Check in and pick up your badge at Registration Desk II, then head to President's Hall for breakfast.
InstallLion.pkg is a free tool available to all Mac Admins that puts the Lion upgrade into users hands and empowers them to upgrade their Mac without assistance. This session will cover the process of creating the InstallLion.pkg and deployment options. Casper and Self Service deployments will be demonstrated.
This is for the Mac Admins who are used to the GUI for managing Macs, but haven't touched the command line. This is a chance to get an introduction to using the command line environment, diving in to learning how to navigate, control, and script your Mac through the UNIX-like underpinnings. In additional, this session will demonstrate some of the Mac administration specific command line programs and functions that will assist the management, deployment, and control of Mac workstations.
This session will provide an overview of some of Apple's Mac OS deployment and management tools. The basics of tools such as Remote Desktop, Disk Utility, System Image Utility, PackageMaker, and many of their command-line equivalent will be discussed. (Due to Apple Corporate policy, this session will not be recorded.)
Attendees will join a discussion on the use of DeployStudio. Come listen to colleagues discuss their recent use of DeployStudio and get your questions answered on deploying in your environment. Open forum, all skill levels welcome.
We will be learning several aspects and adding new features of the Subversion control system as we iterate over a small development project.
Don't you sometimes wish your Macs could just take care of themselves? Well they can't; but with a good grasp on scripting and how to leverage it for process automation you can make it seem like they do! This session will go over the why and when to script, as well as some basics on how to script. We'll then look at various scenarios for automated system procedures and how you might go about scripting them so that you can "set it and forget it" (unless your system notifies you that something went horribly wrong, which we'll also go over). We won't have enough time to get into many deep examples of actual scripts, but we will go over many methods of scripting. If time allows, we'll end the session with a live script brainstorming session based on situations presented by attendees.
Many universities have some type of a lecture capture system to record a class, conference or seminar. These systems are generally expensive and may only provide part of the complete need to capture, encode, add metadata, publish and archive. There are applications that will capture audio/video and scripts that will move files but not many applications have the ability to be setup for recording days in advance, record, transcode, add metadata, publish and archive the source and transcoded files automatically. AT-Capture is a low cost lecture capture system created by Academic Technologies at the University of Notre Dame to automate and upload files to iTunes U. It is used on a weekly basis to capture the weekly Sunday Mass and has been extensively tested over three years. The AT-Capture application is an Xcode Cocoa application designed to perform these features with little setup and interaction. It will record an input from a variety of audio/video sources and automatically save a raw Digital Video (DV) file in high resolution using QuickTime and the QTKit frameworks. There are three ways that the capture can be initiated; Automatic, Scheduled or Manual (Pressing the Record button). The Automatic and Scheduled modes will wait until the specified recording date is reached to begin recording and will end at the specified time. If metadata (Title, Artist, Album, Comment, Genre, Year) is needed to be embedded into the file, it can be automatically inserted. The application will also automatically publish to iTunes U using Podcast Producer server. AT-Capture can also make a copy of the uncompressed DV file (master copy) for editing and save the source, a copy and the transcoded file to different servers for storage and archive. AT-Capture will run on Mac OS 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7 on both PowerPC and Intel Macintosh computers.
The session will cover the basics of IPv6 'What is it'? How it differs from IPv4 and why? Attendees will learn the advantages of using the new protocol: faster speeds, less latency, an end to NAT; as well as some precautions to take against certain pitfalls: MAC address in full public view, lack of available vendor firewalls, etc. Attendees will also learn how to implement IPv6 in their own home networks using low-cost consumer grade Routers and freely available open source firmware.
Mobile pedagogy represents a fundamental shift in content access and the role of the traditional classroom. This is not about technology fads or the latest gadgets. This is about facing the challenges and maximizing the possibilities of a connected classroom. In addition to exploring the dynamics of a mobility-based education paradigm, we will examine the practical implementation strategies, hardware, and support necessary to improve learning opportunity. This session will cover three areas: WHY - Why do education institutions need to explore mobility theory? WHAT - What does a mobility rich environment look like? HOW - How are schools around the world doing this?
This overview session will discuss many of the services offered by Lion Server and how they can be used by Mac OS, iOS, and other systems. A special emphasis will be placed on those services that offer the most utility to educational deployments such as Profile Manager, NetBoot, Wiki/Blog service, and file services. (Due to Apple Corporate policy, this session will not be recorded.)
