Managing data sources

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Computers in an organization can be divided into groups that are monitored by multiple BigFix® infrastructures. Each infrastructure is referred to as a data source. It is also possible to monitor a subset of computers with disconnected scanners. Such infrastructure is called a disconnected data source. Data from multiple data sources can be imported to one instance of License Metric Tool.

Definition of a data source

A data source can be viewed as a BigFix server and the clients that report to that server. Thus, a data source is the infrastructure from which License Metric Tool imports scan data. Organizations can define multiple data sources that mirror various types of organizational units such as departments or countries in which the organizations have their branches.

A disconnected data source is specific to environments that are monitored by disconnected scanners. It can be defined as a directory on the License Metric Tool server that provides the scan data during the import.

9.2.22 Starting from application update 9.2.22, you can add a disconnected data source during the initial configuration of License Metric Tool and it can be the only type of data source that is set up. In earlier application updates, at least one BigFix data source must be defined.

Infrastructure with two data sources

Hardware requirements

Sum up the number of the BigFix clients that report to License Metric Tool from all data sources, and ensure that the computer where License Metric Tool is installed meets the hardware requirements specific to the environment size. You can designate a physical server or a virtual machine that is capable of handling large data imports and has the capability to process a large amount of data. For more information, see: Hardware requirements and Tuning performance.

Import of data from multiple data sources

During the import of data to License Metric Tool, connectivity to all data sources is checked. If any of the data sources is not reachable, the entire import fails. Ensure that all data sources are reachable during the import.