Re: Centralized patching for Mac OSX?

Mike,

At MIT I used Apple Remote Desktop to manage 250+ Macs spread across the
entire campus (try running out to the boathouse on the Charles River
every time you need to do updates...in a blizzard). I used it for OS
updates / security patches, but also software distribution, user support
/ training, inventory, etc. The unlimited Academic license is only
$299, while the 10 client is $149. Check it out to see if it fills your
needs. It may seem overkill for just patching, but I'm sure you'll find
many uses for it. The one caveat is that you'll need a Mac to run the
admin on. Simple VNC can be done from any platform, but the client
management features require the ARD admin app which is OS X only.

http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

John

Mike Patterson wrote:
> We're working on our Mac patch management strategy/tool use. 99% of our
> desktops are windows and we are more familiar with supporting those.
> We've been using a monthly "Patch 2nd Tuesday" cycle using WSUS for
> windows, internal security scans/RHN/newsgroups for linux/bsd servers,
> and manual "software update" on OS X desktops. We also process pressing
> security alerts out of that cycle when needed.
>
> Is anyone using System Update Server for Mac OS X?
> http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/features/softwareupdateserver.html
>
> Can you set your clients to automatically install approved updates like
> you can with Windows SUS/WSUS? Does it needs to run on a actual apple
> server as oppose to serving flies from a different bsd box? Is there a
> campus Mac SUS server available for campus clients to use (it's overkill
> to run our own OS X server for this)?
>
> While our windows desktops need patches constantly, at least we have our
> WSUS server and policies to automatically install the patches we approve
> and report their status.
>
> We have a small number of Mac desktops, but visiting each workstation
> and approving updates is a hassle. I suppose we could enable ssh and
> run softwareupdate from the command-line... possibly we could set a
> cronjob to email us automatically if downloaded updates are waiting for
> install (since we are out of touch OS X updates)...
>
> What are other people doing?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
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-- 
===================================
John D. MacDonald
Helpdesk Analyst
U.C. Berkeley - School of Law
trouble@law.berkeley.edu
510-643-6862
===================================
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