How to push software update thru ARD

I'm not certain how you are attempting to push out updates, but there are two options that may work for you.

The first is to download the needed update from Apple's website. Once you expand the dmg the update should be in .pkg format. You can then use the "install package" option in ARD to push the package to your clients.

Alternatively, you can force the clients themselves to download and install the needed updates. You can do this by using the "send unix command" option and inputting the "softwareupdate" command with the required flags. You can read more about the softwareupdate command by either typing "man softwareupdate" in Terminal.app or you can visit this website: http://www.manpagez.com/man/8/softwareupdate/

What software are we talking about?

If it's Apple system software look at running your own Software Update Server (you'll need 10.5.x server to support 10.5.x clients).

And you have posted in "OS X server 10.4 and earlier" and yet you have listed Xserve and 10.5.4?

Hi

You don't really need ARD to push Apple specific Software Updates to mac clients. You could utilize the Software Update Service instead:

http://images.apple.com/server/macosx/docs/SystemImaging_and_SW_Update_Adminv10.5.pdf

More of the same from here:

http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/resources/

If by Software Updates you mean 3rd-Party applications such as Adobe's suite of products then unless they are .pkgs or .mpkgs you won't be able to. However even for these you could utilize PackageMaker:

http://oreilly.com/pub/a/mac/2003/09/16/packagemaker.html?page=last&x-maxdepth=0
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=91068
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Porting/Conceptual/PortingUnix/distribu ting/chapter9_section_3.html#//appleref/doc/uid/TP40002855-TPXREF102

and build a .pkg for non-pkg applications and push those out using ARD. Another way of doing this is via the command line man softwareupdate - which can be also be done using ARD.

Tony