In order to use the Apple Volume Purchase Program, you will need an MDM solution (Profile Manager, Casper, MobileIron, Meraki, FileWave, etc). Also, token options were traditionally for one to one (1:1) environments until iOS 9, which marked a change where you can now leverage per-device licensing. This removes the requirement that you need an Apple ID running on each device that you choose to install apps on. Suddenly, VPP is for multi-tenant environments. You can also use codes and options for iOS 7 and up as well as OS X 10.9 and up, but those will use Apple IDs. Also, if you install your vpptoken on OS X Server and you’re running that same vpptoken elsewhere, OS X Server will take all of the codes that have been issued for itself (feature or bug, you decide).
But this article isn’t about the fine print details of the new VPP. Instead, this article is about making Profile Manager work with your new VPP token. Before you get started, know that when you install your vpptoken, if it’s in use by another MDM, Profile Manager will unlicensed all apps with your other MDM. To get started, log into your VPP account. Once logged in, click on your account email address and then select Account Summary.
Then, click on the Download Token link and your token will be downloaded to your ~/Downloads (or wherever you download stuff).
Once you have your token, open the Server app and click on the Profile Manager service.
Click on the checkbox for Distribute apps and books from the Volume Purchase Program.
At the VPP Managed Distribution screen, drag the .vpptoken file downloaded earlier into the screen.
Click Continue. The VPP code email address will appear in the screen. Click Done.
Back at the profile manager screen, you should then see that the checkbox is filled and you can now setup Profile Manager.
The rest of the configuration of Profile Manager is covered in a previous article.
Note: The account used to configure the VPP information is not tracked in any serveradmin settings.
