BES Relay

Usage and Config Platform
1

(imported topic written by gcibirch91)

Hi,

Not too sure if this is there right forum.

I have setup an EMEA server to be the BES Relay and assigned all the computers in a manual group to automatically goto the nearest BES Relay which should be this EMEA Server. However 3 servers in my EMEA group, which are based in European countries, seem to be defaulting to the US BES Server.

My question is how does a server detect its nearest server to download from??

Thanks

2

(imported comment written by JasonO91)

gcibirch,

From the BES Relay FAQ at http://support.bigfix.com/bes/misc/besrelays.html

How does the BigFix Client/BigFix Relay Auto Selection work?

  • BigFix Clients will choose their closest BigFix Relay by periodically “pinging” each BigFix Relay to determine which relay is the closest based upon the number of network hops. The default BigFix Relay selection period is 6 hours and is configurable.

  • Each BigFix Client will make a list of their closest BigFix Relays. If they cannot reach their closest BigFix Relay because it is off or down, they will try the second closest, and so on.

  • If a BigFix Client cannot find any BigFix Relays or they are all down, the BigFix Client will connect directly with the main BigFix Server.

  • If more than one BigFix Relays are the same distance away from a BigFix Client, the BigFix Client will randomly choose amongst them.

I would perform a traceroute from the devices that are reporting to an incorrect relay to determine why it is not reporting to the correct relay. It is also possible that the device was unable to reach the relay (firewall, etc) and then would try to reach another relay before attempting to connect to the root server.

Jason