Updating clients after swapping BigFix Servers

Usage and Config Platform
1

(imported topic written by macook91)

Hello.

We have built a new server, different IP, different name and would like to point our clients there. We are on version 7.5.22, and will be doing the client upgrade to 8.0 at the same time. I have written the following batch…

@echo off

REM echo starting script

REM echo uninstalling bigfix

“C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information{BF7023BC-319B-4FE1-B569-C854A19F81F8}\setup.exe” /s --uninstallsilent

REM echo uninstall complete

REM echo installing bigfix 8

Y:\BigFix\8.0\Client\setup.exe /s /v/qn

REM echo bigfix 8 completed

REM PAUSE

I also have a clientsettings.cfg

_BESClient_Resource_WorkIdle=500

_BESClient_Resource_SleepIdle=1

_BESClient_ActionManager_TrayMode=AlwaysTray

_BESClient_ActionManager_HasMainDialog=“1”

NewComputer=True

This all works… most of the time.

Sometimes however, the uninstall, simply wont uninstall the program. Other times the new installer will seemingly completely ignore the clientsettings.cfg and leave the tray icon hidden. Sometimes the uninstall and upgrade will work fine, but it wont point to the new server (tries to connect to an old relay with the new client).

Is there a way that I can just simply, wipe out bigfix altogether, all registry settings, all client settings, and install it clean? Would that be the best way to do this? I have tried flat out deleting the folder out of program files and it still managed to hang on to the old relay information.

Are there other people who have been forced to change server names and IP’s and have successfully migrated their clients? How did you do it?

2

(imported comment written by MrFixit)

We did soemthing similar but when going from 6.0 to 7.2. And saw some of the same things you are seeing.

What we did was download BESRemove with the new client files. And then we would loop up to 3 times of running BESRemove before we would go to install new client and with masthead. If the client didn’t install than we dropped out the cmd file. If you installed the client without uninstalling the old one it would just simply do an upgrade of the old one.

I would need to dig up the old cmd file to know for sure but I think we also chose to do some additional cleanup of folders and registry after the BESRemove to ensure that that new client didn’t pick up old relays or server information… but that may also have been why we switched to using BESRemove to begin with. We had 100% success rate (with healthy systems) and we pushed the action from the old BES server and just watched them pop into the new one.

For the 7.2 installed we used setup /s /f2"C:\BES7.2Install.log" and included a clientsettings.cfg file with settings for relays, seeklist along with a couple of other settings. Never had a issue with those not being applied as long as the prior client was really uninstalled before running setup.exe/

Also had a discussion regarding using a workidle and sleepidle of 500 and 1. They strongly recommended against going to that extreme and recommended never reducing a value on either side to less than 10, and were even more confortable with a 400/100 split. We had recently run into some issues with some actions (we were provisioning systems at 500/1), Reducing that split, appears to correct the problem.

3

(imported comment written by macook91)

Bes remove sounds like a great idea. I will give it a look and keep you posted.

That “New Computer” rule is used with my cpu throttling. I do 500/1 for new installs and set that flag to true. The server has a policy running that looks for computers that have been on for more than 30 minutes, with the true flag set and sets the cpu throttling back to normal. This was done to make new client check in, and our dozens of offers populate quickly.

4

(imported comment written by StacyLee)

Is your license based on DNS name or IP address?

-If DNS can you just move the name as a alias to the new server?

-If IP, did you already get the new server up with a new license key?

*DNS is the better way to as it is more portable and you should get your license file based on DNS name.

We did a move a while back to a new server with a different name and IP but I was able to move the DNS name to the new server.

Are planning on preserving your current database or just starting new?

If you have both old and new servers running you could try ( I have not tried this myself) go to tasks - ID 460 "Switch BES Client Action Masthead - BES 7). This should direct your clients to the new BES server and have a open policy action on the new BES Server to Update all clients to V.8 as they check in.

A downlevel client will talk to a uplevel server/relay.

I am in the same situation. I plan on refreshing the hardware in the next few months and running version 7.

-I am going build out my new version 8 server and relays.

-Update the old server to v.8

-export the database and user accounts and import them into the new server

-switch over the dns record to the new server

-run the client updater on the new server.

*if you don’t care about the old database info then you can probably just direct your client with the BES task.

However you have a lot of analyses, custom fixlets, CO accounts, etc you want to keep then you will need to move the DB.

I migrated to new hardware 2 times in the last 4 years and everything has remained in tact.