• Message Level Encryption (MLE) allows your Clients to encrypt upstream data using a combination of an RSA public/private key-pair and an AES session key1.
• When MLE is enabled, the BigFix Root server (or a decrypting Relay) needs to use the corresponding RSA private key to decrypt the AES session key, which is then used to decrypt the Client report1.
• This decryption process consumes CPU resources on the BigFix Root server, and the amount of CPU usage depends on the number of encrypted reports received and the key length used1.
• Therefore, the BigFix Root server requires additional CPU resources appropriate to the number of managed endpoints to process the encrypted reports1.
• The other options are incorrect because:
• 1: Message Level Encryption (MLE) Overview
• 2: [Enabling encryption on Relays]

• BigFix Clients use UDP (User Datagram Protocol) to automatically find their closest relay based on network hops12.
• UDP is a connectionless protocol that does not guarantee reliable delivery of packets, but is faster and more efficient than TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)3.
• BigFix Clients send UDP packets to the BigFix Server and all the BigFix Relays in their subnet, and wait for responses12.
• The BigFix Server and the BigFix Relays reply with UDP packets containing their relay information and the number of hops to reach them12.
• The BigFix Client compares the responses and selects the relay with the lowest number of hops as its closest relay12.
• If the BigFix Client does not receive any response within a timeout period, it assumes that there is no relay in its subnet and falls back to the BigFix Server12. References:
• Automatically assigning relays to existing clients
• Configuring BigFix for automatic Relay selection Blog
• UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

• The WebUI cache is used to improve the response time of the WebUI by storing and refreshing some data that requires complex calculations, such as the number of applicable devices or patches1.
• The cache refresh interval, also known as the cache Time To Live (TTL) value, determines how often the cached data is invalidated and updated1. The default value is 600 seconds (10 minutes)1.
• To change the cache refresh interval, you can use the client setting _WebUIAppEnv_CACHE_TTL and enter the desired interval in seconds1. The minimum value is 180 seconds (3 minutes)1.
• Increasing the cache refresh interval can reduce the impact on system resources, especially for large deployments and intensive patching activities1. However, it can also affect the freshness of the cached data1.
• Another setting that affects the WebUI caching is _WebUIAppEnv_CACHE_INTERVAL, which determines how often the WebUI checks for new data from the BigFix server1. The default value is 60 seconds1.
• Decreasing the cache interval can improve the responsiveness of the WebUI, but it can also increase the load on the BigFix server1. Therefore, you should balance the cache interval and the cache TTL values according to your needs and environment1.
• The other settings, _WebUIAppEnv_SP_QUEUE_CONCURRENT, _WebUIAppEnv_DATA_REFRESH_SECONDS, and _WebUIAppEnv_SITE_CACHE_SIZE, are not related to the WebUI cache refresh interval12.
• _WebUIAppEnv_SP_QUEUE_CONCURRENT limits the number of stored procedures that run simultaneously per app in the background that update cache values1. The default value is 51.
• _WebUIAppEnv_DATA_REFRESH_SECONDS determines how often the WebUI polls the BigFix server for new data2. The default value is 15 seconds2.
• _WebUIAppEnv_SITE_CACHE_SIZE specifies the maximum size of the site cache in megabytes2. The default value is 100 MB2.

References:

• Caching - HCL Product Documentation
• Server settings definitions - HCL Product Documentation

• The BES Client Usage Profiler is a tool that collects information about the client evaluation cycle, such as the average, maximum, and minimum duration, and the percentage of time spent on different tasks, such as action, api, archive, gather, etc.1
• To enable the BES Client Usage Profiler, you need to run the task 361 TROUBLESHOOTING: Enable BES Client Usage Profiler on the target clients. This task will set the _BESClient_UsageProfiler_Enable client setting to 1 and restart the client service.2
• After the task is completed, you can use the analysis 362 TROUBLESHOOTING: BES Client Usage Profiler to view the results of the profiler. This analysis will show you the evaluation cycle statistics and the breakdown of the time spent on each task.3
• You can use this information to identify any potential issues or bottlenecks in the client evaluation cycle, such as long action duration, high api percent, or excessive gather time. You can also compare the results with other clients or the average values to see if there are any anomalies or outliers.4
• To disable the BES Client Usage Profiler, you need to run the task 363 TROUBLESHOOTING: Disable BES Client Usage Profiler on the target clients. This task will set the _BESClient_UsageProfiler_Enable client setting to 0 and restart the client service.

References:

• 1: evaluation cycle | BigFix Developer
• 2: https://help.hcltechsw.com/bigfix/9.5/platform/Platform/Config/c_usage_profiler.html
• 3: https://help.hcltechsw.com/bigfix/9.5/platform/Platform/Config/r_usage_profiler_analysis.html
• 4: https://forum.bigfix.com/t/an-overview-on-the-client-evaluation-cycle/28056

A Top Level Relay is a relay that directly communicates with the BigFix Server and has other relays as its children. A Top Level Relay has no limit as to the number of relays they can manage, but it is recommended to have no more than 1000 relays per Top Level Relay for optimal performance. When designing a relay hierarchy, the BigFix Administrator should consider the following factors:

• The network bandwidth and latency between the relays and the server
• The number and size of the fixlets, actions, and reports that are exchanged between the relays and the server
• The CPU and memory resources of the relays and the server
• The relay affiliation and selection settings of the clients and the relays
• The encryption and decryption of the client reports by the relays and the server

References:

• Creating top-level decrypting relays
• Top-Level Relays - Platform - BigFix Forum
• Relay Health - BigFix
• Creating top-level decrypting relays - IBM

• An external site is a site that is created and maintained by HCL or a third-party vendor, and is subscribed by the BigFix administrator1. External sites provide content such as fixlets, tasks, analyses, and dashboards for various purposes, such as patching, compliance, inventory, and security1.
• The site properties for an external site in the Console show the following information2:
• Therefore, the correct answer is C. Description, as it is one of the information that is displayed in the site properties for an external site in the Console, along with Publisher and Current Version. The other options, A. Creator, B. Gather URL, and D. Created Date, are not correct, as they are either not shown or not relevant for the question. References:
• Sites
• Viewing site properties

• When installing the BigFix agent on a Windows endpoint, you can optionally include a pre-defined settings file in the same directory as the setup.exe file, to create custom settings for the Windows client at installation time, for example to assign the new client to a specific parent relay1.
• The name of this file must be clientsettings.cfg12. This file should contain one setting per line, in the format SETTING_NAME=SETTING_VALUE23.
• The other options are incorrect because:
• For more information on how to use the clientsettings.cfg file and what settings can be defined, see the following references. References:
• 1: Installing the Client using the .exe setup
• 2: Clientsettings.cfg question
• 3: Unix/Linux/Mac Client Deploy Tool