Apple Deployment

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Apple Deployment

I have 5 iMacs, 2 iPads,6 iPhones, and 4 Airport devices all in my home for my family. I looked at the options the Server software has to manage the devices and accounts instead of doing each device separately, as I have been, and I decided to make the purchase and install it. I created my users and groups and added a self signed SSL Cert. My issue comes into play when I started to setup the Profile Manager Section. I went through the step to enable and that was fine. I then needed to start the process to enroll devices through Device Enrollment Program. During this process it asks for my account which I use for everything, including development (which is ironic to my issue). So I guess my ID cannot work for deployment. I'm trying to figure out how I can use this option of my server to make management of all my devices easier, being that I'm not doing this for a business or school, etc. I guess I would have thought Apple would allow someone to use this in such the way as I'm trying to do. Your thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. I'm sorry if I'm missing an easy step in all of this.

Posted on Jul 7, 2014 3:02 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 7, 2014 7:18 PM in response to youataknow

The Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and Enabling Device Management are two different things.

The DEP is for large organization that buy direct from Apple. If you enroll in this program (https://deploy.apple.com) then Apple will pre-configure devices to look for your MDM. If you are solving a management problem for 5 iMacs, 2 iPads, and 6 phones, you are nowhere near qualifying for this program. Leave this box unchecked. You don't need it and likely can not get into the program.

The only thing you need to do is Configure Device Management. For this, you can use your developer ID and request the push notification certificate.

I will suggest spending the money on a valid certificate. If you are managing iPhones and iPads that leave your environment, and you are going to open Profile Manager up for access from anywhere, using valid certificates removes some steps associated with trusting the self-signed certs.

Reid

Apple Consultants Network

Apple Professional Services

Author "Mavericks Server – Foundation Services" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

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Answer 2

youataknow Author

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Jul 8, 2014 9:05 AM in response to Strontium90

Thanks for you reply. I didn't think I needed to join DEP, or even could. I was just missing the part on how to directly add the devices. I was thinking about getting a valid SSL Cert at some point.

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Answer 3

Jul 8, 2014 9:10 AM in response to youataknow

Once you have Device Management enabled, you can add devices by visiting https://host.domain.tld/mydevices/. Replace host.domain.tld with the fully qualified host name of your server. Login as the user of the device and enroll the device.

If you already know the serial numbers of the systems, you can log into profile manager and create placeholder records. Then place the placeholders into a device group. By doing so, you can apply management policy to the device group. This will allow the devices to receive policy upon enrollment.

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Answer 4

youataknow Author

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Jul 8, 2014 9:14 AM in response to Strontium90

Actually I didn't do the placeholders. I just sent the link to my devices and signed in. It was a easy as I thought it should have been. Although I'm not sure how to add the Apple TVs without being able to browse the the URL. I'm still working on that one.

As you can tell this is my first time working not he server side. How much of this have you done?

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Answer 5

Jul 8, 2014 6:35 PM in response to youataknow

Too long 🙂 Nearly 20 years of exclusive Mac experience. Started in a school with an AppleTalk phone-net network and a bunch of Macintosh LC 520s. Ah, those were the days. I recall the introduction of Open Transport and the start of the internet. Ouch. I feel old.

Take a look here http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5437

I've not added Apple TVs to Profile Manager. I do a lot of JAMF environments. But this should work.

OS X Server is a great product but one that has its limitations. Provided you are using all Apple products, it does a very good job.

Reid

Apple Consultants Network

Apple Professional Services

Author "Mavericks Server – Foundation Services" :: Exclusively available in Apple's iBooks Store

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Answer 6

youataknow Author

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Jul 9, 2014 10:53 AM in response to Strontium90

Oh man. Way longer than I have. I have another situation that I'd like some guidance on but I didn't want to start another thread. Which was actually a precursor to me buying the Server for my home. Do you mind having that conversation through chat or email? If not I understand. I do greatly appreciate your help on this thread.

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Answer 7

Jul 9, 2014 6:05 PM in response to youataknow

I generally stay away from chat but sending to email is fine. Or, just post here. If I am unable, you have an entire community to assist. Your choice.

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