Setup and configuration

Create custom copies of the Middleware checklist content if you want to modify the checks based on a specific corporate policy. You can manually create a custom site to host the Middleware checklists or use the Create Custom Checklist wizard to create copies of the Middleware checklists and save them in a custom site.

Before you begin

You must subscribe to the SCM Reporting external site.

About this task

You can use custom checklists to fine-tune your ability to customize Configuration Management parameters, which gives you control over your security status. Custom checklists target specific sets of computers with tailored content using the subscription mechanism. This allows statistics to be gathered with finer granularity. For more information, see Modifying check parameters.

Setting up your Configuration Management checklist for Middleware Checklist involves two basic steps:

Create your checklist

Procedure

  • Creating custom checklist by using the Create Custom Checklist wizard:
    1. From the Security Configuration Domain, go to Configuration Management > Checklist Tools > Create Custom Checklist.
    2. Enter the name of the new checklist.
    3. Select the target platform.
    4. Click the drop-down menu to select which external checklist you copy the checks from. As you select the checks, they are shown in the staged list at the lower part of the window.
    5. Click the Activate Measured Value analyses after copying check box to activate all analyses that were copied.
    6. Click Create Checklist.
    The console begins copying the checks in the selected lists into your new custom checklist. The process might take several minutes, depending on the number and size of the checklists selected.
    Use the Create Custom Checklist wizard located in the SCM Reporting site under the wizard section.
    Figure 1. Create custom checklist

    Custom checklist
  • Creating custom checklists manually:
    1. Select Tools > Create Custom Site.
    2. You are prompted for a name for your custom site. Enter a name and click OK.
    3. From the Domain panel, find your site under Sites > Custom and click it to describe your site.
      From the Details tab, enter a description of your site. From the Domain pull-down menu, select a Domain to house your site.
    4. From the Computer Subscriptions tab, indicate which subset of your BigFix client computers you want to subscribe to this site.
    5. From the Operator Permissions tab, you can grant specific access permissions to specific operators.
    6. Click the Save Changes button above the work area to complete the description of your site. You must enter your password to propagate your new custom site.
Subscribe computers to the custom checklist.
Note: Custom checklists do not support site relevance, so take extra precaution when you subscribe computers to custom checklists.
Figure 2. Create custom checklist

Create custom checklist
  • Run or Schedule your checklist:
    1. Schedule or run the Environment Setup Task. Select the Environment Setup Task and click the Take Action button.
    2. Enter the credentials or required details in the pop-up, if prompted.
    3. Choose the target computer or group of computers from the target section.
    4. Set up the execution criteria based on your environment and click OK to schedule or set up the Environment Setup Task.

Results

Note: To get more details about the Environment Setup Task, see Environment Setup Task section.