Target registration before a remote control session

When you have targets that are on the internet or third-party networks and cannot register directly with the Remote Control server you can configure server properties to allow the target to register with the server. When the target registers, you can start a remote control session with the target, by using a broker.

You can also configure the target properties to assign the target to specific target groups when it registers with the server.

Server properties

Use the server property rc.create.assets.from.brokers to determine whether targets can register with the remote control server when the target user enters the connection code at the start of the remote control session. For details about starting a remote control session by using a broker, see the BigFix® Remote Control Controller User's Guide. The rc.create.assets.from.brokers property is defined in the trc.properties file and is set to true by default. For details of the trc.properties file see, trc.properties.
rc.create.assets.from.brokers
true
Targets can register with the server at the start of a broker remote control session. When they register, they are assigned to the DefaultTargetGroup by default.
false
Targets cannot register with the server.

Target properties

The following target property values must be set to allow the target to register with the server.
  • Managed = Yes
  • ServerURL = the host name or IP address of the server that you want the target to register with.
  • BrokerList = the list of host names or IP addresses of the brokers and their ports, that you want the target to connect to. In the format hostname1:port,hostname2:port,hostname3:port.
Note: You must restart the target service when you change target property values so that the new values take effect.

For more information about how to assign targets to target groups, see Assign targets to target groups.

Assigning targets to target groups when they register

You can assign the target to other target groups when it registers, instead of the DefaultTargetGroup, in two ways.
Using the target group override option.
Set the allow.target.group.override property to true to assign the target to the groups listed in the GroupLabel target property, instead of the DefaultTargetGroup.
  1. Edit the trc.properties file and set allow.target.group.override = true.
  2. Save the file.
  3. Edit the target properties and set GroupLabel to a list of target groups.
    Note: These groups must already be defined in the server.
The target is assigned to the target groups listed in GroupLabel, when it registers.
Using target membership rules.
Using the target membership rules function, create rules that the targets match on to assign them to specific target groups.
If you define rules and the target group override function is also enabled, the target is assigned to the target groups that are defined for both of these options when it registers.
There can be cases where the remote control session cannot start for the following reasons.
  • The target was not assigned to any groups.
  • The group assignment configuration is incorrect.
  • The target is assigned to a group that the controller user does not have permissions to access targets from.
In all cases, no policies can be derived for the session, so even though the target is registered in the server, the session is rejected.