Get Started with BigFix Query

Use the BigFix Query feature to retrieve data from endpoints through a dedicated query channel, where the memory available on each Relay minimizes the impact to normal BigFix processing.

You can use BigFix Query to:

Query individual computers, manual computer groups and dynamic computer groups
Test Relevance expressions as you develop the content
Export query results to a comma-separated value (.csv) file
Create a library of custom queries and keep the collections private or share them with others

Users and roles

The Master Operator creates custom sites to host queries, and assigns access to BigFix Query Operators and Content Creators. This allows Content Creators to save queries on the custom site, group queries in to categories, and make them available to operators.

Content Creator

As a Content Creator, you can use BigFix Query to do the following tasks:

Filter queries by selecting or unselecting system and local queries
Load, hide, delete, or reload sample queries into your operator site
Customize queries and build your own queries
Save queries on a new site or with a new name and make them available to the operators to access it
Select and filter target devices to run the query
Switch to operator view to enter values for the parameters used in the Relevance expression of a query
View the results of the query and save them to a .csv file
Open a device document from query results to investigate or apply a fix

The following graphic shows the main Query editor page for a Content Creator: Image of the main Query editor page for a Custom Creator.

Operator

As an Operator, you can use BigFix Query to do the following tasks:

View the queries that a Content Creator shared with you
Filter, search, or select a query
View query descriptions
Filter and select target devices
Run a query
Enter values for the parameters used in the Relevance expression of a query
View query results and save them to a .csv file, if you have the required permission
Open a device document from query results to investigate or apply a fix

Operators cannot create or delete queries and cannot view Relevance expressions.

The following graphic shows the main Query editor page for an Operator: Image of the main Query editor page for an Operator.

For details on the editor and how to use custom queries, see Building a query.

For information about the different types of users that can use BigFix Query, see Permissions for BigFix Query.

About Accordions

The sections in BigFix Query page is organized with accordions to provide a better visibility of the tasks to retrieve data from endpoints.

Query edit - create/edit query: This section allows you to view, edit, and create a query; search and filter queries
Select device: This section allows you to select your target/endpoints
Run: This section allows you to run the selected query on the selected target and fetch results

About Search

You can search for queries by using basic Search and Advanced Search features.

To perform a basic search, enter a search string and click Search. This lists the queries that contain the specified string in the query title.

Note: The application displays entries from your previous searches if they match the current search string. If the number of entries in the search history is more than four, click More to view additional search results.

To perform an advanced search and find a string in Relevance expressions along with the query titles:

Enter the search string, and click Advanced Search.
Select the categories from the list to refine the search.
Note: All categories are selected by default. To refine your search, clear check boxes against unwanted categories.
Click Save to save your selection for future searches.

This lists the queries that contain the specified string in the query titles and/or in the Relevance expressions.

About Filters

Filter the queries based on creation type.

Select the System check box to view only the sample queries loaded from the database.

Select the Local check box to view only the custom queries.

Note:

To view both sample and custom queries, select both System and Local check boxes.
If you clear both System and Local check boxes, the query app displays both sample and custom queries.

About Categories

With Categories, Content Creators can group queries according to their needs. Content Creators can create, populate, and delete categories, while Operators can only show or hide categories. To add the sample queries to individual categories, click Load Sample Queries.

The category cards display alphabetically from left-to-right, row by row. Query titles are listed alphabetically in each category.
Each query must be saved in at least one category and each category can contain queries hosted by different sites.
To delete a category, a Content Creator must delete all queries in the category.
To create a category, a Content Creator must specify a name for the category name when saving a query.
To filter queries by category, click Filter categories, select the desired categories, and click Save. Only queries that are relevant to the selected categories are displayed.

About queries and sites

Each query is uniquely identified by the combination of its title and the name of the site that is hosting the query. If you change either of these two values, a copy of the query is automatically created. If you create a copy of a query in a different site, you must apply subsequent updates to each copy individually.

You can save queries only to sites to which you have access as assigned by a Master Operator. These sites can be either of the following:

Custom sites created by a Master Operator to share it with Operators.
Operator sites, if the Content Creator is a Non-Master Operator.

Note: Preexisting queries are not automatically imported into the current BigFix Query release. However, they are still available as dashboard variables. You can access them using the REST API dashboard variable resource, as documented on the following page https://developer.bigfix.com/rest-api/api/dashboardvariable.html.

To learn more about BigFix Query, visit the following links: