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Enterprise User Manual

Chapter 19

Macintosh Clients

PC-Duo Enterprise version 3.0 includes the ability to manage Macintosh Clients running OS 7.5.3 to 9.2.2 and OS 10.2.4 or later. Wherever possible, Enterprise treats Macintosh Clients in the same way as PC Clients, so that working with Macintosh Clients is achieved seamlessly. Where there are differences, Enterprise automatically skips Clients to which an application does not apply so that no problems are caused by accidentally selecting the wrong type of Client. However, there are necessarily some differences in the ways in which Macintosh and Windows Clients are handled. These differences are described in this chapter.

To download a copy of the Macintosh Client, visit our Web site at www.vector-networks.com.

Creating Offline Areas for Macintosh Clients

Like Windows systems, Macintosh Clients use an Offline Area to transfer data to the PC-Duo Enterprise database and to act as a central repository for the kit used to install the Client application. However, because Macintosh Clients have a different architecture to Windows PCs, Macintosh Clients must use separate Offline Areas to those used by Windows Clients. Offline Areas used for Macintosh Clients must be set up on PCs running Windows 2000 Server, or Windows 2003 Server. This is because Apple File Sharing must be set up and enabled on all PCs where Macintosh Offline Areas are located. This section describes how to set up a PC and create an Offline Area for use with Macintosh Clients.

To create an Offline Area for use with Macintosh Clients:
  1. If necessary, install the File Services for Macintosh component of Windows on the PC where the Offline Area will be located.
  2. In Windows Settings, choose Control Panel, Administrative Tools, and Computer Management. The Computer Management window is displayed.
  3. In the Computer Management tree, expand Shared Folders, right-click Shares and choose New, File Share. The Create Shared Folder Wizard is displayed.
  4. Click the Browse button and create a new folder.
  5. Enter a Share name and Share description.
  6. Select the Apple Macintosh check box and enter a Macintosh share name.
  7. Click the Next button to continue.
  8. Select an access permission option for the share.
  9. Click the Finish button to create the share.
  10. To add the new Offline Area to an existing Site, select the Offline Paths operation in the Site Management folder and click Add. For more information, see "Creating Offline Areas".

    To create a new Site using this share, select the Create or copy a Site using custom settings option in the Site Creation Wizard. For more information, see "Creating a Site Using Custom Options".

Installing the Macintosh Client Kit

When you have created an Offline Area for Macintosh Clients, you must set up the files and copy a Client kit to it so that you can install the Macintosh Client application on the computers you want to manage.

To install the Macintosh Client kit in the Offline Area:
  1. Create a Macintosh account that can be used to manage the Offline Area. The account must have full read and write privileges for the Offline Area's share point.
  2. On a Macintosh PC, insert the installation CD or download the Macintosh Client Installer from the Vector Networks Web site.
  3. Run the Installer, accept the License Agreement and click the OK button. The Network Location dialog is displayed.

  1. Select the Internet Address tab, and enter the IP address or fully-qualified DNS name of the PC on which the Offline Area is located.

    Alternatively for pre-OS X machines only, you can specify the Offline Area details by selecting the AppleTalk Address tab, and entering the AppleTalk zone and AppleTalk name of the PC on which the Offline Area is located.

    Click the OK button. The Network Login dialog is displayed.

  2. In the Network Login dialog, enter the name and password of an account that Macintosh Clients can use to access the Offline Area and click the OK button. The Network Share Point dialog is displayed.

  1. The Network Share Point dialog lists the share points available for use. Select the Share Point of the Offline Area and click the OK button to start the installation.
  2. When the installation is complete, a message is displayed to confirm that the share point is mounted. Click the OK button to quit the installation. The Locations dialog is displayed.

  1. The location of the Offline Area is automatically selected in the Locations dialog. Click the OK button to confirm the selection. The Mount Location dialog is displayed.
  2. In the Mount Location dialog, enter the name and password the account you created and click the OK button. The Configuration Manager is displayed.

Client Settings

The Macintosh Offline Area contains centralized settings that control the behavior of Macintosh Clients. For example, it specifies when Clients save their data to the Offline Area and which Offline Area Clients use. Changes to the Offline Area settings are automatically implemented on each Macintosh Client when the Client application next runs. This section describes how to make changes to these settings.

