Migrating a BigFix Server To Another Location on the Network

Hi all …

The server migration document in the BigFix Wiki talks about migrating a Windows-based BigFix server, and its corresponding SQL Server, from one server to another.

What are the things I should consider if I move an existing Windows-based BigFix server to another location on my network? In my case, the masthead file uses an IP hostname and not an IP address. The hostname will not change, but the IP address probably will. The BigFix databases are on a separate SQL Server machine, which will also move, and its hostname will remain the same while its IP address will probably change.

Things I should consider:

  • The BigFix hostname cannot be changed (because that’s what was used when BigFix was set up initially and changing the hostname will break the server)
  • The new IP address for the BigFix and SQL Server hostnames will need to be updated in DNS.
  • ODBC data source definitions (using C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe) should be captured before the move and verified after the move.
  • Perform the activities in the pre-migration checklists listed in the Server Migration Document.

Otherwise, the move seems pretty straightforward:

  • Stop the BigFix services
  • Stop SQL Server
  • Configure the OS to have the revised IP address.
  • Turn off the servers and move them to the new network segment (VMware vMotion or similar)
  • Turn the servers on.
  • Verify connectivity from clients using a blank action
  • Troubleshoot clients that don’t connect

Did I miss anything?

–Mark

2 Likes

Hi all … any comments on the above? --Mark

If you relocate the server to a different IP address but the name in the Masthead remains the same then you should have no issues other than you will have endpoints whose DNS caching will have the older address. The issue could be mitigated by upper level relays as they would be the only ones contacting the server directly so you could manually clear their DNS caches. Console users would also need to shut down and restart.

3 Likes

This is not entirely the case. BigFix doesn’t need the forward and reverse DNS to match. The BigFix server’s hostname could be whatever you want as long as the FQDN in the masthead points to a DNS alias of the Root Server or a top level relay. Using a top level relay as the thing that DNS points to is what is called “Fake Root”. There are additional configurations that need to be made when using “Fake Root”, but it does work.