Frequently asked questions

The questions and answers in this section can help you to better understand Patch Management for Mac OS X and Mac applications.

The Manage Download Plug-ins dashboard is not reflecting any data. What do I do?
Here are some steps you can do to troubleshoot the issue:
  • Gather the latest Patching Support site.
  • Activate the Download Plug-in Versions analysis, available from the Patching Support site.
  • Clear the BigFix console cache.
Why does a patch fail, but complete successfully?
Sometimes under specific circumstances, a patch is successfully applied but the relevance conditions indicate that it is still needed. Check to see whether there are any special circumstances that are associated with the patch, or contact HCL Software Support.
What do I do if a patch fails to install?
If a patch fails to install, there are several things that you can try:
  • Determine whether you applied the patch to the correct computers.
  • Try running the patch manually by downloading it from the Apple website.
  • Review Mac updates.
If the patch still fails to install, contact HCL Software Support.
Why are the Mac OS X patch updates not rated with a source severity similar to the Windows patches?
Mac OS X patches are not rated with a source severity because Apple does not provide a comparable ranking as Microsoft does.
What is the best way to distinguish updates between security-related and non-security related ones?
Use the Category field to narrow down important patches to those that are in the "Security Update" category.
What are the supported Mac OS X updates?
BigFix provides Mac OS X operating system specific updates, as well as Mac application and third-party application updates. For more information, see Supported operating systems and applications.
Why can I not make some Adobe Reader-related Fixlets relevant to computers that have Adobe Reader?
Some of the Adobe Reader updates require specific versions installed to make the Fixlets relevant. For example, in a Fixlet with the title Adobe Reader X (10.1.1) Available - Adobe Reader X (10.1.0), you must have Adobe Reader 10.1.0 installed to make the Fixlet relevant.
What happens if the endpoint is restarted during the installation of a new patch?
The installation fails if the system is restarted during the patch installation process.
Will administrator credentials be necessary to install updates through Apple Software Update from BigFix?
No, an administrator user name and password are not needed because the BigFix client runs as root.
The Fixlets that were deployed through Apple Software Update failed. What would be the possible causes?
Some possible causes of failure are as follows:
  • The endpoints might not have internet connection.
  • The endpoints cannot connect to the Apple server due to firewall or network security issues.
Is it still possible to deploy patches via Apple Software Update even without an OS X Server?
Yes, it is possible. However, your network might get overloaded if you do not have a caching server configured. Setting an OS X Server as the caching server can prevent this from happening.
Fixlets for updating Java Runtime Environments do not seem to be working. I received the Unexpected HTTP response: 404 Not Found error. What do I do?
For Java Runtime Environment updates, you must manually cache the installer before deploy the patches. To manually cache a file on the server, see the knowledge article - How do I manually cache a file on the BigFix Server.