To access the Macintosh Configuration Manager:
  1. In the Macintosh Finder, choose Connect to Server in the Go menu to mount the PC on which the Offline Area is located. The Connect to Server dialog is displayed.
  2. In the Connect to Server dialog, enter the server address and click the Connect button.
  3. In the log on screen, enter the name and password you specified in the Client kit installation, and click the Connect button. A list of share points is displayed.
  4. Select the share point corresponding to the Offline Area and click the OK button to mount the Offline Area. The Macintosh Client dialog is displayed.
  5. Open the MacAdmin Configuration Manager folder and click the Config Manager icon.
  6. Select the share point you want to configure and click the OK button.
  7. Enter the log on details for the share point and click the OK button.

Entering License Details

The Macintosh Client settings are initially configured for evaluation mode. This enables you to set up and run a maximum of five Macintosh Clients for thirty days. To enable full Client access for your installation, you must enter the Macintosh license key supplied when you purchased your copy of PC-Duo Enterprise.

To enter you Macintosh license key:
  1. In the File menu of the Configuration Manager, select Enter Serial Number. The Registration dialog is displayed.
  2. Complete the registration details and click the OK button to apply your key.

Specifying when Clients save their data

When you first install the Macintosh Client kit, all Macintosh Clients are configured to save their inventory data to the Offline Area each time they are rebooted. This behavior is defined in the All Machines Agent Control File. You can change these settings using the Agent Control File section of Macintosh Configuration Manager.

To change the push interval of Clients:
  1. In the Windows menu of the Configuration Manager, choose Settings.

  1. In the Settings dialog, select Agent Control. A list of the currently available Agent Control Files is displayed.
  2. Select the Default Agent Control profile and click the Edit button. The Agent Control File dialog is displayed.
  3. To change the interval at which the Macintosh Clients save their hardware data to the Offline area:
    1. Select MacAdmin Hardware Audit and click the Schedule button. The Schedule Agent dialog is displayed.
    2. In the Schedule Agent dialog, select a Run Agent option and click the OK button to save your changes.


  4. To change the interval at which the Macintosh Clients save their software data to the Offline area:
    1. Select MacAdmin Software Audit and the click the Schedule button. The Schedule Agent dialog is displayed.

    2. In the Schedule Agent dialog, select a Run Agent option and click the OK button to save your changes.
  5. In the Agent Control File dialog, click the Save button to save your changes. The new settings are applied to all Clients using the Offline Area.

Changing Offline Areas

If you need to change the Offline Area used by your Macintosh Clients, you can change the central location setting and have all the Clients automatically switch to the new share point when they next run. To do this, you must first create a new Offline Area and install the Macintosh Client kit, and then enter the details of the new share point in the Client kit of the old Offline Area.

To change the Offline Area used by Clients:
  1. Open the Configuration Manager and choose Edit MacAdministrator Folder Location in the File menu. The MacAdministrator Folder Location dialog is displayed.
  2. Enter the name of the Offline Area share in the Shared Folder Name field, and the account details.
  3. To specify a new Offline Area, enter the IP address of the PC on which the Offline Area is located in the Internet Address field. Leave the Use ping to verify address option enabled unless your network disallows pings.

    Alternatively for pre-OS X machines only, you can specify the Offline Area details by selecting the AppleTalk Address tab, and entering the AppleTalk zone and AppleTalk name of the PC on which the Offline Area is located. (If there are no named zones on your network, enter an asterisk.)

  4. Click the OK button to save your changes.
    To change the Offline Area on a single Client, mount the new share point on the Client and rerun the Client installer.

Installing Macintosh Clients

When you have installed the Macintosh Client Kit, you can use it to install the Client application on any Macintosh PC that can connect to the Offline Area where the kit is installed.

To install the Macintosh Client:
  1. In the Macintosh Finder, choose Connect to Server in the Go menu to mount the PC on which the Offline Area is located. The Connect to Server dialog is displayed.
  2. In the Connect to Server dialog, enter the server address and click the Connect button.
  3. In the log on screen, enter the name and password you specified in the Client kit installation, and click the Connect button. A list of share points is displayed.
  4. Select the share point corresponding to the Offline Area and click the OK button to mount the Offline Area. The Macintosh Client dialog is displayed.
  5. Double-click the MacAdmin Client Installer:

    For OS X Clients, the Authenticate dialog is displayed. Enter the name and password of an account with administrator privileges on the target Client and click the OK button to start the installation.

