BigFix Utilities

Below are a variety of utilities that will assist you in using BigFix. Please note that these tools are very powerful and could cause serious damage to your BigFix installation if used improperly. Although the use of these tools are supported and recommended for use, they are separate from the BigFix product and you will need to assume the risk involved from using these utilities.

BigFix Remove Utility TOP

BigFix Remove - version 7.2.5.22 (940 KB).

The BigFix Remove utility will allow you to run each of the uninstallers for the BigFix components and then remove all the left-over data (BigFix database, user interface settings, etc.) from a computer.

Usage: besremove.exe [/silent] [/component]
Where component has one of the following values:

  • all - remove all BigFix components
  • server - remove the BigFix Server
  • console - remove the BigFix Console
  • client - remove the BigFix Client
  • msde - remove the MSDE 2000 installation that was installed with the BigFix Server
  • generator - remove the BigFix Installation Generator
  • relay - remove the BigFix Relay

Warning: BigFix Remove will remove all of the BigFix data from the file system, database, and registry. This data is not recoverable.

Note: If you are using SQL Server 2000 (instead of MSDE 2000), your databases will not be removed automatically. To delete the database, use the SQL Server Enterprise Manager to delete the 'BFEnterprise' and 'BESReporting' database.

BigFix Computer Remover TOP

BigFix Computer Remover - v. 3.0.1.50 (1.9 MB)
Help file

This command line utility is designed to automate the process of removing computers from the BigFix Console and deleting the data from the database. This tool will perform database operations for the following sets of data:

  • Duplicate Computers - Marks older computers as deleted if a computer exists with the same computer name.
  • NotReported Computers - Marks computers as deleted if there are no property results being reported and schedules a full refresh for the computer.
  • Expired Computers - Marks computers as deleted if they have not reported in recently.
  • Deleted Computers - Physically removes computer data from the database for computers that are already marked as deleted and have not reported in for a long period of time.

BigFix Download Cacher TOP

BigFix Download Cacher - version 5.4.0.0 (3.77 MB).

The BigFix Download Cacher is used to cache or pre-fetch all files that will be downloaded by all Fixlets in a BigFix Fixlet Site. By caching these files actions will not need to download the file from the internet before distributing the file to BigFix Clients. This application will cache the files on the machine it is run on and can be run from any machine that runs as a BigFix Server or BigFix Relay. The masthead file for the each action site may be provided using the -m command line arguement if no actionsites are found automatically. This application will not overfill the cache above its maximum size and can increase the cache size as needed.

Download the file above to a BigFix Server or BigFix Relay computer. From the command line, run:
BESDownloadCacher.exe
This will download all the files from the Enterprise Security (Patch Manager for Windows) Fixlet site and store them in the download cache for the BigFix Server or BigFix Relay.

Click here to view the help file.

BigFix Audit Trail Cleaner TOP

BigFix Audit Trail Cleaner - version 3.0.9.56 (1.85 MB).

The BigFix Audit Trail Cleaner application is a command line utility that will allow you to remove previous versions and deleted versions of custom Fixlets, Properties, Analyses and Actions from the BigFix database. The associated QuestionResults and FixletResults are also removed along with the definitions. The data that will be removed is no longer being used by any of the BigFix Components (Consoles, Web Reports, Server, Clients) but is retained in the database to serve as an audit trail of your deployment. Running this tool will delete that audit trail.

The tool will physically remove the data from the database, reducing the database size and potentially improving performance of the database. This may help to improve insertion speeds into the database for FillDB and load times for the BES Console.

You should perform a database shrink operation after running this tool to reclaim freed disk space from the database.

Note: BigFix recommends that you create a database backup before running this tool and save the backup in a secure location. This database backup will preserve your audit trail while allowing the production database to be smaller.

Click here to view the help file.

BigFix Client DiagnosticsTOP

BigFix Client Diagnostics - Version 3.0.2.9 (2.6 MB)

Requirements - Must be run on a Widnows computer with the BigFix Client installed. Should be run as an Administrator or through the BigFix Support Task "TROUBLESHOOTING: Run BigFix Client Diagnostics". Supported versions: BigFix 6.0-7.2.

BigFix Client Diagnostics performs the following tasks:

  • Gathers a variety of information about the local computer (name, OS, DC, user, drive space, language, etc.)
  • Gathers a variety of information about the BigFix Client (masthead info, service status, path, license info, settings info, etc.)
  • Checks each Fixlet site to ensure that it is gathered on the latest version
  • Collects all retrieved properties in a QnA format
  • Analyzes log files
  • Checks for consistency across BigFix Client version files and collect the upgrade history
  • Performs a test to determine the distance to all BigFix Relays (use –r command line option)
  • Performs a test to determine the distance to all BigFix Relays (must run the tool with a command line argument '–runrelayselector')
  • Summarizes all warnings and errors
  • Saves a copy of the __BESData folder and the BigFix Client registry keys
  • Creates a human readable XML output of the client's Fixlet history (SiteData)
  • Saves a copy of the Client Usage Profiler log and EMsg log if they exist
  • Zips up the data for easy collection
Click here to view the help file.