Importing software scan data

The inventory results are stored on your BigFix server. To import software scan data, the software catalog and other settings that changed since the last update, you must extract the data from BigFix server and load it into BigFix Inventory.

Before you begin

An icon representing a user. You must have the Manage Imports permission to perform this task.

About this task

The import of data is an Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process.
  • During the Extract stage, data is extracted from the BigFix server. It includes information about the infrastructure, installed clients, and detected software. ETL also checks whether a new software catalog is available, gathers information about the software scan and files that are present on the computers. It also collects data from VM managers.
  • During the Transform stage, the extracted data is transformed to a single format that can be loaded to the BigFix Inventory database. This stage also involves matching scan data with the software catalog, calculating processor value units (PVUs), processing the capacity scan, and converting information that is contained in the XML files.
  • During the Load stage, the data that was extracted and transformed is loaded into the BigFix Inventory database and can be used by BigFix Inventory.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation bar, click Management > Data Imports.
  2. To schedule regular imports, select Enabled, specify the number of daily imports and their hours, and click Save.
    Import Settings panel

Results

Information about data imports and their status is displayed in the import history.
Image shows the Import History section for standard import of data
Note: An error may appear during data import. Wait for few seconds or refresh the page to allow the application to get back to its previous state. 
We're sorry, the application is not accessible. (503)
An import is finalizing. Refresh the page to see the new data.

What to do next

If you want to quickly discover recent changes to software inventory without having to wait for the complete data import, you can schedule imports of raw data. Such imports are much quicker but the imported data is not visible in the user interface. It can be retrieved only by using REST API. For more information, see: Importing raw scan data.

9.2.11 If the imports of data are failing, you can enable partial imports. For more information, see: Enabling partial imports.

Importing raw scan data

9.2.2 Available from 9.2.2. You can schedule an import of raw scan data. Such an import is much quicker, because it only imports raw scan results, and omits successive steps, such as aggregation and license calculations. The imported raw data, however, is not updated in the user interface, and can only be retrieved by using REST API. This type of import is used to quickly discover recent changes to software inventory without having to wait for the complete data import.

About this task

  • The Raw Data Only import does not replace the complete data import, which must be run regularly to process and aggregate the data.
  • The Raw Data Only import can be run only as a scheduled import. When you click Import Now, you always run a complete data import.
  • To run the Raw Data Only import only once, use REST API. For more information, see: Running data imports.

Procedure

  1. To enable this feature, go to https://hostname:port/management/feature, and select Enable the Raw Data Only import mode.
  2. In the navigation bar, click Management > Data Imports.
  3. To schedule regular imports, select Enabled, and specify the number of daily imports and their hours.
  4. Select Raw Data Only next to each import that you want to use for importing raw scan results.

    Image shows the Raw Data Only check box next to each import
  5. Click Save.

Results

Information about completed data imports is displayed in the import history. Each entry has an icon that indicates the type of the import, either Complete or Raw Data Only.

Image shows the Import History section

What to do next

When the Raw Data Only import finishes, retrieve the imported raw data by using REST API. For more information, see REST API for retrieving raw scan results.