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Mac administration is usually a dicey proposition for a lot of organizations. While first-party instruments typically do an admirable job of dealing with the frequent administration duties, instruments that present actual perception into the day by day workings of those units sometimes come from third-party builders and normally require dear licensing charges.
While all instruments—first and third occasion alike—have their execs and cons, assist performs a giant function of their on-going use. This is very true for organizations that shouldn’t have engineers specializing in Apple merchandise, which forces them to depend on these assist plans for assist when issues do not go as deliberate.That stated, highly effective open-source instruments like Munki, the methods administration instrument with sturdy software program administration capabilities and a robust consumer assist group may be put in, configured, and run on macOS to handle all of the Apple computer systems within the enterprise—regardless of how giant or small. After all, Munki was developed by Walt Disney Animation Studios to aide within the administration of the 1000’s of Macs they use day by day when engaged on every thing from animated shorts to characteristic movies.SEE: System replace coverage template obtain (Tech Pro Research)
Best of all, Munki solely depends on Apple software program packages, learn and write permissions for shared deployment directories, and an internet server to ship the packages to shopper computer systems. And on this article, the steps essential to setup Munki on macOS Server might be outlined.However, earlier than we bounce in, there are a couple of necessities vital to make sure that Munki can run correctly:Apple laptop working macOS Server 10.7 (Lion) -10.13 (High Sierra)Munki 3 package deal (newest v3.4.1, as of this writing)Google Chrome.dmg installer package dealInternet AccessSwitched NetworkAdmin credentialsNote: Munki 3 helps macOS 10.14 (Mojave), nevertheless, attributable to modifications made by Apple on this model, the setup course of for Munki working natively on macOS Mojave is completely different from prior variations. A future article will embrace the steps to setup Munki on macOS Mojave with out the macOS Server part.Creating the Munki repositoryLog in to the pc with admin credentials. Launch macOS Server and make sure the Websites service is initially configured (Figure A).Figure AIf not current, launch Terminal and enter the command under to begin the net server (Figure B).Figure B
sudo serveradmin begin internet Go again to the Server.app, and Websites ought to now seem underneath Services and ought to be turned on (Figure C).Figure CGo again to Terminal and enter the next instructions to alter the listing to the foundation location that might be used to create the listing construction for the Munki repository. When naming the repository, the phrase “repo” was used within the instance, however it may be named to something you want (Figure D).Figure D
cd /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default
mkdir repo
mkdir repo/catalogs
mkdir repo/pkgs
mkdir repo/pkgsinfo
mkdir repo/manifests The ultimate command under, when run, will change the permissions to guarantee that it is accessible.
chmod -R a+rX /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default/repoConfiguring the net server settingsWith the repository created, change again to the Websites part in Server.app. Click the Server Website/Port 80 entry to focus on it, then click on the pencil button to edit the settings.Next to Redirects, click on the Edit…button and delete the one entry the redirects port 80 site visitors to port 443, then click on OK. Munki can typically have bother redirecting site visitors that causes it to fail to course of sure recordsdata, so it is best to take away redirection altogether, for now.After saving the settings, you will be introduced again to the earlier part. Click the Edit Advanced Settings… button, and verify the field subsequent to Allow folder itemizing, then click on OK to avoid wasting. This will turn out to be useful later when verifying that Munki was configured correctly.To check the net server’s configuration, open an internet browser and enter http://localhost/repo because the URL. If you may see the listing index, the repository is setup accurately (Figure E).Figure E5. Lastly, the next command will create a symbolic hyperlink to the Munki repository within the macOS internet server that permits it to serve the repo’s content material (Figure F).Figure F
sudo ln -s /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default/repo /Library/WebServer/Documents Installing Munki toolsExecute the Munki Tools package deal and observe the prompts to finish the set up (Figure G).Figure GBy clicking on the Customize button, the person instruments that make up the package deal could also be chosen (or deselected) for set up. For the admin workstation setup, putting in all of the instruments has its benefits. Click the Install button to finish the set up (Figure H).Figure HA reboot might be required as soon as Munki Tools is put in (Figure I).Figure IConfiguring the Munki repositoryAfter rebooting, launch Terminal and enter the next command to alter directories and configure the Munki repository’s settings (Figure J).Figure J
