Installing the management extender for VMware

Using the Deploy Management Extender for VMware vCenter Task, you can install a management extender plug-in on a BigFix relay.

Before you begin

Note: BigFix is working to leverage the new VMware Plugin to a wider set of BigFix platform versions. When that happens, the existing VMWare VCenter Management Extender will be deprecated. For setup details of the new VMware plugin, please refer to Installing the VMware plug-in task for more details.

Before you work with BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation virtualization features, you can install a management extender to communicate with the VMware vCenter or ESX host. Before you install the management extender, you must enable the license for Virtual Endpoint Manager.

You can install the management extender plug-in on a server that is running Windows™ 2008, Windows™ Server 2008, Windows™ Server 2008 R2, Windows™ 8, Windows™ 2012 and Windows™ 2012 R2.

You must have a relay server or a root server Version 9.0 or later. A VMware management extender must not be already installed on the server. Because of the workload that the management extender imposes on the system, it is recommended that you install the management extender on a relay server and not a root server.

Important: Before you install the management extender plug-in, you must install the latest version of the proxy agent with a separate Fixlet®. In the BES Support site, run the latest version of the Install Proxy Agent Fixlet® to install the proxy agent.
Important: You must ensure that the license for Virtual Endpoint Manager is enabled. To enable the Virtual Endpoint Manager license, go to the Bigfix Management domain, navigate to License Overview > Lifecycle Management. From the list of Available Sites, enable Virtual Endpoint Manager. When Virtual Endpoint Manager is enabled, it disappears from the Available Sites list and is displayed in the Enabled Sites list.

Procedure

  1. Open the Server Automation domain.
  2. From the navigation tree in the Server Automation domain, click Virtualization > Setup and Maintainance > Deploy VMware Components.
  3. In the Deploy VMware Components window, select the Deploy Management Extender for VMware vCenter Task.
  4. In the Task: Deploy Management Extender for VMware vCenter window, click Take Action.
  5. In the Take Action dialog box, ensure Specific computers selected in the list below is selected.
  6. In the Computer Name list, select a relay server and click OK.

Results

In the Action: Deploy Management Extender for VMware vCenter window, you can check the status of the installation. When the status changes to Completed, the management extender for VMware is installed.

What to do next

After you install the management extender for VMware, you must configure the management extender with your VMware system details. For more information about configuring the management extender, see Configuring management extenders.