The traditional way to enable Apple Remote Desktop is using the kickstart command. But there’s a simpler way in OS X Mountain Lion Server. To do so, use the serveradmin command. To enable ARD using the serveradmin command, use the settings option, with info:enableARD to set the payload to yes: sudo serveradmin settings info:enableARD = yes Once run, open System Preferences and click on Sharing. The Remote Management box is then checked and the local administrative user has access to ARD into the host. The Server app will also have the “Enable screen sharing and remote management” option checked. There are also a few other commands that can be used…
-
-
Mountain Lion Server Posts on AFP548.com
AFP548 has undergone a new look and feel. But it’s also gotten some fresh faces writing articles and there have also been some links over here about posts I’ve done on services in Mountain Lion Server. Since the introduction of Mountain Lion, the following articles have been posted: Running NetBoot On Mountain Lion Server: http://afp548.com/2012/08/09/netboot-on-10-8-server Garage Band Deployment: http://afp548.com/2012/08/07/garageband-deployment-quick-tip Configuring Alerts on 10.8 Server: http://afp548.com/2012/08/06/alerts-on-10-8-server Resolving Issues With AFP: http://afp548.com/2012/08/05/strange-afpsmb-connection-issues-check-this-out New 10.8 Unix Commands: http://afp548.com/2012/08/04/new-10-8-unix-commands Upgrading to 10.8 Server: http://afp548.com/2012/08/03/upgrading-to-10-8-server Never Image Again: http://afp548.com/2012/08/02/never-image-a-machine-again Upgrading FileVault Enabled Systems From 10.7 to 10.8: http://afp548.com/2012/07/29/upgrading-from-10-7-to-10-8-on-a-fv2-encrypted-system Some of these just link to articles I’ve written, others are original and still others link to other sites within the Mac Systems Administrator…
- iPhone, Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, Mac Security, Mass Deployment, Microsoft Exchange Server, Network Infrastructure
Configuring & Using Profile Manager 2 in OS X Mountain Lion Server
Profile Manager first appeared in OS X Lion Server as the Apple-provided tool for managing Apple devices, including Mobile Device Management (MDM) for iOS based devices as well as Profile management for OS X based computers, including MacBooks, MacBook Airs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros and iMacs running Mac OS X 10.7 and up. In OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has added a number of new features to Profile Manager, most notably the ability to push certain types of apps to mobile devices. In this article, we’re going to look at setting up Profile Manager from scratch. If you’re upgrading to OS X Mountain Lion Server (10.8 Server) from OS X…
-
Setting Up & Troubleshooting An Open Directory Replica In OS X Mountain Lion Server
Yesterday we looked at setting up an Open Directory Master in OS X Mountain Lion Server. An Open Directory Replica keeps a copy of the Open Directory database available for users even when the Master goes offline. But it can also take a part of the load from the Open Directory Master and when using the new Locales feature, balance network traffic. To get started with an Open Directory Replica, first enable SSH, now disabled by default. Next, use the changeip to check the host name. While the Server app is cool, it caches stuff and I’ve seen it let things go threat shouldn’t be let go. Therefore, in order…
-
Setting Up an Open Directory Master in OS X Mountain Lion Server
Open Directory has never been so easy to setup for a basic environment as it is in OS X Mountain Lion Server. It’s also never been so annoyingly simple to use that to do anything cool requires a bunch of command line foo. No offense to the developers, but this whole idea that the screens that were being continually refined for a decade just need to be thrown out and started fresh seems to have led to a few babies thrown out along with them. Not often as I’m kinda’ digging most of the new config screens in OS X Mountain Lion Server, but with Open Directory, it’s just too…
-
Installing and Managing NetBoot Services in OS X Mountain Lion Server
The NetBoot service has allowed administrators of Mac OS X computers to leverage images hosted on a server to boot computers to a central location since OS X was first introduced by Apple. Since the very first versions of OS X, the service has been called NetBoot. In the Server app, Apple has added a number of options surrounding the NetBoot service. It is now called NetInstall. The first step to configuring the NetBoot service is to decide what you want the NetBoot service to do. There are three options: Create a NetBoot Image: Allows Macs to boot over the network to a disk image hosted on a server. Create…
-
Backing Up And Restoring iOS Devices in iTunes
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…
-
Setting Up File Services in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Server
File Services are perhaps the most important aspect of any server because file servers are often the first server an organization purchases. There are a number of protocols built into OS X Mountain Lion Server dedicated to serving files, including AFP, SMB and WebDAV. These services, combined comprise the File Sharing service in OS X Mountain Lion Server. File servers have shares. In OS X Mountain Lion Server we refer to these as Share Points. By default: File Sharing has some built-in Share Points that not all environments will require. Each of these shares is also served by AFP and SMB, something else you might not want (many purely Mac…
-
Using Apple Configurator To Automate Casper MDM Enrollment
Enrolling iPads into the JAMF Casper MDM solution is done through Apple Configurator, messages or using links deployed to iOS devices as web clips. When doing larger deployments the enrollment process can be automated so that devices are automatically enrolled into Casper MDM when they are set up using an Enrollment Profile that is manually downloaded from Casper and deployed to device. Additionally, a certificate can be needed if the certificate is not included in the profile, an option available as a checkbox in the setup. While you hopefully won’t need to download the certificate, we’ll start there: Obtain the Certificate for the JSS Server To obtain the trust certificate…
-
MacTech Conference Sessions Posted
Not sure if I mentioned awhile back that I’ll be doing a talk at MacTech Conference in Los Angeles. This session is on Regression Testing. The official description is: We have images, packages, scripts, file drops, managed preferences, profiles and countless other means to create change on client systems. This means a practically infinite number of combinations of change on client systems. In order to qualify whether an “image”, which is in reality a combination of all of these things, passes our test of whether or not we can roll it out to users, we must first test it. Otherwise, we end up flooding our help desk, touching systems by…