SQL Server DB connections for imports from IBM BigFix offerings or ILMT

Synopsis

IBM BigFix Inventory and BigFix Platform products may be configured with either a DB2 database connection, or a connection to a Microsoft SQL Server database. In addition, if you are using the ILMT product, this may also be using the BigFix Inventory engine behind the scenes, and can have similar database options.

This article discussed the second case, using SQL Server, and identifies the database name and the best adapter to use for imports, taking account of four different scenarios where you may be using a BigFix/ILMT solution.

Discussion

In a standard implementation of your BigFix solution on a Microsoft SQL Server back end, there are two different database names available to FlexNet Manager Suite for connection and inventory imports. These databases are called:

• TEMADB
• BFEnterprise.

When to use the TEMADB database

To import inventory into FlexNet Manager Suite from the TEMADB database, use the ILMT Inventory connector. This is configured on an inventory beacon of your choice that has network access to your SQL Server database server, using the Inventory systems page of the FlexNet Beacon interface with a connection type ILMT SQL (for details, see the online help for that page, or see Set Up Connections in the Systems Reference PDF, available through the title page of online help). This is the appropriate solution for any of these three separate scenarios:

1. You are using just the free version of ILMT to report PVU sub-capacity license consumption to IBM. (Behind the scenes, ILMT uses the BigFix Inventory engine.) In this scenario, ILMT reports installed software only from IBM.
2. You are using the BigFix Inventory solution so that you can report on installed software from all publishers (not just IBM).
3. You are using the BigFix Platform offering for full end-point management and protection, including software installation and patching.  At the same time, you have added the BigFix Inventory capability, with ILMT, for reporting software inventory. 

In short, use the TEMADB database for almost all contemporary use cases.

When to use the BFEnterprise database

Connect to the BFEnterprise database only when you are using the Tivoli Endpoint Manager type of inventory connector (Tivoli Endpoint Manager was one of the former names for BigFix Platform). However, notice that this combination of connector type and database is not recommended, for the following reasons:

• This combination provides only minimum inventory data, such as computer name and IP address
• Data required for reliable record matching and licensing is missing, such as serial numbers, hardware make/model, and installed software details
• Information about partitioning/virtualization, especially as it relates to UNIX-like platforms, is also missing, so that this combination is insufficient, for example, for tracking sub-capacity licensing on IBM PVU licenses.

If you have special reason for using this connector type, this is also configured on an inventory beacon of your choice that has network access to your SQL Server database server, using the Inventory systems page of the FlexNet Beacon interface, this time with a connection type Tivoli Endpoint Manager (for details, see the online help for that page). This may be the appropriate solution for only this one scenario:

1. You are using the BigFix Platform offering for full end-point management and protection, including software installation and patching.  However, you are not using BigFix Inventory, nor are you using ILMT.

Summary

For any situation using ILMT or BigFix Inventory (including when the BigFix Inventory engine is operating behind the scenes, as with the free ILMT tool), configure your inventory beacon to make an ILMT SQL connection to the SQL Server database called TEMADB.

Only if all the following are true:

• You are using BigFix Platform without the BigFix Inventory add-on
• You are not using ILMT
• You can be satisfied with poor quality inventory results
• You accept the risk of duplicated records arising from incomplete data for record matching

you may configure your inventory beacon to make a Tivoli Endpoint Manager connection to the BFEnterprise database.