REST API - Get latest catalog version ILMT has

1

Hi,
I have been working through the REST API docs, and it would be really helpful to get the catalog version ILMT has currently got. so i can then build the query for the out of date catalog once i get the json data from the REST API call.
is this possible would anyone know?
thanks
Paul

2

I was in search of this too but didn’t find it. What I had to do was a REST API call to the BES Root Server API asking for the fixlet name that starts with “Software Catalog Update” and then extract the version out of the name.

3

thank you cstoneba .

can you paste any links of examples on how to do this or other more filtered / selective queries on the API - or is that not possible. Im just starting working with the API in BigFIx and ILMT.

i can see i can do …/api/actions to get a list of all actions and their IDs, but the status is not on that query; do i have to iterate through all IDs from that query and then filter on Status to get a list of open action sfor example? or am i making it hard for myself?!

cheers
Paul

4

@pmatz, @cstoneba Take a look at Task ID 48: Software Catalog Update (9.x.y.z). If you inspect Relevance 4 of this task, you can see where the catalog file is stored and create a property which captures the detailed catalog version.

For example, the following relevance returns the name of the catalog file and the version information from the file name:

(name of it, preceding text of last "." of following text of last "_" of name of it) of file whose (name of it starts with "LMT_Catalog") of folder (value of settings whose (name of it starts with "LMT_Server_Path") of client & "/wlp/usr/servers/server1/data/sam/catalog/LMT")

This will return something like the following:

LMT_Catalog_9.2.17.0-20190930-2027.zip, 9.2.17.0-20190930-2027

Then you can use the …/api/properties call to get the id of your new property, and use it with …/api/property/{id} for your automation.

I also recommend creating a web report alert to send you an email whenever Task ID 48: Software Catalog Update (9.x.y.z) or Fixlet ID 1002: Upgrade to the latest version of IBM License Metric Tool (9.x.y.z) is relevant to your LMT server

5

As I think about this more, using an analysis to create the property would be better, so you can target just the LMT server for evaluation.

6

I’ve created an enhancement request so that there is a native BFI API Endpoint to query for the installed catalog version/latest available catalog version.

Please vote!
https://bigfix-ideas.hcltechsw.com/ideas/BFINV-I-54

7

Good idea. I’ve voted for it.

8

@cstoneba For BFI, it would also be nice if the file based version of the catalog matched the internal version found in the file catalog _version.info.

/var/opt/BESClient/LMT/CIT/catalog_version.info 

C:\Program Files (x86)\BigFix Enterprise\BES Client\LMT\CIT\catalog_version.info

Do you see the same mismatch in your LMT Software Scan Status Analysis?

9

no, mine do match:
client’s catalog_version.info = 2638396.4

‘Software Scan Status’ analysis, ‘Catalog Version’ property= 2638396.4

10

Sorry - that’s not what I meant. The download from IBM (or HCL) uses the product version and date/time(?) stamp

LMT_Catalog_9.2.17.0-20190930-2027.zip

which does not correlate with the content of the catalog_version.info

2638396.4