Updating the content of the fixlet site on Linux

If the BigFix® server is installed on a Linux computer without the Internet access, use the Airgap tool to download the content of the fixlet site to a computer with the Internet access. Then, move the files to the Linux computer on which the BigFix server is installed. You can update the site content in extraction or non-extraction mode. The non-extraction mode is simpler but the procedure is available from BigFix 9.5.5. For earlier versions, use the extraction mode.

Updating site content in non-extraction mode

The following procedure describes the simplest path. For all available options, see: Using the Airgap tool in the non-extraction mode in the BigFix documentation.
Important: The non-extraction mode is simpler but the procedure is available from BigFix 9.5.5. For earlier versions, use the extraction mode.

Before you begin

You need a Windows or Linux computer with the Internet access.

Procedure

  1. Obtain the serial number of your BigFix server and the e-mail address that is specified in the BigFix license. To obtain this information, go to the following URL: https://<ip_address>:<port_number>/masthead/masthead.afxm.
    Where:
    <ip_address>
    IP address of the BigFix server.
    <port_number>
    Port that is used by the BigFix server. By default, it is 52311.
    The information is listed in the following lines.
    From: <mail_address>
    X-Fixlet-Site-Serial-Number: <serial_number>
  2. On a computer with the Internet access, gather site contents and create the Airgap response file. You can perform these steps on Windows or Linux, regardless of the operating system on which the BigFix server is installed.
    • Windows To gather site contents and create the Airgap response file on a Windows computer with the Internet access, perform the following steps.
      1. Download the Airgap tool, and extract the files. The tool is available in the BigFix Enterprise Suite Download Center. Choose the version of the Airgap Tool compatible with your version of BigFix.
      2. Open the command line, go to the directory where you extracted the Airgap tool, and run the following command.
        BESAirgapTool.exe -serial <serial_number> -email 
        <mail_address> -createSiteList <site_list_file_name>
        Where:
        <serial_number>
        Serial number of your BigFix server.
        <mail_address>
        E-mail address that is specified in the BigFix license.
        <site_list_file_name>
        Name of the file to which you want to write the sites for your BigFix license.
      3. Open the <site_list_file_name> file and check whether the flag A is specified next to the IBM License Reporting site. The flag indicates that contents of the IBM License Reporting site is gathered and necessary files are downloaded. If a different flag is specified, change it to A.
        N::BES Support::http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/bessupport
        A::IBM License Reporting::http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/ibmlicensereporting
        
      4. Open the command line, go to the directory where you extracted the Airgap tool, and run the following command.
        BESAirgapTool.exe -site <site_list_file_name> -download -cache <cache_name>
        Where:
        <site_list_file_name>
        Name of the file that contains the list of sites for your BigFix license.
        <cache_name>
        Path to the folder where you want to store the downloaded files.
        As a result, files are downloaded to the <cache_name> folder, and the AirgapResponse file is created.
    • Linux To gather site contents and create the Airgap response file on a Linux computer with the Internet access, perform the following steps.
      1. Go to the computer where the BigFix server is installed, open the terminal, and run the following command.
        # cd /opt/BESServer/bin 
        # ./Airgap.sh -remotedir <folder_name>
        Where: <folder_name> is the folder that you will copy to the Linux computer with the Internet access.
      2. Move the <folder_name> folder to the Linux computer with the Internet access.
      3. In the <folder_name> folder, locate the airgap.tar compressed file, and decompress it.
      4. From the decompressed folder, delete the AirgapRequest.xml file.
      5. Open the terminal, go to the directory where you extracted the Airgap tool, and run the following command.
        ./Airgap.sh -serial <serial_number> -email 
        <mail_address> -createSiteList <site_list_file_name>
        Where:
        <serial_number>
        Serial number of your BigFix server.
        <mail_address>
        E-mail address that you specified in the BigFix license.
        <site_list_file_name>
        Name of the file to which you want to write the sites for your BigFix license.
      6. Open the <site_list_file_name> file and check whether the flag A is specified next to the IBM License Reporting site. The flag indicates that contents of the IBM License Reporting site is gathered and necessary files are downloaded. If a different flag is specified, change it to A.
        N::BES Support::http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/bessupport
        A::IBM License Reporting::http://sync.bigfix.com/cgi-bin/bfgather/ibmlicensereporting
        
      7. Open the terminal, go to the directory where you extracted the Airgap tool, and run the following command.
        ./Airgap.sh -site <site_list_file_name> -download -cache <cache_name>
        Where:
        <site_list_file_name>
        Name of the file that contains the list of sites for your BigFix license.
        <cache_name>
        Path to the folder where you want to store the downloaded files.
        As a result, files are downloaded to the <cache_name> folder, and the AirgapResponse file is created.
  3. Copy the AirgapResponse, and the <cache_name> folder to the Linux computer where the BigFix server is installed.
    Place the files in the following locations.
    • Place the AirgapResponse file in the folder with the Airgap.sh script.
    • Place the content of the <cache_name> folder in the BigFix server cache folder. By default, the cache folder is: /var/opt/BESServer/wwwrootbes/bfmirror/downloads/sha1.
  4. Open the terminal, go to the directory where you placed the files and run the following command to import the content of the fixlet site to your BigFix server.
    ./Airgap.sh -run

Updating site content in extraction mode

The following procedure describes the simplest path. For all available options, see: Using the Airgap tool in the extraction mode in the BigFix documentation.

Before you begin

You need a Windows computer with the Internet access.

Procedure

  1. Download the Airgap tool, and extract the files. The tool is available in the BigFix Enterprise Suite Download Center. Choose the version of the Airgap Tool compatible with your version of BigFix.
  2. Open the command line and run the following command.
    • For BigFix version 9.5.5 and higher
      cd /opt/BESServer/bin
      ./Airgap.sh -remotedir <directory>
      Where:
      <directory>
      Directory where the airgap.tar file is going to be created.
    • For BigFix versions up to 9.5.4
      cd /opt/BESServer/bin
      ./Airgap.sh -run

      The airgap.tar file is created in the current directory.

  3. To extract the Airgap request file from the airgap.tar file, run the following command.
    tar xvf airgap.tar
  4. Copy the extracted AirgapRequest.xml file to the Windows computer and place it in the folder that contains the downloaded BESAirgapTool.exe file.
  5. On the Windows computer, run the BESAirgapTool.exe. The Airgap request file is changed into the Airgap response file.
  6. Copy the AirgapResponse file to the Linux computer where the BigFix server is installed and place it in the /opt/BESServer/bin directory.
  7. Run the Airgap tool again to upload the AirgapResponse file to BigFix.
    cd /opt/BESServer/bin
    ./Airgap.sh -run
    Wait a few minutes for the BigFix console to refresh.

What to do next

Cache the files and move them to the BigFix server.