Welcome
Integrating with REST API
External systems integration is one of the key features of BigFix Inventory. Business logic is enabled for integration and interfaces are provided for common integration points.
REST API
Managing large amounts of information by using the application user interface can be time-consuming. You can use the REST APIs as an alternative to the graphical user interface to reduce the time that is needed to manage your software inventory and the content of your software catalog.
Core APIs
Core APIs include all primary set of APIs that are integrated with BigFix Inventory.
REST API for retrieving raw scan results
Available from 9.2.2. Retrieving raw scan results through REST API is intended to improve the monitoring of your environment by allowing you to quickly discover software that was installed or modified recently. By using shortened data imports, data about your software reaches the server much quicker, and at the same time allows you to increase the number of imports that you can run each day.

BigFix Documentation Homepage
BigFix 11 Inventory Documentation
Welcome to the BigFix Inventory documentation, where you can find information about how to install and configure BigFix Inventory. The application provides you with information about your inventory and license metrics. You can manage your software assets, gather information about your hardware, and ensure license compliance for your enterprise using BigFix Inventory.
BigFix Platform
Overview
Become familiar with key concepts that are necessary to understand how BigFix Inventory works and learn about features and functions that are introduced in every version of the application.
Installing
Learn about the requirements and available installation scenarios to ensure that the deployment of BigFix Inventory goes smoothly in your environment.
Configuring
After you install BigFix Inventory, configure the application. Create accounts for the users who need access to the application and set up scans to collect software and hardware inventory data from your environment.
Upgrading
A new version of BigFix Inventory is released periodically, typically at the end of each calendar quarter. Upgrade to the new version regularly to take full advantage of new features and application fixes.
Catalog Overview
This section provides information about catalog updates available with every release.
Managing the infrastructure
After you complete the initial configuration of BigFix Inventory, learn how to manage components of its infrastructure: VM managers, server, database, and data sources.
Software inventory and license utilization
You can classify the discovered software so that reports in BigFix Inventory reflect your entitlements and properly show utilization of license metrics by particular products.
Managing security threats
Learn how to use BigFix Inventory to manage security threats in your environment. You can view whether any of the installed components is prone to any Common Vulnerability and Exposure (CVE).
Tutorials
Tutorials help you understand how to use BigFix Inventory. They consist of modules that focus on broad goals. Modules consist of tasks that show how to configure specific settings step-by-step.
Security
Configure different security features to adequately protect business assets and resources in the data model when using BigFix Inventory.
Troubleshooting and support
Learn about solutions to common problems that might arise when you use BigFix Inventory BigFix Inventory and how to find logs and trace files that help you troubleshoot those problems.
Tuning performance
Learn how to plan the infrastructure of BigFix Inventory and to configure the application server to achieve optimal performance. The following guidelines are applicable in big data environments as well as in smaller environments that are running on low-performance hardware.
Integrating with REST API
External systems integration is one of the key features of BigFix Inventory. Business logic is enabled for integration and interfaces are provided for common integration points.
- REST API
  Managing large amounts of information by using the application user interface can be time-consuming. You can use the REST APIs as an alternative to the graphical user interface to reduce the time that is needed to manage your software inventory and the content of your software catalog.
  - Software Products and Software Components
    BigFix Inventory detects software components which are bundled with the product.
  - REST API resources and HTTP methods
    The operations of the BigFix Inventory REST API protocol are defined as HTTP methods on certain REST resources.
  - Common REST API elements
    You use connectors and operators to build query segments that filter on matching conditions and values.
  - Mapping REST API versions
    Available from 9.2.8. For some REST APIs, version 2 is created to provide improved functions or experience. In such cases, the original API becomes deprecated with time and only version 2 is further developed. If you have custom tools or internal processes that are based on such REST APIs, it is best to adjust the tools to use the new version of the APIs.
  - REST API for retrieving authentication token
    You use the POST operation on the api/get_token element to request your unique token that is required to authenticate the REST API requests.
  - REST API for retrieving the BigFix Inventory version
    You use the GET operation on the api/sam/about element to request information about the version of BigFix Inventory.
  - Core APIs
    Core APIs include all primary set of APIs that are integrated with BigFix Inventory.
    - REST API for hardware (v2)
      Available from 9.2.8. You can use REST API requests to quickly retrieve large amounts of data related to hardware inventory, including historical data about removed computers. You can then pass this data to other applications for further processing and analysis.
