Adjusting the BigFix Server and Relays

To get the best performance from BigFix, you might need to adjust the server and the relays. There are two important ways of adjusting the flow of data throughout your network, throttling and caching:
Throttling Outgoing Download Traffic
Throttling allows you to set the maximum data rate for the BigFix Server. Here is how to change the data rate:
  1. Open Fixlets and Tasks icon in the Domain Panel navigation tree and then click Tasks Only.
  2. In the find window above the Tasks List, type "throttle" to search for the appropriate Task.
  3. From the resulting list, click the task labeled Server Setting: Throttle Outgoing Download Traffic. A task window opens below. Make sure the Description tab is selected. There are three choices:
    • Set the limit on total outgoing download traffic. This choice allows you to directly set the maximum number of kilobytes per second you want to grant to the server.
    • Disable the setting. This option lets you open the download traffic on the BigFix Server to full throttle.
    • Get more information. This option opens a browser window with more detailed information about bandwidth throttling.
  4. If you select a throttle limit, then from the subsequent Take Action dialog you can select a set of computers to throttle. Click OK to propagate the task.
Download Cache Size
BigFix Servers and Relays maintain a cache of the downloads most recently requested by Clients, helping to minimize bandwidth requirements.
  1. Open Fixlets and Tasks icon in the Domain Panel navigation tree and then click Tasks Only.
  2. In the find window above the Tasks List, type "cache" to search for the appropriate Task.
  3. From the resulting list, click the task labeled Relay / Server Setting: Download Cache Size. A task window opens below. Make sure the Description tab is selected. Select the link to change the download cache size on the listed computers. This list might include Relays as well as the BigFix Server.
  4. Enter the number of megabytes to cache. The default is 1024 MB, or one gigabyte.
  5. From the subsequent Take Action dialog, select a set of computers and click OK.