Delivering machines in a consistent state provides a foundation we can depend upon and build from. Between the OS, set of software, and its configuration, less is actually necessary for Apple's customers now that the big cat is out of the bag. SysAdmins, on the other hand... never take anything for granted. We'll talk about the working changes for tools old & new, command line & GUI, and pre-fab vs. 'some assembly required'. Hopefully some of the confusion regarding new advanced topics(like profiles and restore partitions) will be cleared up as well. Starting from zero, we'll take time to review how things were done previous to Lion, and point out the wins and curveballs to tackle when you lead your fleet into this bright future.
Reposado, a program by Greg Neagle at Walt Disney Animation Studios, mimics Apple's Software Update Service provided on Mac OS X Server, by creating a local cache of Apple's updates on the operating system and hardware of your choice. This session will go into the basics of setting up Reposado. This will include what is needed on different platforms along with setting up one-to-one operation for replacing Apple's Update Service. It will also expand slightly by talking about one of Reposado's main features: Branches.
The Apple ID forms the basis for how a user interacts with the iTunes Store, AppleCare, and the App Stores on both Mac and iOS. Understanding how the Apple ID works and how software licensing is tied to the Apple ID is crucial for managing Macs and iOS devices. This session will give an overview of what the Apple ID is, how Apple uses it and how institutions can use them to best effect. It will also provide suggestions for how institutions could advise their students, faculty, and staff on getting and using their own Apple IDs. (Due to Apple Corporate policy, this session will not be recorded.)
Need to schedule a script? launchd is your answer! Beginning with 10.4 Tiger, launchd has become a critical part of Mac OS. Learn about the power and flexibility of launchd and how to utilize it as a sys admin. Getting Started with launchd for Sys Admins will focus on understanding the function and components of launchd, best practices and practical applications. The session will conclude with some tips and resources for building your own basic launchd item.
During this session, Justin Miller from PSU and Scott Secrest from JAMF Software will walk through PSU's current workflow for deploying and managing iOS devices. Examining principles and best practices that could be applied to the wide variety of challenges organizations encounter in this emerging space.
Delivering machines in a consistent state provides a foundation we can depend upon and build from. Between the OS, set of software, and its configuration, less is actually necessary for Apple's customers now that the big cat is out of the bag. SysAdmins, on the other hand... never take anything for granted. We'll talk about the working changes for tools old & new, command line & GUI, and pre-fab vs. 'some assembly required'. Hopefully some of the confusion regarding new advanced topics(like profiles and restore partitions) will be cleared up as well. Starting from zero, we'll take time to review how things were done previous to Lion, and point out the wins and curveballs to tackle when you lead your fleet into this bright future.
iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are everywhere. As these devices become even more pervasive in educational environments, it is becoming more and more important to understand how to deploy them en masse and to understand how app licensing through the App Store affects this process. (Due to Apple Corporate policy, this session will not be recorded.)
In this session, we'll go over the basics of component isolation and hardware/software troubleshooting. We'll cover common fixes and methods for diagnosing a problem quickly and accurately.
This two-part session will introduce attendees to system logs. First, what logs are, how to read them and how to use them for troubleshooting. The second part talks about using logs on a grander scale for trend analysis using statistical software. This involves aggregating and cleaning logs. Several options will be presented for trend analysis. (Yes, I know: I fell asleep in Uni-level statistics, too...it's interesting when you're applying it to a subject close to your heart. Really.)
Are you still using the "Golden Machine" method of deployment because your lab is small or you don't have time to learn any other way? This session will describe practical ways to gradually incorporate deployment best practices in situations where commercial deployment solutions are overkill and staff resources are limited. No-cost software (InstaDMG, DeployStudio, Workgroup Manager/Local MCX) as well as less-expensive commercial software (Composer, Apple Remote Desktop, KeyServer) can be used to efficiently deploy even very large payloads. Client management when central authentication is not available and/or when local storage is desired will also be discussed.
Beginning at 4:30 PM, buses will fill with attendees and depart for the evening networking event at the McCann School of Art. http://www.mccannart.org/
Join us for an evening of fun with your fellow MacAdmins at the beatiful McCann School of Art campus.
Beginning at 8:30 PM, buses will depart from McCann School of Art, heading back to the Penn Stater. The last bus will depart from McCann at 9:30 PM.
