Ensure that the user account you intend to use to add the Linux machine has root privileges. If you plan to add a non-root account, make sure you have access to the root password.

You can provide user account credentials using either of the following methods:

i) Linux Account Option:

You can directly connect to the Linux machine using the username and password of the specified user account.

ii) Linux Private Key Option:

You can connect to the Linux machine using the Identity/Pubkey authentication method. If you have already generated a public-private key pair, provide the username, private key, and passphrase (if applicable) to save the Linux credentials. Alternatively, follow the steps below to generate the public-private key pair.

Key Generation Steps:

Step 1: Generate a pair of keys - a public key and a private key using the following command:

ssh-keygen -t rsa

Step 2: Specify the location and filename in the format .ppk or .pem to save the key. For example, keys can be generated in the .ppk format:

Example: /home/key.ppk

Step 3: Enter a passphrase or leave it empty. The private key can be protected with a passphrase.

Step 4: The private key (.ppk) and public key (.pub) will be saved to the specified location and file.

Example:

Your identification has been saved in /home/key.ppk

Your public key has been saved in /home/key.ppk.pub

Step 5: Change the file permissions of the private and public keys using the following command:

chmod 755 <private key filename>

chmod 755 <public key filename>

Step 6: On the target Linux machine, the public key needs to be kept in a special authorized_keys file containing a list of public keys using the following command:

ssh-copy-id -i <public key filename> <username>@<Host IP Address>

Example: `ssh-copy-id -i key.ppk.pub admin@192.168.102.11`

Step 7: Copy the Private Key file to the backup server using any FTP tools. You should now have the Public key on the Linux machine and the Private key on the backup server.

Ensure that the SSH Port is open, allowing remote access to the machine. The default SSH port is 22. If you are running the SSH server on a different port, ensure that the port is accessible.

Vembu BDR for Linux uses port 42005 to communicate with the Backup Server. Ensure that your firewall rules allow port 42005 to be open for communication.

Ensure that the target Linux machine has internet access.

Supported Linux distributions include:

Debian Linux (64-bit):

1. Debian Linux 10.0 & above
2. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS & above

Redhat Linux (64-bit):

1. CentOS 7.5 & above
   
2. CloudLinux 7.0 & above
3. Fedora 34.0 & above
4. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0 & above
5.  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 & above

Ensure that the target Linux machine meets the following minimum system requirements:

1. Memory: Minimum of 2 GB
2. CPU: Minimum of Dual-Core Processor