cd /usr/native/munki
munkiimport –configure The command will ask a collection of questions with a view to set the right configuration. First up is to enter the Repo URL. Depending on how the repo might be hosted, the entry may change from both a domestically hosted (ex. file:///path/to/repo), a shared drive (ex. smb://path/to/repo), or internet hosted (ex. http://area.com/path/to/repo). For the aim of this text, we’ll go together with our file-hosted setup and enter the next:file:///Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default/repoThe second query is the ,pkginfo file’s extension. These recordsdata include configuration info for every package deal that’s imported. While sometimes not edited, it might be, and it’s possible you’ll discover some packages do require some mild modifying to make them deploy silently. The commonest extension is .plist, so we’ll be coming into that right here.Third, we’re prompted to decide on a default app to edit the configuration recordsdata. You can enter the trail or title of any put in utility you favor. To hold issues easy, I’ve chosen the built-in Textual contentEdit.app native to macOS.SEE: Comparison chart: Enterprise collaboration instruments (Tech Pro Research)Next, we should create a catalog to retailer the package deal info for Munki. The catalogs might be learn by Munki and used to offer context as to what functions can be found for deployment. You can enter any title you select, and multiple catalog could exist. Here I’ve entered Default because the catalog title.Last, a repo entry plugin have to be chosen. Unless there’s a desire, FileRepo is the default selection. You could go away the entry clean, and the system will routinely default to that plugin’s configuration. The repository is now configured.Importing the preliminary package dealWhile we’re virtually performed with the setup of Munki, we will need to have no less than one package deal within the catalog earlier than finishing the method. To add the preliminary package deal, we’ll be utilizing Google Chrome for instance. From Terminal, enter the next command to get the method began (Figure Ok).Figure Ok
munkiimport /path/to/googlechrome.dmg Again, Munki will immediate for a collection of knowledge relating to the package deal being imported, akin to Item Name, Display title, Description, and many others. Some of this info will auto-populate, some won’t. That which does not ought to be added manually. By observing Figure Ok above, many of the info is fundamental and doesn’t influence Munki an excessive amount of besides the Catalogs part. Here you should enter the title of the catalog created in part IV above or else the package deal won’t be linked to Munki for distribution.Additionally, you may be requested whether or not to import the merchandise or not. Select Y to import it, in addition to creating product icons and rebuilding the catalog. This will replace the catalog with the newly imported package deal. You could, nevertheless, choose N to skip the modifying of the pkginfo file as Google Chrome doesn’t require any extra syntax to deploy it.Note: Typically, drag-and-drop-style installs don’t require modifying of the .plist configuration file. Installer-based PKG recordsdata could typically require extra syntax or switches to be handed alongside to finish the set up course of. In these circumstances, you’ll need to edit the pkginfo file to manually add these parameters.Configuring the repo’s manifestThe manifest file in Munki acts as a kind of map that tells the repo the place catalogs are positioned and therefor what’s in these catalogs, permitting Munki to handle software program deployments with ease. By default, no manifest exists so one have to be created. In Terminal, enter the next command to start (Figure L).Figure L
manifestutilBegin by creating the brand new manifest and giving it a reputation with this command:
new-manifest site_defaultNext, we’ll hyperlink the catalog we created to the newly created manifest:
add-catalog Default –manifest site_defaultLast step is so as to add the package deal created to the manifest:
add-pkg Chrome –manifest site_default Munki has formally been put in, setup, and prepared to be used. To check internet connectivity, launch a browser and enter http://localhost/repo/manifests/site_default. You ought to obtain a affirmation of the entries add to the manifest above (Figure M).Figure MAlternatively, by coming into the next command in Terminal to confirm the software program repo URL is configured accurately (Figure N).Figure N
defaults learn /Library/Preferences/ManagedInstalls Lastly, to check how Munki works at retrieving the packages and putting in them, name the command from Terminal (Figure O).Figure O
sudo managedsoftwareupdate The above command will learn the knowledge saved within the catalogs and establish what functions can be found and able to be put in compared in opposition to the stock on the native machine. To set up these apps, rerun the identical command, however add the “—installonly” suffix to truly carry out the set up (Figure P)Figure P
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