    For Pre-OS X Clients, the installation begins.

  6. When the installation is complete, a confirmation message is displayed. Click the OK button to restart the Macintosh Client.

    The hardware and software data of the computer is saved to the Offline Area. If the Offline Scanner is enabled, the data is automatically collected and save to the Site database.

    If the scanner is not enabled, use the Find Offline Clients operation to add the Client to the Site. You can then view the data and save it to the Site database using the hardware inventory and software inventory operations as normal.

    When first installed, the Macintosh Client settings are configured for evaluation mode. To enable full Client functionality, see "Entering License Details".

Machine Groups

Machine Groups enable you to specify different configuration settings for different subsets of Macintosh Clients. For example, you can use them to have different sets of Clients save their inventory data at different times of day to help spread your network's workload.

To create a Machine Group:
  1. In the Settings dialog of the Configuration Manager, select Machine Groups. The groups assigned to the Offline Area are listed at the bottom of the dialog.
  2. To create a new group, click the New button. The Machine Group: New Machine Group dialog is displayed.
  3. In the New MachineGroup dialog:
    1. Enter a Name for the group.
    2. If you want the group to contain a specific range of Clients, enter the IP addresses of the first and last Clients in the range.
      Alternatively, you can add Clients to a group manually using the Machines option in the Configurator's Windows menu. However, if the group also contains an IP range, manual Clients are automatically removed when the agent next runs.
    3. Click the Attach button to create a profile for the group. The MachineGroup Profile dialog is displayed.

  1. In the MachineGroup Profile dialog, click the New button in the Agent Control File section. The Agent Control File dialog is displayed.
  2. In the Agent Control File dialog, enter a name for the Agent Control File and specify the settings you want to use. Click the Save button to attach your changes to the MachineGroup profile and close the dialog.
  3. In the MachineGroup Profile dialog, make sure the Agent Control Profile is selected. Click the Save button to attach your changes to the MachineGroup and close the dialog.
  4. In the MachineGroup dialog, click the Save button to create the group and attach the profiles. The group is listed in the Configuration Manager. The Clients in the group will switch to the new settings when they next run.
    If a Client belongs to more than one machine group, the group whose name comes first in alphabetical order determines when the Client data is saved to the Offline Area. For example, if a Client is a member of groups A, AB, and C, the Client saves its data according to the agent control profile assigned to group A.

    A machine group profile always takes precedence over the profile assigned to the default group.

Inventory Operations

Hardware and software inventory operations handle Macintosh Clients in the same way as Windows Clients. This enables you to select any mixture of Windows and Macintosh Clients when you run an inventory operation, and allows you to view inventory data using the standard Enterprise interface.

However, Macintosh systems have a different file architecture to Windows systems and store different information about installed applications. To manage this, Enterprise uses separate settings to control how the inventory operations work with Macintosh Clients. Use the Specify Macintosh Settings operation to enable and disable Macintosh support in Enterprise and to control the inventory information held for Macintosh Clients.

To specify inventory settings for Macintosh Clients:
  1. In the Site Management folder of the Enterprise Console, click the Specify Macintosh Settings operation. The settings dialog is displayed.
  2. Select the options you want to use:

    Enable Macintosh support Deselect this check box to prevent all software and hardware inventory operations in this Site from collecting Macintosh Client data.

    Macintosh nodename creation Choose an option to choose the name by which Enterprise refers to Macintosh Clients. Select:

    Network MAC-address to create a Client name based on the network physical address of Macintosh Clients.

    MachineName from hardware inventory data to use the name specified in the Macintosh set up.

    Enterprise automatically uses the MAC address when no machine name is assigned to a Client.

    Collect hardware inventory Deselect this check box to prevent the collection of hardware inventory data from Macintosh Clients in this Site.

    Collect software inventory Deselect this check box to prevent the collection of software inventory data from Macintosh Clients in this Site.

    Exclude application names Enter the names of applications you want to exclude from software inventories.

    To avoid entering many similar application names, you can use an asterisk as a wildcard. For example, to exclude all applications whose name starts Apple, enter: Apple*.

