Frequency of scans and uploads of data

By default, software and capacity scans are scheduled with a frequency that meets auditing requirements. If you want to change the default frequency, ensure that the new setup fulfills the minimal requirements and all considerations.

Frequency of scans

Table 1. Frequency of scans
Type of the scan Default frequency Minimal frequency Comments
Capacity scan Every 30 minutes Every 30 minutes

In case of subcapacity reporting, it is necessary to capture configuration of vCPU to count the maximum capacity of processor cores for each program concurrently. To ensure that dynamic changes of the vCPU configuration are captured, the capacity scan must run every 30 minutes. You can change the frequency of the scan only if you use BigFix Inventory for purposes other than subcapacity reporting.

For information about scheduling the scan, see: Initiating the capacity scan on all computers.

Software scan Once per week Once per month You can adjust the frequency of the software scan to the dynamics with which software inventory changes in your environment. For information about scheduling the scan, see: Initiating software scans.
Scan of VM managers Every 30 minutes Every 30 minutes

In case of subcapacity reporting, it is necessary to capture mobility of VMs. To ensure that it is captured, data from VM managers must be collected every 30 minutes. You can change the frequency of collecting data only if you use BigFix Inventory for purposes other than subcapacity reporting.

For information about scheduling the scan, see: Adding VM managers for VMware, Hyper-V, KVM with RHEV-M, Xen Server and Nutanix.

Shared disks scan Once per week Once per month For information about scheduling the scan, see: Discovering software on shared disks.
Disconnected capacity scan Every 30 minutes Every 30 minutes

In case of subcapacity reporting, it is necessary to capture configuration of vCPU to count the maximum capacity of processor cores for each program concurrently. To ensure that dynamic changes of the vCPU configuration are captured, the capacity scan must run every 30 minutes. You can change the frequency of the scan only if you use BigFix Inventory for purposes other than subcapacity reporting.

The scan is triggered and scheduled automatically after you install the disconnected scanner. For more information, see:
Disconnected software scan On demand Once per month

You can adjust the frequency of the software scan to the dynamics with which software inventory changes in your environment.

Detailed hardware scan On demand

This type of the scan is not required for auditing purposes. Running this scan once per week or less frequently is sufficient to collect detailed hardware inventory.

For information about scheduling the scan, see: Detailed hardware scan.

Frequency of uploading scan results

Upload of data from the scanned computer to the BigFix server occurs according to a frequency that is specific to the type of the scan. The data is then uploaded from the BigFix sever to the BigFix Inventory server during the import. In case of the disconnected scans, the data is uploaded directly to the BigFix Inventory server. It is not stored on the BigFix server.

Table 2. Frequency of uploading scan results

Summary for complex table

Type of uploaded results Default frequency Comments
Capacity scan When results change in comparison to the results of the previous scan. Upload of capacity scan results is scheduled automatically when you schedule the capacity scan.
Software scan When results change in comparison to the results of the previous scan. For information about scheduling the upload, see: Uploading software scan results.
VM managers data Every 12 hours Upload of results from VM managers is scheduled automatically when you configure connection to VM managers.
Disconnected capacity scan On demand

Results of disconnected capacity and software scans are imported directly to the BigFix Inventory server. They should be imported immediately after new results of the software scan are available.

Disconnected software scan On demand
Detailed hardware scan Once per day

Results of the deep hardware scan are gathered daily by the Detailed Hardware Information analysis.

For more information, see: Detailed hardware scan.