IVR settings

The Integrated Vulnerability Management card in Application Configuration connects BigFix UI to BigFix Insights for Vulnerability Remediation (IVR). Use it to run the initial setup, to review the saved server, application, and database settings, and to manage the scanner datasources that IVR imports vulnerability data from.

BigFix Insights for Vulnerability Remediation correlates vulnerability findings from a third-party scanner with the devices that BigFix manages, so that you can remediate those findings from BigFix UI. Before IVR can do that, it needs to know which database to write to, how to reach its own service, and which scanner to import from. You supply all of that from the Integrated Vulnerability Management card on the Application Configuration page.

The card appears only when the BigFix Insights for Vulnerability Remediation site is enabled in your deployment. For the wider role of the page that hosts the card, see Application Configuration.

What must be in place first

The card and the application are both gated. Three conditions must be met before an operator sees IVR at all:

  • The BigFix Insights for Vulnerability Remediation site is enabled for a user who has compliance access, and the deployment holds an active license for it.
  • The version of that site is greater than 0. A site that is subscribed but not yet gathered reports version 0, and IVR stays hidden until the first gather completes.
  • The role that is assigned to the user grants access to the application. An administrator turns the application on in the Applications step when creating or editing a role, in User & Role Management. A role created without it hides IVR from every user who holds that role.
Note: Enabling a site and creating roles are platform tasks rather than IVR tasks. For the procedures, see the site management and role management topics of this guide.

Configuration statuses

The Application Configuration page sorts every application card into a Not Configured group or a Configured group, and the card itself carries a matching status chip. For IVR, the status reports the outcome of the setup, not merely whether you filled in the form:

  • Not Configured – Either you have not run the setup, or you ran it and one of the background processes that it starts did not finish. The setup screens stay available so that you can correct the values and run it again.
  • Configured – The setup finished and every background process that it started completed successfully. Selecting the card now opens the IVR Configuration page in its View Configuration state instead of the setup wizard.

Until the status is Configured, the IVR pages under Resolve open but return no data, and report that the application is not yet configured.

The IVR Configuration page

Selecting the Integrated Vulnerability Management card opens the IVR Configuration page. What the page shows depends on the status.

When IVR is not yet configured, the page presents the setup as a sequence of steps. See Configure IVR.

When IVR is configured, the page opens on View Configuration, which summarizes the saved settings in three panels and lists the scanner datasources below them:

  • Server configuration – The address, ports, and subject alternative names of the IVR service. This panel is read-only.
  • Application configuration – The web protocol, local web server port, cross-origin policy, Windows service option, and proxy settings. Select Edit to change them.
  • Database Configuration – The host, port, credentials, connection string, and schema of the database that holds the IVR data. Select Edit to change them.

For every value in these panels, see IVR configuration reference.

Why server configuration is read-only

Earlier releases let you enter the server settings yourself. The installer and the IVR service now derive those values and write them for you, so the Server configuration panel reports them but does not offer an Edit control. To change a server value, change it at the service and reopen the page.

Scanner datasources

A datasource is one connection to a vulnerability scanner. IVR imports findings from each datasource that you add, then matches them against the devices that BigFix manages. The Datasource section of View Configuration lists every connection, identified by its Type, Target URL, and Alias. Use Add datasource to connect another scanner, and the controls in the Action column to change or remove one.

You add the first datasource during setup. You can add more at any time afterward.

What becomes available after setup

Once the status is Configured, IVR appears under Resolve as Integrated Vulnerability Remediation, with its overview, vulnerability, and device views. Separately, enabling the site adds a Vulnerability tab to the device details page in Device Explorer, which lists the vulnerabilities found on that one device. If the site is not enabled, that tab does not appear at all.