Considerations for migration

This section provides some notes and guidelines for the migration of the BigFix Root or application server.

General notes and guidelines

  • The migration should first be performed and tested in a segregated test/development environment, if possible.
  • If leveraging BigFix Disaster Server Architecture (DSA - Disaster Server Architecture), the replica/secondary server should be migrated before the primary BigFix Server.
  • Custom settings that have been applied to the BigFix Server will need to be implemented again after migration. Typical examples include: Web Reports HTTPS configurations, Download Gather Cache Size, etc…
  • Download plug-ins and other extensions/applications will also need to be re-installed in any new installation location.
  • Typical examples include: Unmanaged Asset Importer, Wake on LAN medic, Upload service, Automation Plan Engine.

Pre-migration checklist

  • Ensure that a strategy has been determined to allow the Clients to continue to connect to the new BigFix Server per the GatherURL specified in the masthead (corresponding to Assumption #1 above).
  • Back up the BFEnterprise and BESReporting SQL databases.
  • Back up the site level credentials such as license.crt, license.pvk, and the masthead. If using <8.1 then you should also back up user/operator credentials such as publisher.pvk and publisher.crt.
  • Document the authentication method to the MSSQL database (SQL versus NT).
  • If using NT Authentication, document the NT Domain/service account used for BigFix Server services.
  • If using SQL Authentication, document the SQL account used for SQL Authentication Registry values.
  • Document (consider taking a screenshot) the ODBC connections: bes_BFEnterprise, bes_EnterpriseServer, enterprise_setup, and LocalBESReportingServer. For 64-bit Windows systems, use the 32-bit version of the ODBC tool (C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe) to configure the System DSNs.
  • If migrating the Primary BigFix Server, consider implementing the following prior to the migration to reduce downtime:
    • Change the following BigFix Client settings on all clients:
      • _BESClient_Report_MinimumInterval = 3600.

        This setting will reduce the amount of incoming data from the endpoints to allow the system to recover more quickly and reduce potential downtime.

      • _BESClient_RelaySelect_ResistFailureIntervalSeconds = 21600

        This value represents the amount of time BES Clients will wait after its relay appears down before performing BES Relay selection. This can prevent unnecessary automatic relay selection during the migration.

    • Change the heartbeat in the BigFix Console to 6 hours: Console Preferences
      Note: This is another way to reduce the amount of incoming data from the endpoints.
  • Carefully review the migration steps.