BES Deployment Questions

When deploying an enterprise application like BES, there are a number of questions that must be answered before deployment begins. Below is a list of commonly asked questions and other information that will aid in the deployment planning process. If you have any questions about these topics, please contact your sales engineer or support technician. Also, the BES Administrator's Guide contains more detailed discussion of deployment issues.

  • How many BES Clients are necessary for your deployment?
    • Each server, laptop, desktop, or any other computer with the BES Client installed is considered a single BES Client license.
    • Don't forget to include the non-Windows computers, home users, traveling users, and room for growth (additional BES Client licenses can easily be added after deployment).

  • How many BES Servers are necessary for your deployment?
    • One is recommended for most deployments.
    • You can separate the administrative rights of different BES Console operators to only let them view their own computers - BES Administrator's Guide, "Assigning Management Rights".
    • Some organizations deploy multiple BES Consoles for organizational/political reasons, but there will likely be additional hardware and administration costs.

  • What are the BES Server Requirements for your deployment?
    • View the BES Server computer requirements.
    • Servers that are more powerful than the recommended specifications can lead to better performance.
    • Certain factors will require a more powerful BES Server, such as a higher number of BES Console operators (> 50-100).
    • View the potential performance issues in your deployment.

  • How many BES Consoles operators are going to use BES?
    • There is no additional license cost for each BES Console operator.
    • There tends to be an administration cost per BES Console operator (create the user account and password, establish the appropriate management rights for BES Client, provide training, etc).
    • As more simultaneous BES Console operators connect to the BES Server, there is a performance degradation and a more powerful BES Server may be necessary.
    • An additional issue to be addressed is the way BES Console privileges will be separated, whether by subnet or location, by active directory, or an another property.

  • What are the bandwidth limitations within your network?
    • One of the main strengths of BES is the ability to work in a variety of environments including in networks with very small bandwidth pipes (4kbps to 128kbps).
    • It is recommended to have at least one BES Relay per geographic location for bandwidth reasons - BES Relay FAQ.
    • It is recommended to throttle the bandwidth usage for BES Clients that are connecting on dial-up or slow VPN connections - BES bandwidth throttling options (throttle option "B").
    • Consider throttling the bandwidth usage for BES Relays downloading files on very slow pipes - BES bandwidth throttling options (throttle option "A").
    • Speak with your sales engineer or support technician for more information on lowering the risk of WAN problems within your organization.

  • Which computers are going to be used as BES Relays computers?
    • A BES Relay is recommended per 500-1000 BES Clients for optimal performance.
    • BES Relays are designed to run on shared computers, such as file servers, print servers, SMS servers, AV servers, etc.
    • BES Relays are easy to install and uninstall through the BES Console.
    • BES Clients can be set to automatically find their closest BES Relay based on network hops, thereby significantly reducing administration costs.
    • Most BES customers use existing infrastructure for BES Relays or purchase minimal additional hardware for the BES Relays.
    • Desktop computers can be used as BES Relays, but it is important that the computer be on all the time and if there is a user working on the BES Relay computer, they may experience some small performance issues.
    • It is recommended to have a "Top Level BES Relay" to accept incoming connections from other BES Relays for deployments over 10,000 or deployments with more than 50 BES Relays (although a top level BES Relay can be used in smaller deployments).
    • More information available at BES Relay FAQ and BES Administrator's Guide, "BES Relays".

  • How are the BES Clients going to be deployed?
    • The recommended method of deploying the BES Client to computers is to use whichever method is the standard practice for installing applications or patches at the organization.
    • BES customers have used several methods of BES Client deployment successfully including third party deployment applications, login scripts, the BES Client Deployment tool, and others.
    • More information available at BES Administrator's Guide, "Installing the BES Clients"

  • Do you have policies in place for the security concerns with BES?
    • Make sure to keep the site credential files and publisher credential files.
    • Make sure to securely backup the site credentials key files and password.
    • You can revoke access of users no longer authorized to use BES.
    • Understand that the key files and their password control access to all the BES Clients in the organization.
    • BigFix cannot help if you lose your key files or passwords because the private key files are never sent to BigFix.
    • More information available at BES Administrator's Guide, "Security Requirements"

If there are other deployment issues that are not addressed here, check the BES Administrator's Guide or contact your sales engineer or support technician.