Configuring the components

Applications that use the API require that several components be installed and properly configured. In general, you must ensure that the following are correctly configured:

• The client is running.
• You created and saved a file named ComplianceDoc.xml in your site data folder: C:\Program Files\BigFix Enterprise\BES Client\__BESData\<your_site_name>\__Compliance.
• BESClientComplianceMod.dll is installed and registered.
• The registry is configured with appropriate paths to RequestDir and ResponseDir.
• RequestDir and ResponseDir are existing folders.

These are the steps to perform:

1. Install COM module.

   If you are using a COM implementation, you can install COM modules with the following command:

   Regsvr32.exe BESClientComplianceMOD.dll  

2. Create Configuration Key and add Path Data.

   On Windows computers, create the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BigFix\ClientComplianceAPI

   Define the following three string values in the configuration registry key:

   • RequestDir full path where configuration requests are written
   • ResponseDir full path where configuration responses are written
   • ConnectDir full path where interface glue scripts and executables are located
3. Create RequestDir.

   Create the directory where request files are written by the API. The protections on this directory must permit anyone to write files to it and the client to read and delete files. For Windows systems, this value is set in the RequestDir entry in the registry. For UNIX and Mac systems, the expected paths are:

   UNIX: /var/opt/BESClient/RequestDir

   Mac: /Library/Application Support/BigFix/BES Agent/RequestDir

4. Create ResponseDir

   Create the directory where response files are written by the API. The protections on this directory must permit anyone to read files from it and the client to write to it. For Windows, this value is set in the ResponseDir entry in the registry. For UNIX and Mac, the expected paths are:

   UNIX: /var/opt/BESClient/ResponseDir

   Mac:/Library/Application Support/BigFix/BES Agent/ResponseDir

5. Create ConnectDir

   Create a directory where you can keep glue scripts and other executables that provide the interface between the Client Compliance API and third-party agents. The protections on this directory must be such that third-party clients can execute files in this directory. For Windows, this value is set in the ConnectDir entry in the registry. For UNIX and Mac, the expected paths are:

   UNIX: /var/opt/BESClient/ConnectDir

   Mac: /Library/Application Support/BigFix/BES Agent/ConnectDir

6. Create __Compliance.

   Create a data directory that is required by the UNIX compliance executable:

   UNIX only: /var/opt/BESClient/__BESData/__Compliance

7. Install the Client.

   The client must be installed on the endpoint. The client must be running to evaluate compliance.

8. Store the Compliance XML

   After you create your compliance document, store it in your action site data directory.

   UNIX: /var/opt/BESClient/__BESData/actionsite/__Compliance/your_compliance_doc.xml

   Mac: /Library/Application Support/BigFix/BES Agent/__BESData/actionsite/__Compliance/your_compliance_doc.xml

9. Run your agent.

   When everything is properly configured, you can run your agent by submitting your compliance document to the client. Do this by using the gather application:

   UNIX: ./compliance -c http://<server>:52311/cgi-bin/bfgather.exe/actionsite your_compliance_doc.xml

   Mac: ./BESClientCompliance -c http://<server>:52311/cgi-bin/bfgather.exe/actionsite your_compliance_doc.xml