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The New Caching Service In OS X Server
These days, new services get introduced in OS X Server during point releases. OS X now has a Software Caching server built to make updates faster. This doesn’t replace Apple’s Software Update Server mind you, it supplements. And, it’s very cool technology. “What makes it so cool” you might ask, given that Software Update Server has been around for awhile. Namely, the way that clients perform software update service location and distribution with absolutely no need (or ability) for centralized administration. Let’s say that you have 200 users with Mac Minis and an update is released. That’s 200 of the same update those devices are going to download over your…
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SimpleMDM Now With Apps
SimpleMDM has updated their Mobile Device Management solution (my original writeup is here) to now include the ability to manage apps. The apps functionality really comes in two flavors. The first is the ability to load up an app. This is handled handed by clicking on Settings in the right hand navigation bar and then at the Settings pop-over, clicking on Apps. Here, you can load up an internal, enterprise app or an App Store app. Once you’ve loaded an app you can deploy it to devices by clicking on a group and then using the contextual menu to “Assign Apps.” Simple, as the name implies. The second aspect of…
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Keynote From JAMF Nation
In case you were there and would like a copy, here’s the slides from the presentation I did this week at the JAMF Nation User Conference 2012. If you weren’t there, then perhaps they will help you in some way. JNUC2012 The session was recorded so I’ll try and post when it becomes available for download.
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Restricting Access To Sites On iOS Devices
One of the more common requests we get for iOS devices is to restrict what sites on the web that a device can access. This can be done in a number of ways. The best, in my experience, has been using a proxy. In Apple Configurator 1.2 there’s an option for a Global HTTP Proxy for Supervised devices. This allows you to have a proxy for HTTP traffic that is persistent across apps. Each Wi-Fi network that you push to devices also has the ability to have a proxy associated as well. This is supported by pretty much every MDM solution, with screens similar to the following, which is how…
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Volume Purchasing Program Now Available In More Countries
The Volume Purchasing Program is a program from Apple that allows you to buy gift codes en masse for distribution to users, either by mail merging them and sending them out or using a special tool for distribution, such as Apple Configurator or an MDM solution. If you’re in the United States and work with iOS, you’ve likely been using the Volume Purchasing Program for awhile. But for users in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom, the Volume Purchasing Program is new and probably being well received. The Volume Purchasing Program allows users to receive the codes and install/purchase software without being gifted money…
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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…
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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…
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Free Hosted Mobile Device Management for iOS
SimpleMDM is a newish Mobile Device Management service that is free, from MJVLabs, the makers of Presense. Now, it’s newish and currently completely free, so there are specific cases where it’s appropriate. Currently, SimpleMDM can be used to: Setup very specific mail Setup SSIDs and passwords (those are the only two options) Disable the App Store or require a password to access the app store Configure Basic, Strong or Very Secure password requirements Restrict content Disable Camera &/or FaceTime Disable Safari Disable iCloud Disable YouTube Disable Multiplayer Gaming The solution is simple to use. Just visit the website at simplemdm.com, click on Create New Account, enter your information and click…
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Apple Configurator 1.1 Released
Apple Configurator 1.1 was released on Monday. Configurator is updated through the App Store. It comes with a few new features, indicated on the App Store download page. My favorite part is probably that rather than let me do stupid things (which I am apt to do) I now get a screen warning me that I’m doing something stupid if Configurator doesn’t complete a sanity check against one of the profiles: Overall, the two updates that we’ve gotten to Configurator have been minor. The features and options, which make up the strategies that you deploy Configurator with, have remained pretty much the same. I look forward to seeing continued updates.