NetBoot/SUS Appliance User Guide Version 1.0
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Contents Page 4 Overview Page 4 Requirements Page 4 Setting Up the NetBoot/SUS Appliance Page 5 Managing Accounts Page 6 Managing a Software Update Server Setting Up the SUS Creating Additional Branches Managing Software Update Packages Using the SUS with the Casper Suite Page 13 Managing a NetBoot Server Setting Up the NetBoot Server Using the NetBoot Server with the Casper Suite Page 14 Restarting the AFP and SMB Shares Page 15 Managing NetBoot/SUS Appliance Settings Configuring Network Settings Changing the Server Date and Time 3
Overview Apple allows you to host NetBoot servers and internal software update servers (SUSs) on Mac OS X Server only. The Appliance creates an Ubuntu virtual machine (VM) that acts as a NetBoot server and/or SUS. This allows you to host a NetBoot server and/or internal SUS using any system that supports virtualization. The Appliance also installs a web application that can be used to easily manage your NetBoot server and/or SUS. Requirements The minimum system requirements are: 100 GB of disk space available 1 GB of RAM Virtualization software installed that supports Open Virtualization Format To set up a NetBoot server using the Appliance, you need a NetBoot image (.nbi folder). For instructions on creating a NetBoot image for use with the Casper Suite, see the following Knowledge Base article: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/article.html?id=307 Only Intel-based Macs can boot to a NetBoot image hosted on a NetBoot server that is running on the Appliance. Setting Up the NetBoot/SUS Appliance Before using the Appliance to set up a NetBoot server and/or SUS, you need to import the Appliance file (.ova) into the virtualization software on the system you want to use to host the NetBoot server and/or SUS. This creates an Ubuntu VM that has running SMB and AFP shares. The first time you power on the VM, a page displaying the URL for the Appliance web application appears. Once the VM is powered on, it is recommended that you log in to the Appliance web application with a web browser and change your user name and password. For instructions on how to do so, see the Managing Accounts section of this document. 4
Managing Accounts The following table lists the default credentials for all accounts associated with the Appliance: Account User name Password Appliance web application webadmin webadmin Administering the Appliance from Terminal shelluser shelluser AFP share afpuser afpuser SMB share smbuser smbuser You can change the user name and password for: The Appliance web application Administering the Appliance from Terminal You can also change the password for the AFP and SMB shares. To change the credentials for the Appliance web application: 2. Click the Change Account link at the top of the page. 3. Enter the current password. 4. Enter a new user name and password, and then click Save Web Admin Account. To change the credentials for administering the Appliance from Terminal: 2. Click the Change Account link at the top of the page. 3. Click the Shell tab. 5
4. Enter a new user name and password, and then click Save Shell Account. To change the password for the AFP or SMB share: 3. If you are changing the password for the AFP share, select the AFP category in the sidebar. If you are changing the password for the SMB share, select the SMB category. 4. Enter a new password. If you are changing the password for the AFP share, click Change AFP Password. If you are changing the password for the SMB share, click Change SMB Password. Managing a Software Update Server The Appliance creates an internal SUS using Reposado, an open source software update application. Use the Appliance web application to easily set up and manage the SUS. Unlike standard SUSs, you can divide the SUS created by the Appliance into branches and enable different software update packages on each branch. This gives you more control over which updates are installed when using the Casper Suite to run Software Update on client computers. 6
Setting Up the SUS Before using the SUS, you must set it up using the Appliance web application. This requires you to create at least one branch and specify a base URL for the SUS. To set up the SUS: 3. Select the SUS category in the sidebar. 4. Enter a base URL for the SUS, and then click Change Base URL. For example, https://sus.mycompany.corp 5. If you want to store software update packages on the internal SUS, select the Store software updates on this SUS checkbox. When this checkbox is selected, clients install software updates from the internal SUS. When this checkbox is deselected, clients download and install software updates from Apple's Software Update Server. 6. Type a branch name in the Add Branch field, and then click Add SUS Branch. Creating Additional Branches If you want different user groups or clients to install different software updates, you can create additional branches in the SUS. To create an additional SUS branch: 7
3. Select the SUS category in the sidebar. 4. Type a branch name in the Add Branch field, and then click Add SUS Branch. Managing Software Update Packages This section explains how to do the following: Update the list of available software update packages Enable or disable software update packages for a branch Updating the List of Available Software Update Packages You can update the list of available software update packages by syncing your SUS with Apple s Software Update server. This can be done manually or on a schedule. To manually sync the SUS: 3. Select the SUS category in the sidebar. 4. Click the Sync SUS button. To create a sync schedule for the SUS: 3. Select the SUS category in the sidebar. 4. Use the Sync Schedule pop-up menu to choose the hour of day that you want syncing to occur. 8
Enabling or Disabling Software Update Packages You can manually enable or disable packages for a branch, or you can choose to have a branch automatically enable all available updates. To enable or disable packages: 3. Select the SUS category in the sidebar. 4. Click the name of the branch you want to enable or disable packages for. 5. To manually enable or disable packages, select or deselect the checkboxes next to the packages. 6. If you want the branch to automatically enable all available updates, select the Automatically Enable New Updates checkbox below the list of packages. 7. Click the Apply button below the list of packages. Using the SUS with the Casper Suite Like standard SUSs, you can use the SUS created with the Appliance to run Software Update on client computers. This involves pointing clients at a SUS branch, and then using Casper Remote or a policy to run Software Update on clients. 9
