Setting up relays

To set up a Relay, you must designate a Windows 200x, Windows 7, Vista, or XP client computer to take over some server duties.

When a Relay has been set up, computers in the network can automatically find them and connect to them (or you can manually assign BigFix Clients to point to specified relays).

This significantly reduces the client/server communication necessary for patch application and management. Clients start to download from these designated relays, minimizing the load on thin connections to the BigFix Server. The Clients also upload their status information to the Relay, which compiles and compresses it before passing it on up to the server.

To configure a client computer as a Relay, follow these steps:

  1. Open Fixlets and Tasks from the Domain Panel and select Tasks Only.
  2. Double-click the task labeled Install BigFix Relay. A task window opens below. Make sure the Description tab is selected. There are three choices for where to place the Relay installation folder:
    • Install to a given path. This option allows you to specify a path for the Relay installation folder.
    • Install on the drive with most free space. This action lets you automatically choose the most capacious drive for the installation folder.
    • Install to the default location. This is the recommend action. It automatically finds the optimal location for the installation folder.
  3. Configure the internet-facing relays or internal relays (where access protection is desired) in your BigFix deployment as authenticating relays. For instructions on how to configure relays as authenticating, see Authenticating relays.

After the relays have been created, Clients can be made to automatically discover and connect to them, always seeking the Relay that is the fewest hops away.

If you need to manually configure your Clients, you must notify each computer to use a specific relay to point to, as described in Using Relays.