For many iOS deployment projects, iTunes is used as the primary deployment vehicle for the devices. iTunes can be used to “Backup” and “Restore” an iPad, similar to how you image desktop and laptop computers. The actual deployment process is straight forward. First we’ll create a backup in iTunes. Then we can deploy the backup using the Restore option within iTunes. Provided the backup is encrypted, the Restore option will maintain the maximum amount of data available. For example, if a device has been activated then the fact that it has been activated is maintained across a restore. As are the applications that are installed on the device. Create iTunes…
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Integrating Mac OS X Lion Server's Profile Manager With Active Directory
Over the years, the terms Magic, Golden, Triangle, Augments, Directory, Domains and Active have given the administrators of Mac OS X environments fits. So when you think about using Active Directory to manage iOS devices through the Profile Manager service, built into Lion Server, you may think that it’s a complicated thing to piece together. You may remember those days when you had to manually craft service principals because xgrid wouldn’t play nice with Acive Directory, or you might think of twisting augmented records to support CalDAV. But you’re gonna’ have to forget all that, ’cause getting Profile Manager to talk to Active Directory is one of the easiest things…
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iPhone and iPad Admin Guide Now Shipping
The Enterprise iPhone and iPad Administrator’s Guide is now shipping (and rapidly moving up in Amazon’s rankings)! There have also been a couple of sightings in Border’s. Apress also sent out a press release and an email blast regarding the book in the past week. So, feel free to buy it using the link below! 🙂
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MySpace RSS Integration
MySpace won’t die. Good. Competition breeds innovation and if social networks are to continue to become more and more useful then a somewhat healthy MySpace is simply going to keep the cog wheels turning in the otherwise spiderweb filled heads of talented engineers. MySpace introduced applications awhile back and there is now a pretty ample number, although nothing close to what Facebook has. I suppose there’s something to be said for being a day late and a dollar short, eh? Most of the applications, as with Facebook, aren’t that useful. Games to help you waste time and quizzes to help you inform your friends and coworkers that you haven’t stepped…
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The Lighter The Touch… Imaging & Support
When it comes to system imaging, the most important aspect is to be methodical. If there is an error, the last thing you want to do is try 3-4 different things to see if one fixes the problem. Bust out the scientific method and find out exactly what the problem is. Because you’re about to make a change, en masse, that is going to have a resounding impact on the ecosystem that is your environment. And the smaller the change, or the light the touch, that you make then the less likely you will be to introduce a support nightmare in some other part of the enterprise. Many environments have…
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Integrating Mac and Linux with eDirectory
Mac OS X clients can be integrated with Novell’s eDirectory out of the box for the purposes of authentication. Beyond that, I often see questions about other integration options with eDirectory and Mac OS X online and I almost always point people to this article, by Randall Saeks, which is a great document to get you started. Given that the article was written in 2006, a little more work may be needed to get specific features of Leopard working (to be specific, schema extensions), but it’s a great starting point overall. But Novell isn’t targeting just Mac OS X clients. They also provide a document on getting started with Linux…