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Server Automation
Server Automation provides powerful automation. You can use it to sequence automation actions in steps across multiple endpoints.
Server Automation content
Server Automation provides content that you can use to automate processes and software deployment.
Server Automation middleware content
You can use the BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation middleware Tasks to automate the deployment of middleware applications. You can include these Tasks as steps in your Automation Plans.

Server Automation
Server Automation provides powerful automation. You can use it to sequence automation actions in steps across multiple endpoints.
- Overview
  BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation provides you with the capability to automate provisioning workflows. You can automate a sequence of Fixlets, Tasks, and Baselines across different endpoints, such as servers or computers. Server Automation exploits the agility and scalability of BigFix to deliver powerful functionality in a lean and efficient manner, with minimal impact on your network.
- Automation
  BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation provides you with technology to sequence actions, such as the deployment of Fixlets, across multiple endpoints. To sequence automation, you create an Automation Plan. Your Automation Plan contains all of the actions for your end-to-end automation sequence.
- Virtualization
  Virtualization is a software technology that allows multiple operating systems to run on the same host computer at the same time. Additional uses of virtualization include the quick creation of new systems for testing, training, and demonstration. Using virtualized computers saves the cost of hardware, management, and administration of the server infrastructure.
- Configuring your system
  This section describes how the BigFix architecture is relevant for Server Automation. It also describes how Server Automation can affect BigFix performance.
- Sample Automation Plans
  Server Automation is shipped with a number of sample Automation Plans that you can run out of the box. To run these Automation Plans out of the box, ensure that the Fixlets contained in them are available. Typically, you would substitute some of the Fixlets contained in these samples with particular Fixlets that you want to run. Use the information in each of the following sections to find out more about each of the sample plans.
- Server Automation content
  Server Automation provides content that you can use to automate processes and software deployment.
  - Advanced patching
    You can use Server Automation to complaete several advanced patching scenarios, for example to automate patching of virtual machine templates.
  - Patching Microsoft Windows® clusters
    You can use Server Automation to automate patching of Microsoft Windows® clusters. Server Automation contains preconfigured Fixlets that allow you to patch Microsoft Windows clusters.
  - Server Automation middleware content
    You can use the BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation middleware Tasks to automate the deployment of middleware applications. You can include these Tasks as steps in your Automation Plans.
    - Prerequisites
      To use the Server Automation middleware Fixlets, you must create packages containing the specific version of the software that you are deploying. You create the packages in the Manage Software Distribution dashboard in BigFix. This allows the Fixlets to access the software that you are deploying. You must also configure the BigFix server to allow dynamic downloads. You need access to the Systems Lifecycle domain and the Software Distribution site.
    - Middleware Tasks
      This section lists all of the BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation middleware Tasks and provides a short description of each Task.
    - Log file locations
      After you run any of the middleware Tasks, you can access log files for the tasks to help troubleshoot any issues.
  - OSD content
    BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation provides a number of Fixlets that allow you to deploy operating systems from within BigFix. These Fixlets connect to the BigFix Bare Metal Server server, which carries out the actual provisioning. You can include these Fixlets in your Automation Plans.
  - Server Automation Chef-Solo content
    You can use BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation Chef-Solo Tasks to automate the installation of Chef-Solo and download and run Chef-Solo cookbooks and recipes. The Chef-Solo installation and Chef-Solo cookbooks are downloaded from the Opscode Community web site.
  - Server Automation Remote Connector
    BigFix Remote Connector module replaces the existing RXA module. When the Remote Connector is installed on a machine, the machine can act as an intermediary to execute BigFix functionality such as executing commands on or transferring files to a remote target machine, even if BigFix agent is not installed in that target machine. For example, Linux embedded targets. You can use Server Automation content to install Remote Connector on a system on which the BigFix agent is installed.

Server Automation middleware content

You can use the BigFix Lifecycle Server Automation middleware Tasks to automate the deployment of middleware applications. You can include these Tasks as steps in your Automation Plans.

BigFix V9.5 supports the SHA-256 algorithm. Depending on the configuration you have set for the SHA algorithm in BigFix V9.5, the Server Automation middleware Tasks show different options. If you have enabled SHA-256 in BigFix V9.5, you must use SHA-256 in the Server Automation middleware Tasks. If you have not enabled SHA-256 in BigFix V9.5, you can use SHA-1 in the Server Automation middleware Tasks.

Before you begin using the Tasks, ensure that you read the prerequisite information described here.