Welcome
Patch User Guides
Explore how BigFix Patch streamlines automated patch management, enhances vulnerability remediation, and facilitates seamless update deployment from a unified console. This comprehensive solution ensures efficient system maintenance and security, making it an essential tool for IT professionals.
Patch for VIOS User's Guide
Discover how BigFix Patch for VIOS provides an automated and simplified patching process specifically designed for IBM's AIX Virtual I/O Server (PowerVM VIOS) environments. It allows system administrators to manage and deploy patches efficiently across all PowerVM VIOS endpoints from a single console.
Overview
BigFix Patch for VIOS provides unified, real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all endpoints from a single console. BigFix Patch keeps your PowerVM VIOS clients current with the latest packages, Fix Packs, and fixes.
Mirror management
BigFix Patch provides a way to help with the failback options for your mirror management solution.

BigFix Documentation Homepage
BigFix 11 Patch Documentation
Welcome to the BigFix Patch documentation, where you can find information about how to install, maintain, and use the BigFix Patch.
BigFix Platform
Patch Overview
Learn how BigFix Patch offers an automated and streamlined patch management solution, simplifying the patching process that is administered from a single console.
Patch User Guides
Explore how BigFix Patch streamlines automated patch management, enhances vulnerability remediation, and facilitates seamless update deployment from a unified console. This comprehensive solution ensures efficient system maintenance and security, making it an essential tool for IT professionals.
- Patch for Windows User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Windows™ provides Fixlets for Microsoft™ security and non-security patches. Dashboards, wizards, and reports aid you in managing updates for various endpoint devices.
- Patch for AIX User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for AIX® provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all AIX endpoints.
- Patch for VIOS User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for VIOS provides an automated and simplified patching process specifically designed for IBM's AIX Virtual I/O Server (PowerVM VIOS) environments. It allows system administrators to manage and deploy patches efficiently across all PowerVM VIOS endpoints from a single console.
  - Overview
    BigFix Patch for VIOS provides unified, real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all endpoints from a single console. BigFix Patch keeps your PowerVM VIOS clients current with the latest packages, Fix Packs, and fixes.
    - Supported platforms and updates
      BigFix supports multiple versions or releases of PowerVM VIOS and updates that contain fixes for defects or software enhancements.
    - Site subscription
      Sites are collections of Fixlet messages that are created internally by you, by HCL, or by vendors.
    - Mirror management
      BigFix Patch provides a way to help with the failback options for your mirror management solution.
    - Network File System support
      Network File System (NFS) is a mechanism for storing files on a network. It is a distributed file system that allows users to access files and directories that are on remote computers and treat those files and directories as if they were local.
    - Interim fix support
      Fixlets for interim fixes, which are released through an VIOS vulnerability advisory or subscription notification, are available for installation from the BigFix console.
    - Multibos support
      You can use multibos to deploy fix packs updates to endpoints with a standby base operating system (BOS) instance without impacting the active BOS instance. By doing so, you can ensure continuous operation of the VIOS operating system on the endpoint.
    - Wizards and dashboards
      BigFix Patch for VIOS provides several wizards to help you create content for basic and advanced patch deployment.
  - Using the download plug-in
    The download plug-ins, AIX Plug-in, and AIX Plug-in R2 are executable programs that download relevant patches directly from the patch vendor. Fixlets use an internal protocol to communicate with the download plug-in to download files. These Fixlets are based on updates made by the vendor.
  - Using the VIOS download cacher for PowerVM VIOS
    You can use the AIX download cacher for PowerVM VIOS to deploy Fix Packs fixes. The download cacher uses HTTP to download specific fix packs. Ensure that HTTP network traffic is not blocked in your environment.
  - Using BigFix Patch for VIOS
    Use the Fixlets on the Patches for VIOS Fixlet site to apply PowerVM VIOS patches to your deployment.
  - Troubleshooting
    When problems occur when patching VIOS endpoints, review the log files to determine what went wrong and how to correct the errors.
  - Frequently asked questions
    The questions and answers in this section can help you to better understand BigFix Patch for VIOS.
- Patch for Red Hat Enterprise Linux User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Red Hat Enterprise Linux™ provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Red Hat Enterprise Linux endpoints.
- Patch for CentOS Linux User's Guide
  Learn about BigFix® Patch for CentOS Linux™ that provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all CentOs endpoints.
- Patch for Alma Linux User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Alma Linux provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Alma Linux endpoints.
- Patch for Amazon Linux User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix® Patch for Amazon Linux™ provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Amazon Linux endpoints.
- Patch for SUSE Linux Enterprise User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for SUSE Linux™Enterprise provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all SUSE Linux endpoints.
- Patch for Ubuntu User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Ubuntu provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Ubuntu endpoints.
- Patch for Oracle Linux User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Oracle Linux™ provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Oracle Linux endpoints.
- Patch for Solaris User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Solaris provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Solaris endpoints.
- Patch for HP-UX User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for HP-UX provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all HP-UX endpoints.
- Patch for Mac OS X User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix® Patch for Mac OS X provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Mac OS X endpoints.
- Patch for Debian User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Debian provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Debian endpoints.
- Patch for Raspbian User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Raspbian provides Fixlets that you use to manage the latest updates and service packs that Raspberry Pi releases. These Fixlets are available through the Patches for Raspbian sites.
- Patch for Rocky Linux User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Rocky Linux provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Rocky Linux endpoints.
- Patch for Open SUSE Leap 15 User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Open SUSE Leap 15 provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches to all Open SUSE Leap 15 endpoints.
- Patch for VMware ESXi User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for VMware ESXi provides you unified, near real-time visibility to manage patches to all VMware ESXi endpoints from a single console.
- Patch for Virtual Endpoint Manager User's Guide
  Discover how BigFix Patch for Virtual Endpoint Manager provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console. It gives you unified, near real-time visibility, and enforcement to deploy and manage patches in a virtual environment.
- Extended third-party Windows Application
- Supersedence for Non-Windows
  This topic describes how supersedence works in Patch.
Detailed system requirements
The tables in this section provide detailed information about the system requirements for BigFix 11.
Glossary
This glossary provides terms and definitions for the BigFix® Patch software and products.
Patch guides in PDF format
Below is a comprehensive list of links to the BigFix Patch user guides available in PDF format, designed to assist users in navigating and utilizing the software effectively:

Mirror management

BigFix Patch provides a way to help with the failback options for your mirror management solution.

Maintaining an active mirrored copy of the rootvg volume on another disk ensures continuous operation of the VIOS operating system in an event of a disk failure. It is common practice to break the root disk mirrors before any OS patches are deployed in case issues occur during or after patching.

Note: Only two-way mirror is supported.

The following solutions are provided for managing mirrors before patches are deployed:

Break existing mirrors option in the VIOS Advanced Deployment Wizard: Select this option to break two-way mirroring before you deploy any fix packs to the disks. For more information, see Deploying Fix Packs to a new or existing alternate disk clone.

Re-mirror disk back to rootvg task (ID # 83): Use this task to re-establish the VIOS disks when the patching or the upgrade is complete and verified.; This task becomes relevant only if the disks were broken by using the VIOS Advanced Deployment Wizard.