Basic deployment

This is a very simplified deployment that points out the basic hierarchy and the ports used to connect the components.

Note the following about the diagram:

• Port 80 is used to collect Fixlet messages over the Internet from Fixlet providers such as IBM.
• A dedicated port (defaulting to 52311) is used for HTTP communications between servers, relays, and Clients.
• A dedicated port (defaulting to 52311) is used for HTTPS communications between servers and Consoles.
• Relays are used to share the server load. This diagram only shows two relays, but you can use dozens or even hundreds of relays in a similar flat hierarchy. Typically a Relay is deployed for every 500-1,000 computers.
• The BigFix relays can also take advantage of a UDP port to alert the Clients about updates, but this is not strictly necessary.
• The BigFix Clients are typically PCs or Workstations, but can include other servers, dockable laptops, and more. Any device that can benefit from patches and updates is a candidate to include in the deployment.

BigFix has far greater flexibility and potential than this simple case suggests. It is capable of overseeing hundreds of thousands of computers, even if they are spread out around the world. The next scenarios build on this basic deployment.