BigFix Server

Many companies consider BigFix components to be part of their critical IT infrastructure and wish to monitor the different components using third-party monitoring tools to ensure proper functionality. Below is information on how to monitor each BigFix component.

The BigFix Server is the most important component to monitor. Here are a number of options for monitoring the BigFix Server.

  1. Network Accessibility: Ping the BigFix Server periodically to make sure it is up and accessible from the network. It should be reachable by all top level BigFix Relays.
  2. Services: The following services should be running. If they are not running, the BigFix Server will not function properly.
  3. BufferDir: The bufferdir temporarily stores reports from the BigFix Clients before being put into the database. By default, the bufferdir directory resides at C:\Program Files\BigFix Enterprise\BES Server\FillDBData\BufferDir\.
  4. Database: The database is at the central core of the information going into and out of BigFix, and there are a few basic components which can be monitored.
  5. Ensure the BigFix Server is getting up-to-date Fixlet information: The BigFix Server will periodically gather from the main BigFix Fixlet servers to get the latest data.



BigFix Relay Server

BigFix Relays are important to monitor because if a BigFix Client doesn't have a nearby BigFix Relay, it might need to travel over slow WAN links to download large files. Many of the monitoring steps that apply to the main BigFix Server also apply to BigFix Relays.

  1. Network Accessibility: Ping each BigFix Relay periodically to make sure it is up and accessible from the network. It should be reachable by all of the BigFix Clients that should select this BigFix Relay.
  2. Services: The following services should be running. If they are not running, the BigFix Server will not function properly.
  3. BufferDir: The bufferdir temporarily stores reports from the BigFix Clients before being put into the database. By default, the bufferdir directory resides at C:\Program Files\BigFix Enterprise\BES Server\FillDBData\BufferDir\.
  4. Ensure the BigFix Relay is getting up-to-date Fixlet information: A BigFix Relay will gather new Fixlet messages from the main BigFix Servers whenever the new Fixlet message site versions are available.