Deploying clients by using a Fixlet

Deploy client computers from the BigFix console by running the Install BigFix Clients with Client Deploy Tool Fixlet. This Fixlet cannot be imported into a custom site. You must use it from the BES Support site.

To deploy the clients from the console, perform the following steps:

Log in to the BigFix console.
Open the Fixlets and Tasks icon in the Domain Panel.
In the search bar, enter Client Deploy Tool.
Select the Fixlet named Install BigFix Clients with Client Deploy Tool.
In the Description tab, you must:
- Select all the operating systems associated to the client computers that you want to deploy. Select the client version that you want to deploy.
- Enter the credentials needed to access the computer on which you installed the Client Deploy Tool. These credentials are required only if you installed the Client Deploy Tool on a Windows system. Specify either a domain administrator account with all necessary permissions or any administrator account with full local administrative permissions on the Client Deploy Tool computer.
- Note: In the "Targets" section, specify the computers to which you want to deploy the BigFix Client and the credentials to access them and run the installation. If a set of computers can be accessed with the same credentials, you can enter it as a single group of targets.
  Computers
  In this text box, specify one or more computers with the same credentials, using one of the following formats:
  - A list of hostnames, each on a new line.
  - A list of IP addresses, each on a new line.
  - An IP address range.
  If you specify a list, place each hostname or IP on its own line in the text box. To create a new line in the text box, press Enter. If you specify a range of IP addresses, enter it in the following format:
```
192.0.2.1-20
```
  Username
  
  The user ID needed to access the target computers. You need to specify a user with sufficient permissions to install the BigFix Client. For example, Administrator on Windows or root on Linux.
  
  Password
  
  The password associated to the user ID of the target computers.
- Select the Show advanced settings check box.
  (Optional) In the "Custom Settings" section, add a list of custom client settings to apply to each client that will be deployed by the Client Deploy Tool.
  You can input these settings in either a table or a text box. If you use the table, add a row for each setting, then enter its name and value in the respective columns. If you use the text box, add a new line for each setting, then enter its name and value in the format "name=value".
  (Optional) In the "Proxy Settings" section, if the clients to be deployed must communicate through a proxy, enter the following information:
  
  Address
  
  The host name that is used to reach the proxy.
  
  Port
  
  The port that is used to communicate with the proxy.
  
  Username
  
  The user name that is used to authenticate with the proxy if the proxy requires authentication.
  
  Password
  
  The password that is used to authenticate with the proxy if the proxy requires authentication.
Click Take Action.
On the Target tab, select one or more devices, which are target computers on which you installed the Client Deploy Tool instances.
Click OK.
Verify the status and the exit code of the Fixlet. The exit code 0 represents the Success status.

Note: When running the Fixlet, depending on the operating systems that you selected in the Description tab of the Fixlet, the platform-specific packages are cached on the BigFix server and downloaded only on the client computers where the Client Deploy Tool is installed. Packages are downloaded only if they are not found; they are not overwritten each time you run the Fixlet.

Note:

If you deploy old BigFix client versions, such as 9.1 and 9.2, or any other version older than the Client Deploy Tool version installed using the Install BigFix Clients with Client Deploy Tool Fixlet, the locally installed Client Deploy Tool user interface might no longer work.

This known issue is caused by the BESClientsCatalog.xml file level that is replaced with the version deployed by the Fixlet. To solve this known issue, manually run again the Fixlet to deploy the latest client version and the latest valid BESClientsCatalog.xml catalog file will be replaced again.

It is highly recommended to use the Fixlet instead of the locally installed Client Deploy Tool user interface to deploy the clients.