Installing Sophos Protection for Linux in a distribution without systemd

Hello teoberi

Thank you for reaching community forum. Based on our initial checking, the current set-up for SPL really does require Systemd. Though we're currently confirming further if there will be an option in the future in our SLP to not use systemd. We'll keep you posted for more updates about this. 

Thanks for the reply!
I would be particularly pleased if the possibility to use SPL without systemd (like in case of Sophos Anti-Virus for Linux) will be added in the future (until July 20, 2023).
https://support.sophos.com/support/s/article/KB-000039161?language=en_US

System requirements
Systemd supported and running -> recommended Systemd supported and running (but not absolutely necessary)

While waiting for an answer to my request, I have a few more questions:

1. why are there two different locations for libsavi.so.3 and which should be used?

/opt/sophos-spl/plugins/av/chroot/susi/update_source/libsavi/libsavi.so.3
/opt/sophos-spl/plugins/av/chroot/susi/distribution_version/<xxx>/libsavi.so.3

2. why are there three different locations for virus definition files (.ide; .vdb) and which should be used?

/opt/sophos-spl/plugins/av/chroot/susi/update_source/vdl/
/opt/sophos-spl/plugins/av/chroot/susi/distribution_version/<xxx>/vdb/
/opt/sophos-spl/base/update/cache/primary/ServerProtectionLinux-Plugin-AV/files/plugins/av/chroot/susi/update_source/vdl/

I believe that location 3 in the list above is for configuring an update server, just like in the case of SAV for Linux (/opt/sophos-av/update/cache/).

I would guess that the correct locations would be the ones with "/opt/sophos-spl/plugins/av/chroot/susi/distribution_version/<xxx>" but "xxx" differs from one installation to another, I don't know if they will also differ in the case of a version update.

Can "xxx" be a customer id and that be the reason why it differs?

Currently, there are no immediate plans to remove systemd as a requirement. As it appears you have a valid business use case for this, I suggest reaching out to your Sophos Account Manager to raise this as a feature request. This way, we can better track if there’s a significant need for this in the product. 

If you'd like assistance with this process, please feel free to send me a PM and I'd be happy to help.

I don't want/need to remove support for systemd. I just want to have the possibility to install Sophos Protection for Linux in the case of a distribution without systemd as in the case of Sophos Anti-Virus for Linux (legacy). There are plenty of Linux distributions  without systemd.

My problem that was solved only in the case of Sophos is the universal installer without depending on .deb or .rpm packages or the existence of a graphical interface.

I haven't found another alternative for many years that I can use apart from Sophos!

Raising this as a feature request is a good idea.

I have no idea who the Sophos account manager is or if I have such a thing, but if there is a way to add a feature request I'd like to do it.

I hope this doesn't involve too much bureaucracy, I'm not good at that sort of thing, I'm only good at the technical aspects as a network administrator.

I will only need some details on the specifics in your environment to submit this through. I've reached out to you via PM now.

Kushal, I too would like to again use Sophos for Linux without SystemD requirement.  I was using the SAV-Linux 9 for about three years, but it is now EOL and for my few stand-alone desktops that don't have SystemD I'm unable to use SAV-Linux and have moved instead to ClamAV, with additional signatures.  I'm active on LinuxQuestions, which is a primary board for general Linux questions, and posted that SAV-Linux is EOL for stand-alone desktops, is that correct?. 

I realize that Sophos is a for profit company, focused more on corporate environment.  However, does the company have some responsibility to give back to the non-corporate environment also?  Maybe as a charity effort and to keep the FOSS and GPL environments alive and well protected? 

Thanks for your consideration.  There are many Linux users who would gladly pay a reasonable (I think the old SAV-L was $45/yr) to have a small footprint, well tested product like SAV-L, but who aren't in a corporate environment.  Even small businesses migrating to Linux, to rid themselves of the MS WAAS mess, are targets.  Cheers, BrianA_MN

Thanks for the support my friend (LinuxQuestions I guess on the forum for Slackware). You expressed very well what I tried to say!

Any news or a decision on adding support for System V (SysV) init system?

I've not yet received a definitive answer on this, though from the initial discussions, it seems a very small portion of our customer base is looking for this. 

To stay up to date on any future developments, I'd suggest reaching out to your Sophos Account Manager to raise a feature request regarding this. This will allow our team to better track the need for this.
Asking to be put in touch with your regional Sales Engineer will also help in this case, as they're able to get a better understanding of the requirements on your network and environment so this can be better communicated to our product teams.