Learning how to manage Macs and PCs (yes we said PCs) with Apple Remote Desktop can be one of the most useful tools in your administration arsenal. We'll go over best practices, tips and tricks, as well as some real world examples, all of which will help you make the best of your tools at hand. If you've never used Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) we'll show you how easy it can be to remotely update software, install packages, and help users in real time. For those seasoned ARD users, we'll touch on how to organize you're terminal commands, setup Task Servers, show examples of ARD integrated with Deploy Studio and demo some new features in the latest release of ARD. This session will go in depth on key new features, tools, and how to achieve the best end-user experience. If you're using ARD to manage faculty/staff workstations, general access computer labs, or classroom environments - We're sure you'll take something away from this session.
A walk-through of the process and planning of building an automated Boot Camp installer that leverages the BitTorrent protocol for deployment. Information covered would include the use of PackageMaker, Command Line utilities, scripting, BitTorrent software and various Apple Server-side services (web server, MAMP, Torrent server, etc.). Also, various Microsoft Windows deployment information will be covered including Windows Automated Installation Kit, Sysprep, Regedit, etc. There will also be a detailed discussion on the choice to use the BitTorrent protocol and the benefits from both the server and client perspectives.
In this session, you will see the changes that have taken place over the past few decades in Educational technology, and how these changes are creating a new paradigm for deployments. We will discuss the Education mission, the focus on the end user, and the elusive term - "post-PC" - what it really means and how you can be ready for that experience. We will walk through the possible deployment workflows that enhance Mac deployments in support of the Education mission, and discuss the relevant management options and best practices.
One of the changes to come with Mac OS X 10.7.x (Lion) has been that Apple has revamped its FileVault encryption solution, changing it from encryption that primarily protected your account's home folder to encryption that protects your whole boot volume. Despite the common name, the two solutions are very different beasts. If you've used FileVault on 10.3.x - 10.6.x for either personal use or at work, be aware that (almost) everything you know about it is changed in FileVault 2 on 10.7.x. This session will cover briefly where we've been with FileVault on 10.3.x - 10.6.x and how Apple has taken the lessons learned from FileVault and applied them to FileVault 2. The session will also cover how to get your own Mac encrypted and decrypted with FileVault 2. Lastly, the session will cover how to rollout FileVault 2 deployments in the enterprise and how to centrally manage the FileVault 2 recovery key across multiple Macs.
Are you new to deploying Macs in a large environment? If so, you'd really want to learn about Apple's NetBooting technology! Come and learn how to set up NetBoot on Mac OS X Lion Server and all of the ways that it can be leveraged to boot up Macs with the exact same image for a lab, automate Mac OS X and application installations, or learn how to customize it to run other system utility applications. NetBooting is also used for automating system restoration tools like DeployStudio, Blast Image Config, and other system diagnostic and repair utilities. There will be lots of demos to illustrate many of these uses.
The release of OS X Lion presents IT administrators with new options to deploy new machines and bring client machines up to date. In this session, we will consider the various deployment options and evaluate the pros and cons of each. We will also explore ways in which deployment of OS X Lion can be initiated by end users on demand using Self Service.
Learning how to manage Macs and PCs (yes we said PCs) with Apple Remote Desktop can be one of the most useful tools in your administration arsenal. We'll go over best practices, tips and tricks, as well as some real world examples, all of which will help you make the best of your tools at hand. If you've never used Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) we'll show you how easy it can be to remotely update software, install packages, and help users in real time. For those seasoned ARD users, we'll touch on how to organize you're terminal commands, setup Task Servers, show examples of ARD integrated with Deploy Studio and demo some new features in the latest release of ARD. This session will go in depth on key new features, tools, and how to achieve the best end-user experience. If you're using ARD to manage faculty/staff workstations, general access computer labs, or classroom environments - We're sure you'll take something away from this session.
Wouldn't it be great to fight a particular fire only once, solve a tough problem one time and let machines take care of things from that point forward? Are you sick of using ARD or BigFix to achieve some level of automation? This session will teach you how to harness the collective power of the Borg with the fluffy approachability of Ewoks.
