• 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

    August 12, 2012

    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…

    Read More
  • iPhone,  Mass Deployment

    Using Apple Configurator To Automate Casper MDM Enrollment

    August 8, 2012

    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…

    Read More
  • iPhone

    Free Hosted Mobile Device Management for iOS

    August 6, 2012

    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…

    Read More
  • public speaking

    MacTech InDepth In New York

    April 5, 2012

    I have been added as a speaker at MacTech InDepth in New York. If you haven’t signed up yet, and you work with Mac OS X Server then you should really check out the sessions that have been planned: The Elephant in the Room: The New Lion OS X is out, now what? There are a lot of differences to contend with between Lion and Snow Leopard. Now with the new Mountain Lion update, what changes can we expect to see? We discuss the differences in advanced services, GUI simplicity, and Apache management GUI’s. We help you understand the updates in the new OS and make the transition easier. We…

    Read More
  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

    Automating Profile Manager Enrollment Through DeployStudio

    April 4, 2012

    When planning to migrate from managed preferences to profiles, one of the important aspects to consider is automated enrollment. One of the more important aspects of automating a traditional managed preferences environment is to automate the binding to directory services. You do not bind to Profile Manager; however, you do enroll devices. Much like binding computers to Lion Server’s Open Directory (by default), certificates and host names are important aspects of the enrollment process. Much as with local managed preferences, management via profiles can be done through the command line and without any involvement from a centralized source. I had written an article awhile back on using profiles from the…

    Read More
  • iPhone,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

    Using Payload Variables in Profile Manager

    March 26, 2012

    Profile Manager allows you to leave certain fields that are user-centric blank and it will prompt at the time that the profile is installed for the blank information. These are usually user-centric fields, such as short name and password. You can also create a profile in Profile Manager for each user you want to setup mail, Exchange, iCal, Address Book and other services that are tied to a specific user. You can enter the username for each and leave the password blank and the user will be prompted for the password but have the username filled in. And then there are payload variables. Note: Before we get started on Payload…

    Read More
  • iPhone,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

    Setting Up Profile Manager in Lion Server

    March 21, 2012

    New in Lion Server, Profile Manager is the most substantial new service added to Mac OS X Server in recent memory. A lot of engineering has gone into it since the introduction in 10.7.0 and in 10.7.3, Profile Manager represents a service that is ready for actual deployments. I have written a number of articles about Profile Manager, but they all revolved around working with Profile Manager once the service is setup and configured. Therefore, I have decided to document the steps used to take a system out of the box and configure it for Profile Manager. Before we get started, let’s prep the system for the service. This starts…

    Read More
  • iPhone,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

    Managing iOS Devices with Apple Configurator

    March 15, 2012

    My traditional interpretation of Apple’s vision on how iOS devices are used is that everyone has an AppleID. That AppleID enables them to access their apps from any iOS device they own or Mac that they own. That AppleID enables them to access mail, contacts, calendars and even files through iCloud. That AppleID also allows users to remotely wipe their device through Find iPhone and track their friends iOS devices (as in social networking via breadcrumb tracking) through Find Friends. All of this “Just Works” in a consumer sense. And it even allows for a little sharing of content across devices you own. However, larger organizations need more. They need…

    Read More
  • iPhone

    MacTech and MDM

    November 16, 2011

    MDM is a growing hot-button for many organizations — and many don’t yet understand why they need MDM to keep their organizations safe. With the consumerization of IT, the need for MDM has crept up on most.  MacTech is doing a bunch of stuff to help further the MDM cause. For starters, with MDM being SUCH a hot topic, and so many people having no idea that they really need to pay attention to it, MacTech has created a free primer which is now available at: http://www.mactech.com/2011/11/15/mobile-device-management-primer The primer covers the following topics: overview implementation device configuration reasons for MDM user configured/owned devices configuration profiles MDM lifecycle Apple Push Notification Service…

    Read More