Deploying clients from the tool

Deploying the client computers by using the Client Deploy Tool user interface is obsolete. This option is available only on a Windows system. To install client computers, use either the Client Deploy Tool wizard or the Fixlet from the console.

Deploy the target computers by performing the following steps:

  1. The BigFix Client Deploy Tool is installed with the BigFix console or can be installed on a separate system using the MSI Installer Package located in the BES Installers\ClientDeployTool directory. Launch the tool directly from Start > Programs >BigFix > BigFix Client Deploy.
  2. The resulting dialog offers two ways to deploy the targets:
    Find computers using Active Directory

    This option is valid only for the client deployment on Windows targets.

    The BigFix Client Deploy tool contacts the Active Directory server to get a list of all the computers in the domain. It checks each of the computers to see if the client is already installed and displays this information in a list.

    The Client Deploy Tool starts by getting a list of computers from the Active Directory server or from a provided list and remotely checks if the Client service is already installed on each computer. If it is, it reports Installed along with the status of the Client service such as Running, Stopped, and so on. If it cannot determine the status due to a permissions problem or any other issue, it reports Status Unknown. Otherwise it reports Not Installed , unless it cannot communicate with the computer at all, in which case it reports Not Responding.

    Find computers specified in a list

    This option is valid both for the client deployment on Windows and UNIX targets.

    Based on how your network resolves computer addresses, you must provide a list of computer names, IP address ranges, or host names. The list must have one name / IP address range / host name per line. Using this option, the Client Deploy Tool does not attempt to discover any computers, but instead attempts to install directly to all the listed computers.
  3. Type in a user name and password that has administrative access to the computers. In most cases, this is a domain administrator account with all necessary permissions. If you are using the computer list option, you can specify a local account on the remote computers, such as the local administrator account that has administrative privileges. The rest of the client deployment process uses this user name/password, so if the account does not have the appropriate access on the remote computers, you receive access denied errors.
  4. When the list of computers is displayed, shift- and control-click to select the computers that you want to administer with BigFix. Click Next.
  5. You see a list of the computers that you selected. The default options are usually sufficient, but you might want to select Advanced Options to configure the following installation parameters:
    File Transfer

    This option is valid only on Windows targets.

    You can choose to push the files out to the remote server for installation or to have the files pulled from the local computer. Unless there are security policies in place to prevent it, for most cases choose to push the files.
    Note: The pull option is valid only if the target computer belongs to an Active Directory domain and if you use the domain administrator credentials.
    Connection Method

    This option is valid only on Windows targets.

    You can connect to the remote computers either using the Service Control Manager (SCM), which is recommended, or the task scheduler if the SCM does not work.
    Installation Path

    This option is valid only on Windows targets.

    Specify a path for the client, or accept the default (recommended).
    Verification
    Select this check box to verify that the client service is running after waiting for the installation to finish, to know if the installation completed successfully.
    Custom Settings
    Add one or more custom settings to each client deployed, either by entering them in the form of a Name / Value pair or by using the option Load from file.
  6. If the clients to install need to communicate through a proxy, configure the proxy connection by clicking Proxy Settings.
    In the Proxy Settings panel, specify:
    • The host name or IP Address and, optionally, the port number to communicate with the proxy machine.
    • The credentials of the user defined on the proxy machine that will be used when establishing the connection.

    Select the Use Internet Explorer proxy settings check box if you want that the proxy settings are retrieved from the Internet Explorer configuration of the Windows system where the client was installed. This check box works only for Windows targets.

    For more information about configuring a proxy connection, see Setting up a proxy connection.

    Click OK to save the proxy configuration.
  7. To begin the installation, click Start.

  8. When completed, a log of successes and failures is displayed. For more details about the log files, see Log files.

If you want to deploy from the tool non-Windows target computers, ensure that on the Windows system where your Client Deploy Tool instance was installed:
  1. The BESClientsCatalog.xml file is stored in the C:\Program Files(x86)\BigFix Enterprise\BES Client Deploy\ directory.
  2. The packages containing the client images are stored in the C:\Program Files (x86)\BigFix Enterprise\BES Client Deploy\BigFixInstallSource\ClientInstaller directory.

These files will be present after you deploy at least once the target computers by running the Fixlet named Install BigFix Clients with Client Deploy Tool.