    Exclude install paths Enter the paths of any folders you want to exclude from software inventories.

    Use a trailing asterisk to exclude subfolders and applications in the subfolder. For example, to exclude the contents of all folders in the Applications folder, enter: Applications/* .

    To exclude multiple paths, separate each path with a comma or a semi-colon. For example: MAC OSX/*,Applications/Disk Tools/*

    Exclude Special Folders Enter the names of any Special Folders you want to exclude from software inventories.

    Exclude Creator codes Some manufacturers include identification codes and other information in the Creator Code property of their application files. Use this field to specify the Creator Codes you want to exclude from software inventories.

    Exclude Bundle Identifiers Enter the names of any third-party software manufacturers you do not want to include in software inventories. For example, to exclude all Adobe applications from Macintosh inventories, enter: Adobe*.

    Creator Codes are similar to Bundle Identifiers, but generally contain less information about the applications. However, Creator Codes are available on all versions of Macintosh OS, while Bundle Identifiers are available only on OS X or later.
  1. Click the OK button to save your changes and close the dialog. The changes take effect when you next run inventory operations against Macintosh Clients.

Identifying Applications on Macintosh Clients

In general, Enterprise uses the same method to identify applications on Macintosh systems as that used on Windows: recognition rules look for named files and, optionally, for specific file properties, such as file size and file date. However, in addition to these standard rules, Enterprise can also use the Creator Code and Bundle Identifier information from Macintosh files to create Macintosh-specific recognition rules. This section describes how to create recognition rules that use these properties.

To create recognition rules for Macintosh applications:
  1. In the Applications Library, right-click the Applications pane and choose Add Application, Software Identification Wizard. The Software Properties dialog is displayed.
  2. Enter a Name, Type, and Vendor for the application. Select Macintosh in the Platform list and click the Next button to continue. The Sample Location dialog is displayed.
  3. Enter the details of a location where the application is installed and click the Next button to continue. The Software Identification dialog is displayed.
  4. The Software Identification dialog lists the File name, Creator Code, and Bundle Identifier for the files in the location you specified. Double-click each file you want to use to identify the application:
  5. When the file has a Bundle Identifier or Creator Code, a message is displayed asking if you want to use this information to identify the application. Click Yes to create a rule that uses this information, click No to create a rule that uses the file name.
  6. When the file does not include a Bundle Identifier or Creator Code, Enterprise automatically creates a rule based on the file name.

    The files are added to the Required items list.

  7. To specify additional checks on a file, such as its size, or timestamp, select its entry in the Required items list, and click the Specify properties button. The File Rule dialog is displayed.
  8. If you do not want to distinguish between different versions of an application, select Do not identify versions and click the Finish button. The Wizard creates rules for the identification of the application and adds them to the Applications Library.

    Alternatively, to create an application definition that identifies different versions of the application, select Specify rules to identify application versions and click the Next button. The Version Identification dialog is displayed.

  9. The Version Identification dialog lists the File name, Creator Code, and Bundle Identifier for the files located in the selected application's installation directory. Double-click each file you want to use to identify the application version.
  10. If the selected file has a Bundle Identifier or a Creator Code, a message is displayed asking if you want to use this information to identify this version of the application. Click Yes to create a rule that uses this information, click No to create a rule that uses the file name.

    The files are added to the Required items list.

  11. To specify additional checks on a file, such as its size, or timestamp, select its entry in the Required items list, and click the Specify properties button. The File Rule dialog is displayed.
  12. To specify the application version identified by these files, select the Use these files to identify only version option, enter the version number, and click the Finish button. The Wizard creates rules for the identification of the application and adds them to the Applications Library.

    Alternatively, to extract the version number from the file properties, select Use properties of these files to identify versions, and click Next. The Version Identification Properties dialog is displayed.

  13. The Version Identification Properties dialog lists the properties associated with the selected file. Any version information associated with the file is listed in the Product Version fields. To extract the application's version number from the file properties, select each Product version field you want to use and click the Select button.

    When you have selected all the fields that contain version information, click the Finish button to create the identification rule and close the wizard.

    For more detailed information on software identification and rule creation, see "The Applications Library".

Restrictions

The following features are not supported on Macintosh Clients:

Macintosh Clients are automatically skipped if they are selected for unsupported operations.

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