    - REST API for retrieving software inventory and metric utilization and classifying software (v2)
      Available from 9.2.8. You can use REST API requests to quickly retrieve large amounts of data related to license metric utilization as well as your software inventory, including historical data about uninstalled software. You can then pass this data to other applications for further processing and analysis.
    - REST API associations
      Available from 9.2.8. For REST APIs in version 2, you can use associations to retrieve additional data as part of API requests. For example, you can retrieve detailed information about computer hardware as part of the software_instances API request.
    - REST API for retrieving raw scan results
      Available from 9.2.2. Retrieving raw scan results through REST API is intended to improve the monitoring of your environment by allowing you to quickly discover software that was installed or modified recently. By using shortened data imports, data about your software reaches the server much quicker, and at the same time allows you to increase the number of imports that you can run each day.
      - Running data imports
        Available from 9.2.2. You can use this REST API to check the status of a data import, or to run a Raw Data Only, or a Complete data import. All these actions are completed through a common API request. You distinguish between them by appending the request with specific parameters. To work with this API, you use the GET operation on the api/import_status.json element, or its alias api/management/imports.json.
      - Retrieving raw scanned file data
        Available from 9.2.2. You use the GET operation on the /api/sam/raw_file_facts element to retrieve information about all files discovered on the computers in your infrastructure. The API returns details of existing files as well as historical data about files that were removed. By default, raw data is preserved for 7 days. To change this period, go to Management > Advanced Server Settings and change the value of the raw_data_api_history_keep_days parameter.
      - Retrieving raw package data
        Available from 9.2.2. This API retrieves raw package data, which contains information about all packages discovered on your computers. This information is retrieved from the Windows registry. Unlike in the UI, through this API you can retrieve all historical data that is stored in the database.
      - Retrieving raw UNIX package data
        Available from 9.2.2. This API retrieves raw UNIX package data, which contains information about all packages discovered on the UNIX operating systems. Unlike in the UI, through this API you can retrieve all historical data that is stored in the database.
      - Retrieving raw metering data
        Available from 9.2.2. This API retrieves raw metering data, which contains information about the use of software items that are installed on your computers. Unlike in the UI, through this API you can retrieve all historical data that is stored in the database.
      - Retrieval of hardware inventory (v2)
        Available from 9.2.8. You use the GET operation on the api/sam/v2/computers element to request information about computers in your infrastructure. The API returns details of existing computers as well as historical data about computers that were removed.
      - Retrieval of shared disks (v2)
        Available from 9.2.12. You use the GET operation on the api/sam/v2/shared_disks element to request information about shared disks that are used in your infrastructure.
      - REST API for retrieving detailed hardware information (v2)
        You can use REST API requests to retrieve data related to detailed hardware information, such as memory, operating systems, storage, processors, partitions, network adapters, SMBIOS data, IP addresses and logical partition capacity data. You can then pass this data to other applications for further processing and analysis.
    - Retrieving unified view
      Unified view APIs provides you a unified view of the instances.
  - Configuration APIs
    Configuration APIs include all APIs that you need to configure the application.
  - Historical APIs
    For some REST APIs, version 2 is created to provide improved functions or experience. In such cases, the original API is deprecated and version 2 is supported. You must adjust your custom tools or internal processes to the new version of these APIs.
Glossary
Guide in PDF format

REST API for retrieving raw scan results

9.2.8 Available from 9.2.2. Retrieving raw scan results through REST API is intended to improve the monitoring of your environment by allowing you to quickly discover software that was installed or modified recently. By using shortened data imports, data about your software reaches the server much quicker, and at the same time allows you to increase the number of imports that you can run each day.

A data import consists of several steps, out of which the most important ones are the retrieval of raw scan results, aggregation of this data, and finally calculation of your license consumption. In big environments, a complete data import can take up to several hours, which increases the time that is required for BigFix Inventory to show information about recent changes.

When using REST API to retrieve raw scan results, you can run a Raw Data Only type of data import that retrieves raw scan results, but omits later steps, such as aggregation and license calculations. This data import is much shorter, but the imported raw data can only be retrieved through REST API. Since the data is not aggregated, it is not displayed in the BigFix Inventory UI. The UI still shows the state of your environment from the last successful complete data import.