A walk-through of the process and planning of building an automated Boot Camp installer that leverages the BitTorrent protocol for deployment. Information covered would include the use of PackageMaker, Command Line utilities, scripting, BitTorrent software and various Apple Server-side services (web server, MAMP, Torrent server, etc.). Also, various Microsoft Windows deployment information will be covered including Windows Automated Installation Kit, Sysprep, Regedit, etc. There will also be a detailed discussion on the choice to use the BitTorrent protocol and the benefits from both the server and client perspectives.
(We apologize for this cancellation, but due to unforseen circumstances, the speaker has cancelled this presentation. He will be making the session content available after the conference.)
Nagios is a free open source cross platform software that can monitor nearly everything on your network. This session will guide the attendee through the necessary steps to install and configure a non-intrusive Linux based Nagios system.
Come and learn about PSU Blast Image Config 3.0 ('BIC'), a freeware Mac OS X system image deployment software utility developed at Penn State since 2003 for the deployment of system images in the student computing labs. BIC is well known as one of the fastest OS X system image deployment tools on the market today. Attendees will learn how easily they can leverage BIC to deploy system images to their Macs. Learn everything from the basics of using BIC with external firewire drives to the most advanced methods of adding BIC to a NetBoot environment to restore images from a securely auto-mounted network file server.
(We apologize for this cancellation, but due to unforseen circumstances, the speaker has cancelled this presentation. He will be making the session content available after the conference.)
Nagios is a free open source cross platform software that can monitor nearly everything on your network. This session will guide the attendee through the necessary steps to install and configure a non-intrusive Linux based Nagios system.
This session will discuss the lessons I've learned over time with increasing support for Macs at my organization. Outside of hardware costs, increasing support for Macs can be done for close to free utilizing many free tools that are out there. Over-arching topics include: Modular approach to imaging Macs using InstaDMG for image creation: Setting up and using DeployStudio for image deployment across different VLANs/subnets: Converting Windows 7 images for use in Boot Camp and Virtual Machines.
Learn how to simplify the lives of Mac system administrators using a comprehensive platform to deploy, update, activate and report for Mac OS X and iOS. Increase the efficiency of your IT staff, reduce the cost of ownership, and minimize liability by providing a framework that enforces software licensing compliance, security standards, energy usage, and other organizational rules and requirements. Provide your Mac administrators with best practice strategies to meet the challenges of supporting Mac OS X and iOS in the enterprise, allowing your organization to build and sustain a stable, cost-effective, and user-friendly computing environment. The Casper Suite, used by Appalachian State for 4 years, is a powerful framework around which your IT ecosystem can be unified and extended to manage Mac OS X and iOS resources from a single console. Normalize your IT administration with the only client management suite developed exclusively for Mac OS X and iOS.
So now that your mind harnesses the power of the Borg in your very best Ewok costume, it's probably a good idea to practice what you've learned. We'll go hands-on to solve a few real-world scenarios in two short hours with Puppet and MCollective. When you're done, you can hire an intern to press a button in 'the hatch' to discover & manage your infrastructure. "Automate and Discover with Puppet and MCollective!" session attendance strongly encouraged if you're not familiar with Puppet and MCollective.
Goucher College is small liberal arts college in Baltimore, MD that started with a medium-size dual boot lab 5 years ago as part of a pilot program to bring student, faculty, and staff the most complete, flexible, and cost effective computer lab experience available. Early results with the process were discouraging. Better tools and more practice have made the process successful and productive. The session will look at past, present, and future methods of delivering Mac OS X and Windows on Apple computers in a multi-user lab. This will include discussion of past tools, current best practices and tools, and future directions. We will discuss challenges we faced and lessons we learned from the process.
Lion Server represents the first in what is bound to be a number of changes to OS X Server. In this session, we will look at these changes, from file sharing, multi-master directory services and other general IT functions to the creative aspects of OS X Server, such as streaming and podcasting. We will look at how the tools are changing and evolving and some 3rd party tools that are available to make the life of a systems administrator easier. Finally, we'll take a look at some of the finer grained features that are no longer available to the command line and look at how some represent areas for 3rd party application development!
So now that your mind harnesses the power of the Borg in your very best Ewok costume, it's probably a good idea to practice what you've learned. We'll go hands-on to solve a few real-world scenarios in two short hours with Puppet and MCollective. When you're done, you can hire an intern to press a button in 'the hatch' to discover & manage your infrastructure. "Automate and Discover with Puppet and MCollective!" session attendance strongly encouraged if you're not familiar with Puppet and MCollective.
