Configuring the management extender

Before you can begin working with the different Virtualization features, you must configure a relay server or a root server to communicate with a specific VMware vCenter or ESX host.

Before you can configure the management extender, you must do the following steps:
  1. Install the BigFix relay versions 9.5.x, 10.0.x, or 11.0.x (based on Bigfix server and client version).
  2. Deploy the task ID 978 : Enable Encryption for Clients from the BES Support site.
  3. Deploy Fixlet 801: Deploy Management Extender for VMware vCenter from the Patches for ESXi site. This action appears as applicable when the BigFix relay is installed.
  4. Activate analysis 905: Management Extender Status.


Note: By default, the management extender uses port 443.

Using the Configure Management Extenders dashboard

To use the dashboard, navigate to Systems Lifecycle Domain > Virtual Endpoint Manager > Setup and Configuration > Configure Management Extenders. The Configure Management Extenders dashboard lists all the endpoints where you ran the Deploy Management Extender for VMware vCenter task. Select the management extender that you want to configure. Click Configure.

The Configure Extender window opens. Fill in the values for the following items in the window:
  • Refresh interval minutes

    Set how often the management extender gathers data. A larger refresh cycle is highly suggested. The larger the VMware deployment is, the longer it takes to gather data.

  • Server name
  • Admin User
  • Password

Note:
  1. The ESXi user credentials provided should have the minimum privileges necessary for patch verification and basic VEM operations listed under https://help.hcl-software.com/bigfix/10.0/patch/Patch/Patch_Virtual_Endpoint_Man/c_list_offline_patching_properties.html
  2. By default, the windows prompts for the server name only. If you choose to do that, the URL that connected is https://(SERVER NAME)/sdk/webService. When the URL is not correct, you can enter your own URL by selecting the Enter vCenter's wev service URL.
The username and password are encrypted using the private key and public key. These keys are set during the deployment of the vCenter management extender. The public key is based on the computer name. The private key is generated during the deployment task. The username and password are then sent to the management extender, which uses the credentials to plug in to the VMware vCenter. The credentials are sent to the endpoint in an encrypted format.
You can view these credentials in the plugin-settings.ini file which is found by default in C:\program files\bigfix enterprises\management extenders\plugin\VMware ESXi 1\plugin.
Note: The plugin-settings.ini file is stored in plain text.
You can configure the management extender again without removing the deployment and configuring it twice.