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2020 | Buch

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Apple macOS and iOS System Administration

Integrating and Supporting iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks

verfasst von: Drew Smith

Verlag: Apress

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

Effectively manage Apple devices anywhere from a handful of Macs at one location to thousands of iPhones across many locations. This book is a comprehensive guide for supporting Mac and iOS devices in organizations of all sizes.
You'll learn how to control a fleet of macOS clients using tools like Profile Manager, Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP), and Apple Remote Desktop. Then integrate your Mac clients into your existing Microsoft solutions for file sharing, print sharing, Exchange, and Active Directory authentication without having to deploy additional Mac-specific middle-ware or syncing between multiple directory services.
Apple macOS and iOS System Administration shows how to automate the software installation and upgrade process using the open source Munki platform and provides a scripted out-of-the box experience for large scale deployments of macOS endpoints in any organization. Finally, you'll see how to provision and manage thousands of iOS devices in a standardized and secure fashion with device restrictions and over-the-air configuration.
What You'll LearnIntegrate macOS and iOS clients into enterprise Microsoft environmentsUse Apple’s Volume Purchase Program to manage App installations and share pools of Apps across multiple usersMass deploy iOS devices with standard configurationsRemotely manage a fleet of macOS devices using Apple's Remote DesktopWho This Book Is For
System or desktop administrators in enterprise organizations who need to integrate macOS or iOS clients into their existing IT infrastructure or set-up a new infrastructure for an Apple environment from scratch.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction to Apple Platforms

Abstract

Back in the mid- to late 1990s, Apple Computer’s products and the Macintosh platform specifically were in the low single digits of personal computer market share. These systems were typically found only in small graphic design departments, creative firms, or schools. Driven by the excitement of the Internet, Information Technology departments were tasked with building and maintaining large homogeneous network computing environments that invariably used solutions developed by Microsoft. If you were a Mac technician, your skills were not in high demand, and I used to joke that being able to repair an Apple-branded PC was becoming a dark art.

Drew Smith

Chapter 2. macOS Client Administration

Abstract

In this chapter, we will explore the administration of a single Mac. Topics will include managing local user accounts, exploring the file structure of macOS, learning about the command line interface, and performing some basic hardware troubleshooting.

Drew Smith

Chapter 3. macOS Security

Abstract

It is debatable if macOS is really more secure than Windows, but Apple has gained a reputation that a Mac is less susceptible to malware and privacy breaches than other platforms. Much of Apple’s security and privacy services have continued to evolve over the last several iterations of macOS, with Mojave and Catalina placing an even greater emphasis on sandboxing and user acknowledgement. This chapter explores both hardware and software security and privacy controls that Mac system administrators must be familiar with.

Drew Smith

Chapter 4. iOS Client Administration

Abstract

iOS and iPadOS, by extension, are relatively young operating systems when compared to macOS. Having launched with the first iPhone in 2007, it is only a little over 12 years old and now on its thirteenth release. iOS is much simpler and more straightforward to manage than a desktop operating system. Originally envisioned as an OS for a telephone handset, it didn’t have the requirements of a traditional computer operating system, like the ability to install software downloaded from anywhere on the Internet or robust peripheral support. While iOS is less complicated than a true desktop-class system, there are a number of key features that system administrators should be familiar with when supporting fleets of iPhones and iPads. This chapter provides the foundation for understanding the capabilities that Apple provides for configuring, securing, and troubleshooting iOS devices running iOS 13 and iPadOS (13).

Drew Smith

Chapter 5. Managing Devices with Apple Configurator

Abstract

In Chapter 4, we explored the various ways to restrict or configure iOS devices interactively on the units themselves. As you have experienced, this manual approach can be problematic if you have more than a handful of devices to configure. Fortunately, we have tools like Apple Configurator that help us automate much of this process.

Drew Smith

Chapter 6. Managing macOS Clients with Apple Remote Desktop

Abstract

Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) is a fundamental client management tool that Mac system administrators have been using for over 15 years. In this chapter, we are going to review the four main components of ARD—asset management, software distribution, client administration, and remote support. If you have more than a couple macOS clients to manage, ARD is a must-have tool.

Drew Smith

Chapter 7. macOS Server

Abstract

The concept of a Mac server has changed quite extensively since the very first version of the software hit the scenes in the late 1990s. In this chapter, we are going to explore the server capabilities that Apple has built into the macOS client operating system, the services that are added when installing the macOS Server application, how to determine if you need a dedicated Mac server, and how to configure and manage the server if you do.

Drew Smith

Chapter 8. Mobile Device Management

Abstract

The concept of mobile device management (MDM) has been around for nearly two decades, but it has become increasingly more popular in recent years due to the “bring your own device” model and the capability to now manage traditional desktop computers like Macs or Windows PCs. MDM solutions work through the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that the operating system vendor makes available as a means to configure, control, secure, and manage a device over the air. In this chapter, we are going to explore the various services and APIs that Apple makes available to MDM vendors that form the foundation for managing modern iOS and macOS endpoints.

Drew Smith

Chapter 9. Profile Manager

Abstract

While it is not mentioned much in Apple’s marketing materials, they do offer their own first-party Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution. Profile Manager is a service that is included with the macOS Server product. For small- to medium-sized macOS and iOS deployments, it does the job well enough that your organization may not need to purchase their own third-party MDM. Regardless of the choice of MDM, the concepts are universal, and we will be using Profile Manager in this chapter to explain the basic functions that are found in all commercial MDM solutions.

Drew Smith

Chapter 10. Automated macOS Application Deployment Using Munki

Abstract

In this chapter, we are going to be working with an open source solution called Munki from Walt Disney Animation Studios (www.munki.org). Munki is a simple, effective, and freely available software deployment solution for managing Macs in medium and large organizations.

Drew Smith

Chapter 11. Microsoft Integration

Abstract

Apple has continued to update their operating systems to work better in heterogeneous environments over the past decade. In this chapter, we are going to explore the various ways that a Mac or iOS device can integrate seamlessly into a corporate network that is based primarily on technologies from Microsoft Corp. Apple provides a number of built-in solutions that help with this multi-platform integration, but there are some third-party solutions available that go even further. In this chapter, we will discuss several of the built-in solutions and related strategies to support Apple products on a corporate network with minimal reconfiguration or cost.

Drew Smith

Chapter 12. Mass Provisioning of iOS Devices

Abstract

Up to this point, we have been working with one or two test devices, but now we are going to configure our Profile Manager MDM to facilitate a mass deployment of iOS devices. In this chapter, we are going to put some of our iOS skills to use in a couple of real-world scenarios. The first scenario is a standard BYOD deployment where we will configure employee-owned devices into our MDM and provide basic management. The second scenario is the configuration and deployment of ten company-owned devices that will be given to a remote sales team and need to be managed from a distance using over-the-air MDM tools.

Drew Smith

Chapter 13. Deployment of macOS Clients

Abstract

Throughout this book, we have covered many macOS concepts from basic support tools, client utilities, Profile Manager, integration with technologies from Microsoft Corp, and open source deployment tools like Munki and Munki-Pkg. In this final chapter, we are going to pull all of these concepts together and step through the process of staging a standard Mac-based office environment.

Drew Smith

Backmatter

Titel: Apple macOS and iOS System Administration
verfasst von: Drew Smith
Verlag: Apress
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-4842-5820-0
Print ISBN: 978-1-4842-5819-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5820-0