The growing popularity of Mac OS X means lots of Windows users are switching platforms. Having strategies for migrating users from Windows to Mac OS X in your environment will save you time and headaches.The Macintosh Services Team at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has learned a great deal about Windows to Mac migrations. Their strategy involves automating as much of the process as possible, using well documented manual steps, and correctly setting "Switcher's" expectations.
This session will introduce Apple Configurator and how you can use for for configuring, deploying, and updating iOS based-devices. Concepts of device management will be covered and use-scenarios where you may want a more supervised device than others. Also, we will dive into configuring a device to be supervised and showing how this can fit your organization.
A Hands-On lab that will allow you to try out Munki for yourself. We will walk through a basic Munki repository setup, installing drag and drop applications, Apple packages as well as some lovely Adobe products. We will discuss best practices for working with your munki repository, touch on some advanced topics and end with Q&A. Once you see how powerful Munki is, you will wonder how you ever lived without it!
This session will look at one of the first known deployments of Macs at PSU using OS 10.7 Server running Open Directory integrated into Penn State's Kerberos authentication system and OS 10.7 Client computers with Mobile Accounts and Portable Home Directories. In addition, this system leverages parts of Apple's new Profile Manager to manage all types of device clients as well as Workgroup Manager to manage other pieces of the clients.
Apple packages are the past, present, and future for Mac sys admins. Package installers are the input for almost every deployment scheme on the Mac. Learn how to use the free and open source tool, The Luggage, to create various kinds of packages. The requirements and initial setup of The Luggage will also be covered and demonstrated. This session will use the Terminal and Mac OS X's command line interface.
This roundtable will discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of CAP (configuration, asset, patch) management systems widely used by the Macintosh support community. Speakers will discuss their hands-on experiences with systems such as Absolute Manage, JAMF Casper, Munki, Reposado, Deploy Studio, and offer insights, "gotchas", work arounds and other useful tidbits of information. This interactive session will allow audience members to opine, discuss, ask questions and generally help provide a good picture of the tools and best practices available to administrators overseeing centralized management platforms.
IBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager (TEM) is a powerful, cross-platform systems management suite for remotely managing and monitoring workstations, and it is the tool upon which the Systems Management @ Penn State (SysMan) service is based. In addition to utilizing power savings, inventory, and reporting features, systems administrators can employ TEM's software distribution tools to quickly and silently install applications and settings to both on- and off-site workstations. This session will present the basics of TEM and help you get started quickly packaging and deploying software, updates, and settings to Mac computers. We will also touch on relevance language and action script, examine helpful analyses and reports, and look at best practices and recommendations for building an effective software deployment process with TEM.
This session will look at one of the first known deployments of Macs at PSU using OS 10.7 Server running Open Directory integrated into Penn State's Kerberos authentication system and OS 10.7 Client computers with Mobile Accounts and Portable Home Directories. In addition, this system leverages parts of Apple's new Profile Manager to manage all types of device clients as well as Workgroup Manager to manage other pieces of the clients.
Also know as Managed Software Update, Munki is an open source project to deploy and maintain software. We'll discuss everything it's applicable for, culminating in how it can be used as an approximation of a Configuration Management system (although not strictly adhering to the ITIL definition, as it lacks most of the infrastructure - and pursuant complexity - present elsewhere). This means you can decide what goes on the workstations under your purview at a granular or wide scale, and to some extent guarantee that it will stay that way. When bent to our will/utilized for our needs as sysadmins, and paired with its patch management and reporting features, Munki can bootstrap enterprise-class benefits with minimal setup.
Hands on training for the installation and configuration of DeployStudio in a networked environment. Attendees will see the basic tasks involved in deploying systems with DeployStudio and will be asked to discuss their specific scenarios. Specific scenarios and questions will be addressed.
Learn about the various programs that Apple has in place to allow for educational institutions to purchase iOS and Mac App Store software titles in quantities. Both the Volume Purchase Program and Apple Education Licensing Program will be discussed as will Apple Software Volume Purchase options. (Due to Apple Corporate policy, this session will not be recorded.)
Wish you could connect to and manage your Mac clients and servers from your iOS device? Join us for a trip through the best remote management apps on your favorite Apple devices. We'll cover SSH, VNC, Server Admin, custom notifications, and RDP for those unfortunate times when you need to admin a Windows box.