Installing the Automation Plan Distribution Service (from SA Plan Engine 9.5.72 onwards)

You can install the Automation Plan Distribution Service on Windows® and Linux® systems. To install the Automation Plan Distribution Service, you run a Task from your BigFix console. The Task to install the Automation Plan Distribution Service becomes relevant only if the BigFix server is installed correctly. You must install the Automation Plan Distribution Service on the system on which the BigFix server is installed. The installation procedure is the same for both Windows® and Linux®.

About this task

Before you begin installing the Automation Plan Distribution Service, make sure that your system meets the prerequisites as described in Automation Plan Distribution Service prerequisites. There is one Task for installing the Automation Plan Distribution Service and another Task for uninstalling the Automation Plan Distribution Service. Each of these Tasks becomes relevant depending on whether you already installed the Automation Plan Distribution Service. When you install the Automation Plan Distribution Service, the Task that installs it becomes non-relevant and the Task that uninstalls it becomes relevant. After you install the Automation Plan Distribution Service, it can take a few minutes for the Automation Plan Distribution Service installation Task to become non-relevant.

Complete the following steps to install the Automation Plan Distribution Service.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the BigFix console as the master operator and navigate to the Server Automation domain.
    Note: For a Linux® installation,
    • the console must be installed on Windows®.
    • ensure if dos2unix package is available for RHEL (To check this, open the terminal with Admin privilege/root access and enter the command dos2unix. If the command is not found, install the package using the command yum install dos2unix).
  2. From the Automation node, click Setup and Maintenance > Fixlets and Tasks and select Task 1076 Install and Configure Latest Automation Distribution Service from Tasks, irrespective of your platform.
  3. Click Take Action.
  4. From the Take Action dialog box, target the system on which the BigFix server is installed.
  5. Click OK. The Task runs and installs the Automation Plan Distribution Service. The default location for the Automation Plan Distribution Service installation is in the following directory:
    • For Windows® platforms, the C:\Program Files (x86)\BigFix Enterprise\BES Client\Applications\DistributionService directory.
    • For Linux® platforms, the /var/opt/BESClient/Applications/DistributionService directory.
    It can take a few minutes for the Automation Plan Distribution Service installation Task to become non-relevant. The uninstallation Task now becomes relevant.

Results

After the Automation Plan Distribution Service is installed, the BigFix server starts it automatically. The Automation Plan Distribution Service log file, pds_console.log, is available in the following location, depending on your platform:
  • For Windows®, the pds_console.log log file is available in the \BES Client\Applications\Logs subdirectory of the installation directory, for example, C:\Program Files (x86)\BigFix Enterprise\BES Client\Applications\Logs directory.
  • For an installation with default values on Linux®, the pds_console.log log file is available in the /var/opt/BESClient/Applications/Logs directory.
To verify that the Automation Plan Distribution Service is installed correctly and has started, check for the following lines at the start of the log file:
2013-08-23 13:15:20,235 INFO [main] (cli.PlanDistributionServiceLauncher:255) :: IZNENG025I \
Plan Distribution Service (build number 0.49) starting in JVM with PID (4508) ... 
2013-08-23 13:15:20,235 INFO [main] (cli.PlanDistributionServiceLauncher:259) :: IZNENG026I \
Plan Distribution Service CLI initializing ... 
2013-08-23 13:15:20,235 INFO [main] (cli.PlanDistributionServiceLauncher:130) :: IZNENG001I \
Received command: "start"