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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Paul,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>It can be done, but in my
experience (which is very limited on this subject) what most of us need for
such things is a Mac running OS X Server. Running this way, Mac clients will
login to the OS X server, which is tied to Active Directory, and then apply all
settings and such based on AD groups and so forth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>You don’t need an XServe, but
just a Mac with OS X Server software. I have been wanting to try it out for a
while, but my budget has prevented me. As our percentage of Mac users
increases, I have an increasing case to purchase one, but it still probably
needs to wait.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Is anyone out there doing this?
I have read about it, had conversations with Apple about it, but never seen
anyone implement it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Dan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
discuss-bounces@itdiscuss.org [mailto:discuss-bounces@itdiscuss.org] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Phillips, Paul<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:15 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> IT Discussion Forum<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [itdiscuss] Mac Automations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>The last time I used ARD was
about four years ago. At that time, you basically performed remote tasks
through the VNC protocol. While it worked well to remotely control a
networked machine, I found it lacking is a few areas. First, you had to
rely on the client’s UI to perform any management tasks. This was
problematic given that you still had to have real-time access to the machine,
and you had to take the user off-task to perform the update. I was also
disappointed with its responsiveness as I worked on remote systems. The
release I was using was far more suited to remotely diagnosing and correcting a
problem rather than performing configuration changes and updates to the
machine. I understand that this has been improved in more recent editions,
but would love to hear your take on that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Additionally, I am looking for
tools that can integrate with Active Directory for segmented configuration
changes. Like many of you are likely doing, I have different resources
that are available to different groups of users. For instance, each user
has access to a private shared folder, a shared folder that is specific to that
user’s team, as well as a more public shared folder. Should a resource
change (i.e. perhaps I upgrade my file server and the name of the server
changes) or a user changes team affiliation, implementing these type of changes
on a Windows workstation is as simple as changing a single line of VBS script
or dragging and dropping a user into a different OU (which will apply a different
set of group policy).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Going back to copiers and
printers for a moment, I use VBS, group policy, and AD OU’s to automatically
map workgroup printers to a user’s computer. I don’t even have to think
about what printers a given user may need access to because I set it up to all
happen automatically. When something changes, I make a change in one
location, and the workstations all update with the changes either during a GP
update or at the next logon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Does ARD work as an effective
tool for handling all of these scenarios and more? I have seen countless
posts, both here and on other forums, that tout the ease of administration as
well as cheaper administration costs related to Macs. I definitely want
access to that, but can’t find evidence of the tools necessary to granularly
administer dozens of Mac workstations with minimal effort.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><img width=131 height=63 id="_x0000_i1028"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01C93427.2417D3C0" alt=Sig><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Paul Phillips<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>IT Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><img width=225 height=27 id="_x0000_i1027"
src="cid:image002.jpg@01C93427.2417D3C0" alt=WtbLogo><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>(770) 458-9300 x305<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><a href="mailto:pphillips@walkthru.org">pphillips@walkthru.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
discuss-bounces@itdiscuss.org [mailto:discuss-bounces@itdiscuss.org] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Dan Barber<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:00 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> 'IT Discussion Forum'<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [itdiscuss] Mac Automations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Paul,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>What you are describing can be
accomplished via Apple’s Remote Desktop, especially batch operations like that.
I have found it very easy to use, compared to something like distributing
software via Group Policy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Dan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
discuss-bounces@itdiscuss.org [mailto:discuss-bounces@itdiscuss.org] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Phillips, Paul<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, October 22, 2008 7:15 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> IT Discussion Forum<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [itdiscuss] Mac Automations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>We all operate on ever-changing networks. Printers
may change or drivers updated; new file shares may become available; new
resources and services are added or updated. Microsoft makes the
management of these changes across a network fairly easy. Through tools
like Active Directory, VBS, WMI, etc., a network administrator can control
available resources for a given Windows workstation. Macs are seemingly
not as easy to manage on a large scale.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>As an example, I recently upgraded all of our
copiers. Of course, the drivers for these copiers had to be installed for
each workstation. On my Windows workstations, this was easy. I
simply updated the drivers on my print server, and the workstations all updated
themselves. On my Macs, the story was not so painless. I had to go
to each workstation individually and install the drivers manually. Not
that I have hundreds of Mac workstations to update, but it was still a pain to
coordinate when I could access each workstation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>This is just one example of many changes that occur on
any of our networks over the course of a business year. As more networks become
saturated with Macs, one of two things has to occur – either we find and use
tools that automate these kinds of changes on a Mac as easily as it already is
on a Windows workstation, or we increase our administrative overhead by hiring
more staff. What tools do you use to push network configuration changes
out to your Mac users? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><img
border=0 width=131 height=63 id="Picture_x0020_1"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01C93427.2417D3C0" alt=Sig><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Paul
Phillips<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>IT
Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><img
border=0 width=225 height=27 id="Picture_x0020_2"
src="cid:image002.jpg@01C93427.2417D3C0" alt=WtbLogo><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(770)
458-9300 x305<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a
href="mailto:pphillips@walkthru.org">pphillips@walkthru.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
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