Linux (and MacOS) compatibility would be there pretty much without you even needing to do anything extra at all.  And then you'd also be current with the latest Windows platform features as well.

Don't expect much from CWC. It's not the same it used to be and not the same product we used to like and be happy using. I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped supporting Linux in the next few months when the upper management grow tired enough of the time/money spending which is really sad and one could hope that someone else takes over the old ScreenConnect but they probably ruin the chances of that happening long before anything constructive could arise from it.

For anyone interested, i'm not renewing my license and will stay on the 19.4 which doesn't give these issues and will only use unattended installs on this with firewall that only allows certain ip CIDR's to connect. 

As for the support sessions I will now use Anydesk which I didn't like at first but after a few tries it works really well with a faster desktop response and you get the upside of deploying the Anydesk desktop app to clients so they quickly can connect by opening app, sharing key and accept a dialog instead of going to your CWC webpage, enter key, press enter (or the button next to code), run the downloaded file (which can be a different experience depending on browser and user) and lastly accepting the UAC window. Not that expensive either (compared to CWC's cloud solution which has it's own flaws)

May not be a solution for everyone but hopefully could help some of you out since CWC (upper management) haven't (and doesn't) give much thought into this whole issue.

They don't care about linux. I have asked several times as I hate to have to pay for a Windows server for my on prem install. Their answer is use Windows 10, which is not allowed to be used for a server of course.

Running SC on prem on a linux server would save my company so much money. We have 2K hosts and so without .net it just chokes on a linux server.

I completely disagree that it's time to accept it's over and migrate to Windows. Connectwise always have the option to do that but if they do they lose me as a customer.
The rest of the world is moving towards Linux in a big way- the phone system I use, the servers I use, Docker, Kubernetes etc. 
Even Windows is introducing a Linux subsystem. I don't support any Windows servers and will only do so for clients, not suppliers. I have options if I need to move - I don't want to, but I simply don't have time to support another OS

Please update your damn linux version. This is getting frustrating

Ironically I was forced to move my install to Windows because of a client requirement - something I said I would never do. 

But Connectwise please note- I also was able to install Powershell, .NET and other frameworks to my Mac the other day, they work just fine...

I think it works when you have a small number of clients. We have over 2,000 and it sucks. VERY slow. 

No it was horrifically bad with under 200 clients.
Sadly the Windows version works well, but I now own a VM that I don't trust...

Hi All, 

Windows and Linux are on different versions because their paths have diverged. Scaling improvements to address large deployments (50K+ agents) weren't able to be applied to Linux. We're continuing to work on an upcoming version for Linux, but it is a slower process. As the original poster mentioned, Mono can be a bit... "crusty".

Linux was updated on Nov 9 after running through a focus group to address issues raised here in the forum. We backdated the release to give those partners with out-of-maintenance licenses the chance to upgrade to the latest stable.

Moving forward, we look to continue to update Linux quarterly and will provide additional information as available.

Caitlin, great news, thanks for replying. Why in the world is Connectwise sticking to Mono however when .NET works so well on Linux? Seems like that would be a much better path for the long run and easier to maintain.

But great news on quarterly updates for Linux deployments.

Do you feel that with the November update that a deployment of 2,500 will run smoothly now?

Allen,

I can answer your question about running smoothly. We are currently using a deployment for less than 1500 endpoints and its very slow. Especially if you have many technicians connected to it. This is likely due to the sqlite database that is used being way too large. There is some database maintenance functionality that helped however theres still a few bugs that exists that prevent us from utilizing all the database maintenance features.

In short, the November update won't make your pain go away.

Thanks Nick. I was hoping for better news, but crossing my fingers that dev goes the way Caitlin mentioned.