What is needed to install Apple Profile Manager

Well, a mac.

The latest profile manager requires el Capitan. el Capitan requires 2gig of memory. A reasonable minimum is 4gig. You best get 8gig. you best get an external drive to backup your machine. Is profile manager a separate download? -- no -- I think. Thus, you best buy the server version of el Capitan.

el cap requirements are kind of convoluted.

OS X El Capitan - Technical Specifications

might be easier to read hear.

http://osxdaily.com/2015/06/09/os-x-el-capitan-system-requirements-compatible-ma c/

Are you planning to plug these in locally and use Configurator, or are you trying to enroll these remotely through DEP?

I just went through this setup recently, and I would say Profile Manager is the easier part, but choosing a deployment strategy takes some real planning.

Configurator in person means you just need a Mac Mini that has OS X Server on it. (Just an App that you can buy for $19 and runs on the Mac desktop) If you go this route, you have to plug each device in and image it yourself.

DEP means you can order devices from Apple directly, and they'll reach out and enroll themselves. If you go this route, you have to have a server with a dedicated IP/URL and do some paperwork with Apple.

The former is the easier route, but the latter is the far more powerful one.

If you go the dep route, you do not need a mac.

for the mac, a mac mini is probably the best way to go. You can find you need hd/ssd space for ipad backups. You fill up the low end laptops. & you cannot add memory to the mac mini once you buy. get at least 8gig

http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs/

"This document offers guidance on some important considerations for getting the most out of your iOS deployment." Covers: Prepare your infrastructure. Set up devices. Configure and manage devices. Deploy apps and content. Plan for support.

https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Enterprise_Deployment_Overview.pdf

Quick overview of zero touch deplayment

http://www.apple.com/education/it/dep/

Consider DEP, Device Enrollment Program. Use VPP, Volume Purchase Program. Select an MDM, Mobile Device Management.

Overview of ipad & iphone deployment.

It's education focused.

http://www.apple.com/education/it/

Writing you own app for your business:

https://developer.apple.com/enterprise/

MDM -- Mobile Device Management

https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2015-301/

For a comparison see this page:

http://www.enterpriseios.com/wiki/Comparison_MDM_Providers

VPP -- Volume Purchase Program

http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/

http://www.apple.com/education/it/vpp

Hi there,

I'm not exactly sure what you want to achieve with Profile manager but I would think that your best bet would be to use an MDM solution, rather than profile manager. If you are registering the devices with DEP, then you just need to add your MDM server to DEP through the DEP portal. This is done with a token downloaded from MDM and uploaded to DEP portal. Meraki MDM provides a free MDM option for up to 100 devices and it works very well. This allows you to have a lot of control over your devices - restrictions can be set from the Meraki MDM dashboard and if the devices are connected to wifi, the settings will be sent out to all of your enrolled devices within a minute or so. MDM also gives you the option to clear passcodes and remove device activation lock (Find My iPad), as well as many more options.

If you have the devices registered with DEP and your MDM registered with DEP, then whenever devices are wiped, they will automatically re-enrol and it also means users cannot remove the MDM profile, so they can't bypass your restrictions.

A Meraki account is completely free, as I mentioned, for up to 100 devices, so why not give it a go?

Best regards,

Gareth.

Profile Manager is an MDM. Profile Manager can link to user accounts in Active Directory. Although not free, cheap for unlimited number of devices.