Pointing Clients at a SUS Branch There are several methods for pointing clients at a SUS branch: Make a branch the root branch and add it to the JSS You can make a branch the root branch using the Appliance web application. Then, add the root branch to the JSS and use Casper Remote or a policy to point clients at the root branch. Use Managed Preferences Create and apply a Managed Preference to point clients at a SUS branch. This requires that you have enabled Managed Preferences in the JSS. Execute a command Use Casper Remote or a policy to execute a command that points clients at a SUS branch. To make a branch the root branch and add it to the JSS: 1. Make a branch the root branch: a. Log in to the Appliance web application with a web browser. b. Click the Admin link at the top of the page. c. Select the SUS category in the sidebar. d. Click the name of the branch you want to make the root branch. e. Select the Root Branch checkbox below the list of packages. f. Click the Apply button below the list of packages. 2. Follow the instructions in the Adding Software Update Servers section of the Casper Suite Administrator s Guide to add the root branch to the JSS. Enter the domain name of the base URL specified in the Appliance web application. For example, if your base URL is "https://sus.mycompany.corp/", enter "sus.mycompany.corp". Enter 80 for the port. 3. Use Casper Remote or a policy to point clients at the root branch. You can do this at the same time that you install software updates on clients. (See "Installing Software Updates on Clients" for more information.) 10
To use Managed Preferences to point clients at a SUS branch: Follow the instructions in the "Managed Preferences" section of the Casper Suite Administrator s Guide to add the "Software Update Server" preference from the com.apple.softwareupdate template. In the Key Name field on the Definition tab, enter the branch URL. See Branch URLs for more information. To execute a command that points clients at a SUS branch: Use Casper Remote or a policy to execute the following command on client computers: defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate CatalogURL <Branch URL> Substitute <Branch URL> with the branch URL. See Branch URLs for more information. Branch URLs Branch URLs will vary depending on the operating system running on clients. Example branch URLs for clients running Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7 are listed below. Mac OS X 10.5 https://sus.mycompany.corp/content/catalogs/index-leopard.merged-1.<branch name>.sucatalog Mac OS X 10.6 https://sus.mycompany.corp/content/catalogs/index-leopard-snowleopard.merged-1.<branch name>. sucatalog Mac OS X 10.7 https://sus.mycompany.corp/content/catalogs/index-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.<branch name>.sucatalog 11
Installing Software Updates on Clients For instructions on using the Casper Suite to run Software Update on client computers, see Running Software Update in the Casper Suite Administrator s Guide. If you pointed clients at the root branch by adding the SUS to the JSS, be sure to select the Set Server checkbox on the Packages pane. This points clients at the root branch of the SUS. 12
Managing a NetBoot Server Use the Appliance web application to easily set up and manage a NetBoot server. Setting Up a NetBoot Server The instructions in this section explain how to set up a NetBoot server for the first time. To set up a NetBoot server, you need a NetBoot image (.nbi folder). See the Requirements section for more information. To set up a NetBoot server: 3. Select the NetBoot category in the sidebar. 4. Click the Upload NetBoot Image button. You will be connected to the SMB share where NetBoot images are stored. 5. Enter credentials for the SMB share, and then click Connect. 6. Copy a NetBoot image (.nbi folder) to the SMB share. Important: The name of the folder cannot contain any spaces. 7. Return to the Appliance web application and refresh the page. 8. Choose subnets for the NetBoot image by entering a subnet and a netmask. Then, click the Add Subnet button. Important: You must add a subnet that includes the IP address of the NetBoot server. 13
9. Choose the NetBoot image from the pop-up menu, and then click the Enable NetBoot button at the bottom of the page. If NetBoot was successfully enabled, the NetBoot status icon turns green. Using the NetBoot Server with the Casper Suite Like standard NetBoot servers, you can add the NetBoot server created with the Appliance to the JSS. This allows you to use Casper Remote or a policy to boot client computers to a NetBoot image. When adding the NetBoot server to the JSS, choose to boot the server to a default image, and enter the IP address specified in the Appliance web application. For complete instructions on adding a NetBoot server to the JSS, see Adding NetBoot Servers in the Casper Suite Administrator s Guide. Restarting the AFP and SMB Shares You may need to restart the AFP or SMB share for troubleshooting purposes. This section explains how to restart these shares using the Appliance web application. To restart the AFP or SMB share: 3. If you are restarting the AFP share, select the AFP category in the sidebar. If you are restarting the SMB share, select the SMB category in the sidebar. 4. If you are restarting the AFP share, click Restart AFP. If you are restarting the SMB share, click Restart SMB. 14
Managing NetBoot/SUS Appliance Settings This section explains how to: Configure network settings Change the server date and time Configuring Network Settings The following information is automatically populated in the Appliance web application: Host name for the server IP address Netmask Gateway DNS servers This section explains how to change these settings using the Appliance web application. To change network settings: 3. Click the Network tab. 4. Change the desired information, and then click Save Network Configuration. 15
Changing the Server Date and Time You can use the Appliance web application to change the date and time of your NetBoot server and/or SUS. To change the server date and time: 3. Click the Date/Time tab. 4. Choose a time zone from the Current Time Zone pop-up menu. 5. (Optional) Enter the name of a network time server that you want to use to synchronize the date and time. For example, "pool.ntp.org". 6. Click Save Date/Time Configuration. 16