Assumptions

The process of getting the BigFix up and running varies, depending on your network environment and your security policies. This guide focuses on a standard deployment, which applies to workgroups and to enterprises within a single administrative domain. For the sake of readability and generality, this guide assumes these restrictions:

  • BigFix servers can make connections to the Internet on port 80. The BigFix server can be set up to use a proxy, which is a common configuration. For more information see Setting up a proxy connection.

    Alternatively, an air-gap can be used to physically separate the BigFix server from the Internet Fixlet server. For more information, see Downloading files in air-gapped environments.

  • Each BigFix server must have access to the SQL server, located locally on the server machine or remotely on a separate SQL Server.
  • Each console operator can make an HTTP connection to the BigFix server.
  • Each BigFix client computer in the network must be able to make an HTTP connection to a server or relay on the specified port (the default port is 52311, but any available port can be used).
  • Each console in the network must be able to make an HTTPS connection to a server on the same port as the clients (default value is 52311).

Some enterprises might not meet one or more of these conditions, but can still deploy BigFix in their environments. For more information see Deployment Scenarios (page Sample deployment scenarios) If your network configuration does not match any of the scenarios in this chapter, contact a support technician for more options.

The initial deployment of a minimal BigFix system (server, console, and a few clients) takes about one hour to complete.

When you are ready to install the full system, pay extra attention to the sections in this document on client and relay deployment, to ensure an efficient rollout.

Several steps in the BigFix installation depend on the completion of prior steps. For this reason, it is recommended that you follow this guide in the order presented.