Automatically decommissioning inactive computers

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9.2.8 Available from 9.2.8.

If a computer stops reporting to BigFix®, it is considered inactive. When infrastructure management policy does not allow the deletion of decommissioned BigFix clients in BigFix, you can configure License Metric Tool to automatically decommission computers that are inactive for a specified period. By decommissioning the inactive computers you ensure that they do not have negative impact on metric calculation.

About this task

To ensure consistency between the BigFix platform and the BigFix applications, it is recommended to manage the entire infrastructure in BigFix. Decommissioning computers in License Metric Tool is an alternative solution allowed only when decommissioning in BigFix is not possible.
Starting from application update 9.2.24, this solution is supported on computers with the disconnected scanner. For earlier application updates, see: Decommissioning computers with disconnected scanners (disconnected scenario).
Starting from application update 9.2.34 the decommission_inactive_computers parameter is set to true by default.

Procedure

Log in to License Metric Tool.
Go to Management > Advanced Server Settings.
To enable the feature, set the decommission_inactive_computers parameter to true, and click Save.
To set the inactivity period after which the computers are automatically decommissioned, configure the value of max_data_visibility_for_inactive_computers parameter to the required number of days, and click Save. By default, the inactivity period is set to 90 days.

Results

The reports display only the data for the period before the date when the computer was decommissioned.

Note: When a decommissioned computer reactivates and starts reporting back to BigFix, the report data is updated.

What to do next

To disable automatic decommissioning of inactive computers, go to Advanced Server Settings, select the decommission_inactive_computers parameter, and set it to False.