The BigFix Team is pleased to announce the release of version 11 Patch 1 (11.0.1.104) of BigFix Platform. The main features in this release are as follows:
Added support for BigFix Server on Linux with Microsoft SQL Server database
Starting from BigFix Version 11 Patch 1, the Linux Server installation introduces the support of Red Hat 9 x86 64-bit with Microsoft SQL Server 2019 and 2022 databases. This augments the options you have for operating system and database, allowing you to better leverage the tools and skill sets already available in your enterprise.
For details, see Installing the Server with MS SQL and Installing and configuring MS SQL.
Added support for BigFix Agent running on Windows 11 ARM64
A new agent installer is available for Windows 11 on ARM64 processor. ARM chipsets are taking prominence and more growth is expected in the future; with 11.0.1, BigFix gives you the possibility to manage and control these devices with a native agent already today.
BESAdmin improvements in action control and user experience
Several improvements have been implemented to provide the BigFix administrator with more granular control over actions performed by BESAdmin tools, especially when those can, in specific cases, require a significant amount of time depending on the database size:
- Information messages have been improved
- At the startup of BESAdmin tool, when a license update is needed, the operator is given the option to skip the license update at that time, so that they can run the license update at a more convenient time. For detail see Distributing the masthead from the Windows server to clients
- A new command option is added to BESAdmin tool for Windows, which was already present on Linux: syncmastheadandlicense. This option allows the user to perform the license update via a non-interactive command line. For details, see BESAdmin Windows Command Line.
- Before starting the procedures : “Allow sha256 signatures” and “Require sha384 signatures”, the operator is warned about the fact that a relevant amount of time may be required. It is now possible to avoid that the operation starts, to be able to perform it at a later more convenient time- For details, see Security
Other improvements
License Overview dashboard “Device subscription by product” section changes
The “Device subscription by product” table, in the License Overview Dashboard, summarises the relevant information about the deployment. For each product, it now presents the renamed label “Allocated" beside the existing “Actual”. Moreover an Info Button is introduced and shows next to each label to better explain the meaning of those labels.
For details, see License Overview dashboard.
Inspector Updates
Added client inspector support for unsigned integers
A new client inspector named uinteger was created to support the unsigned integers.
For details, see uinteger.
Added support for BigFix Plugin Portal on Linux RHEL 9
Added support for BigFix Plugin Portal running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 x86 64-bit.
Library upgrades
• The ICU library was upgraded to Version 73.2 (54.2 on Tiny Core Linux).
• The libcURL library was upgraded to Version 8.4.0.
• The libssh2 library was upgraded to Version 1.11.0.
• The OpenSSL library was upgraded to Version 3.1.4.
Additional information about this release
• The standalone BigFix tools are published under the 11.0 Utilities section in BigFix Enterprise Suite Download Center
• A Non-Functional Requirements checklist, covering both performance and security management of your BigFix deployment, is available at BigFix Performance & Capacity Planning Resources
References
• See the full technical changelist
Pre-Upgrade Considerations
Important considerations to keep into account before upgrading to BigFix Platform Version 11 are:
• BigFix Version 10.0.7 is the minimum version supporting the upgrade of the BigFix server components to Version 11
• You must enable the “Enhanced Security” before upgrading BigFix Platform to Version 11
• The minimum TLS supported protocol in BigFix V11 is TLS 1.2
• The SHA1 hashing algorithm for content and action signature will no longer be supported. SHA1 is still supported for file download in actionscript
For details, see the BigFix Platform V11 Overview Page
• The unixODBC RPM package is a prerequisite for the Server components on Linux systems (see Server Requirements). This applies to installations with a DB2 database.
• The msodbcsql17 RPM package is a prerequisite for the Server components on Linux systems (see Server Requirements). This applies to installations with a MSSQL database.
For details, see Upgrade paths (Windows) and Upgrade paths (Linux)
• For detailed information on the specific changes to minimum supported versions of operating systems and databases for BigFix 11, see Detailed system requirements.
• Before getting started with the upgrade process, stop any active application that is connected to the BigFix database (such as Web Reports, WebUI, BigFix Inventory, or BigFix Compliance).
Useful links
• BigFix downloads and release information
• BigFix 11 Platform Documentation
• Upgrade Windows considerations
• Upgrade Linux considerations
• Detailed system requirements
A blog that discusses the benefits of BigFix 11 is available here
Upgrade Fixlets are available in BES Support version 1486 (or later).
– HCL BigFix – Platform Team