Mount Lion Server, Profile Manager and iOS = Confused! How to manage Apps?

[CM786]

Hi guys,

 

One of the schools I work in has bought a Mac Mini Server running Mountain Lion. I want to be able to use the MDM features and manage the school iPads.

 

I have setup Profile Manager, enrolled an iPad and I can send out settings to iPads etc. I have an iPad that has been setup by a teacher with all the folders and apps she needs. Usually I would just use iTunes and backup and restore this "master" ipad onto the others. This time the school wants different iPads for different Year Groups. Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 has different apps etc so need to be organised in two groups.

 

Things I am struggling with are:

 

1. Can I remotely manage iOS apps? How do I deploy Apps to enrolled iPads? I am beginning to think that this is not possible. I thought I would be able to push apps to different iPads depending on which group they are a part of. Do I have to transfer apps to the server and the assignment to a push profile?

2. Can I set the the wall paper on all ipads?

3. Do I have to enroll each ipad individually or is there a faster way?

 

I have also done a search and Meraki looks very good too considering its free. Will Meraki be able to do what I am after?

 

Thanks

cm786

[CM786]

Can I also stop the pupils from moving apps from folders and removing them?

 

Thanks

[nicklec]

Profile Manager is not a MDM.

[furby]

I've only just started playing with iPads and profile manager but perhaps Apple Configurator might be more what you're looking for https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/apple-configurator/id434433123?mt=12

 

I've never used it so not sure how it plays with profile manager etc. Be curious to know how you get on

 

Edit/Longish article here http://krypted.com/iphone/managing-ios-devices-with-apple-configurator/

Edited January 30, 2013 by furby

[Rozzer]

Profile Manager has a lot of limitations. I would look at a free third party MDM solution called Meraki. You can only restrict a certain amount with any MDM its hard to get your head around the powers of group policy compared to locking down an iPad. Put it this way with all the options in group policy you have 2% of the power of locking down an iOS device as you would with windows.

 

Ross

[TechieDaz]

Hi guys,

 

One of the schools I work in has bought a Mac Mini Server running Mountain Lion. I want to be able to use the MDM features and manage the school iPads.

 

I have setup Profile Manager, enrolled an iPad and I can send out settings to iPads etc. I have an iPad that has been setup by a teacher with all the folders and apps she needs. Usually I would just use iTunes and backup and restore this "master" ipad onto the others. This time the school wants different iPads for different Year Groups. Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 has different apps etc so need to be organised in two groups.

 

Things I am struggling with are:

 

1. Can I remotely manage iOS apps? How do I deploy Apps to enrolled iPads? I am beginning to think that this is not possible. I thought I would be able to push apps to different iPads depending on which group they are a part of. Do I have to transfer apps to the server and the assignment to a push profile?

2. Can I set the the wall paper on all ipads?

3. Do I have to enroll each ipad individually or is there a faster way?

 

I have also done a search and Meraki looks very good too considering its free. Will Meraki be able to do what I am after?

 

Thanks

cm786

 

Hi Apple Configurator is by far the best way to manage the iPads, and its all done by profiles, you can have many profiles.

 

Here is a link to a video you may find very useful:

 

Apple - Education - Resources - Videos

[stevehp]

Profile Manager actually is an MDM although as the others have said, it's not a very powerful one.

 

I have experience with it so I'll answer questions as best as I can.

Q: Can I remotely manage apps?

A: Yes, but in order to deploy apps the iPad itself will need to be logged into a valid Apple ID that was used to purchase or redeem the VPP code for the app. This is true for any MDM, it's the pitfalls of using a device built to work in a consumer i.e. home environment. You can most definitely push out apps based on groups, but I find profile manager more difficult to work with in regards to fine tuning those sort of things. I think JAMF's Casper Suite for iOS or Meraki might be more your speed. In Profile Manager apps must be uploaded to the server first in order to be added. Casper and Meraki can search the store and link apps to profiles without actually storing them on a local server. Apple Configurator can be used to supplement this provided your environment isn't a 1:1 where iPads float around the school without any sort of home base like a cart. Configurator can sync free apps or paid apps (with vpp codes) and enroll a device in one fell swoop if configured correctly. Of course you will need to organize the iPads in your groups so they get one set of apps and not another. It is a great tool once you're familiar with it.

 

Q: Can you set Wall Paper with Profile Manager?

A: No, that's not a feature in any MDM as far as I'm aware. We set this in Configurator so that the lock screen is set by the application and our iPad "image" has a background set. Of course we deploy iPads in a 1:1 environment so those don't stick very long.

 

Q: Do I have to enroll each device individually or can I do it a faster way?

A: Yep, you sure can. It's called Apple Configurator. For Profile Manager you download a trust profile and an enrollment profile add those to Configurator create a master iPad "image" and provision the rest of your iPads with this "image". I'm using image in quotations because you technically aren't imaging an iPad, you're provisioning it. The links provided above for Charles Edge's website krypted.com are a good starting point to get this going. This pdf file also explains how to create the iPad "image" to auto enroll iPads. You can substitute the Casper enrollment profiles for Profile Manager enrollment profiles and it will still function.

 

10.8 Profile Manager is leaps and bounds better than 10.7 Profile Manager which causes me great pain anytime I have to deal with it. That being said JAMF's Casper Suite is more solid for large iOS or OSX deployments. Considerably more expensive though.

[mdrabble]

I'm looking to use Profile Manager to manage a batch of ipads we have in school and need to ask one question. When setting up our mac to manage them, do I have to use name.sch.uk (FQDN) or can I use and localhost name such as name.local?

[stevehp]

I'm looking to use Profile Manager to manage a batch of ipads we have in school and need to ask one question. When setting up our mac to manage them, do I have to use name.sch.uk (FQDN) or can I use and localhost name such as name.local?

 

If you have an FQDN available then I would use that. Using the private or internal .local suffix has the potential to cause problems since Apple's Bonjour protocol uses .local. It's more of a recommendation than a requirement. The only real requirement is that the server and the ipads need be able to reach Apple's 17.x.x.x network for push services and a push cert be created. This Apple pdf will help. Flip to page 21 for the network setup portion.