 Note |
| The information in this topic applies only to System Center
2012 Configuration Manager SP1. |
You can use Microsoft System Center 2012
Configuration Manager to deploy applications to Mac computers.
The steps to deploy software to Mac computers are similar to those
that are used to deploy software to Windows computers. However,
before you create and deploy applications for Mac computers that
are managed by Configuration Manager, consider the following:
- Before you can deploy Mac application
packages to Mac computers, you must use the CMAppUtil tool
on a Mac computer to convert these applications into a format that
can be read by Configuration Manager.
- Configuration Manager does not support the
deployment of Mac applications to users; these deployments must be
to a device. Similarly, for Mac application deployments,
Configuration Manager does not support the Pre-deploy software
to the user’s primary device option on the Deployment
Settings page of the Deploy Software Wizard.
- Mac applications support simulated
deployments.
- You cannot deploy applications to Mac
computers that have a purpose of Available.
- The option to send wake-up packets when you
deploy software is not supported for Mac computers.
- Mac computers do not support Background
Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) to download application
content. If an application download fails, it will be restarted
from the beginning.
- Configuration Manager does not support global
conditions when you create deployment types for Mac computers.
Use the following steps to create and deploy applications for
Mac computers.
Steps to Create and Deploy an
Application
The following table provides the steps, details, and
more information for creating and deploying applications for Mac
computers.
Supplemental Procedures to Create
and Deploy Applications for Mac Computers
Use the following procedures to create and deploy
applications for Mac computers that are managed by Configuration
Manager.
Step 1: Prepare Mac Applications for
Configuration Manager
The required process to create and deploy Configuration
Manager applications to Mac computers is similar to the deployment
process for Windows computers. However, before you create
Configuration Manager applications that contain Mac deployment
types, you must prepare the applications by using the
CMAppUtil tool. This tool is downloaded with the Mac client
installation files. The CMAppUtil tool can gather
information about the application, which includes detection data
from the following Mac packages:
- Apple Disk Image (.dmg)
- Meta Package File (.mpkg)
- Mac OS X Installer Package (.pkg)
- Mac OS X Application (.app)
After it gathers application information, the
CMAppUtil then creates a file with the extension
.cmmac. This file contains the installation files for the
Mac software and information about detection methods that can be
used to evaluate whether the application is already installed.
CMAppUtil can also process .dmg files that contain
multiple Mac applications and create different deployment types for
each application.
To prepare Mac software to be
deployed by Configuration Manager
-
Copy the Mac software installation package to the
folder on the Mac computer where you extracted the contents of the
macclient.dmg file that you downloaded from the Microsoft
Download Center.
-
On the same Mac computer, open a terminal window and
navigate to the folder where you extracted the contents of the
macclient.dmg file.
-
Navigate to the Tools folder and enter the
following command-line:
./CMAppUtil<properties>
For example, if you want to convert the contents of an
Apple disk image file named MySoftware.dmg stored in the
users desktop folder into a cmmac file in the same folder
and you want to create cmmac files for all applications that
are found in the disk image file. To do this, use the following
command line:
./CMApputil –c /Users/<User
Name>/Desktop/MySoftware.dmg -o /Users/<User
Name>/Desktop -a
| Note |
| The application name must be no more than 128 characters in
length. |
To configure options for CMAppUtil, use the
command-line properties in the following table:
| Property |
More information |
|
-h
|
Displays the available command-line properties.
|
|
-r
|
Outputs the detection.xml of the provided .cmmac
file to stdout. The output contains the detection parameters
and the version of CMAppUtil that was used to create the
.cmmac file.
|
|
-c
|
Specify the source file to be converted.
|
|
-o
|
This property must be used in conjunction with the –c property
to specify the output path.
|
|
-a
|
Use this property in conjunction with the –c property and the
disk image (.dmg) file to automatically create .cmmac files
for all applications and packages that are found in the disk image
file.
|
|
-s
|
Skips generating the detection.xml if no detection
parameters are found and forces the creation of the .cmmac
file without the detection.xml file.
|
|
-v
|
Displays more detailed output from the CMAppUtil tool
together with diagnostic information.
|
-
Ensure that the .cmmac file has been created in
the output folder that you specified.
Step 2: Create a Configuration Manager
application that contains the Mac software
Use the following procedure to help you create an
application for Mac computers that are managed by Configuration
Manager.
To create an application for a
Mac computer
-
In the Configuration Manager console, click Software
Library.
-
In the Software Library workspace, expand
Application Management, and then click
Applications.
-
On the Home tab, in the Create group,
click Create Application.
-
On the General page of the Create Application
Wizard, select Automatically detect information about this
application from installation files.
-
In the Type drop-down list, select Mac OS
X.
-
In the Location field, specify the UNC path in
the form \\<server>\<share>\<filename> to
the Mac application installation file (.cmmac file) that
will detect application information. Alternatively, click
Browse to browse and specify the installation file
location.
| Note |
| You must have access to the UNC path that contains the
application. |
-
Click Next.
-
On the Import Information page of the Create
Application Wizard, review the information that was imported. If
necessary, you can click Previous to go back and correct any
errors. Click Next to proceed.
-
On the General Information page of the Create
Application Wizard, specify information about the application such
as the application name, comments, version, and an optional
reference to help you reference the application in the
Configuration Manager console.
| Note |
| Some of the application information might already be present on
this page if it was previously obtained from the application
installation files. |
-
Click Next, review the application information
on the Summary page, and then complete the Create
Application Wizard.
-
The new application is displayed in the
Applications node of the Configuration Manager console.
Step 3: Create a Deployment Type for the
Mac Application
Use the following procedure to help you create a
deployment type for Mac computers that are managed by Configuration
Manager.
| Note |
| If you automatically imported information about the application
in the Create Application Wizard, a deployment type for the
application might already have been created. |
To create a deployment type for a
Mac computer
-
In the Configuration Manager console, click Software
Library.
-
In the Software Library workspace, expand
Application Management, and then click
Applications.
-
Select an application and then, on the Home tab,
in the Application group, click Create Deployment
Type to create a new deployment type for this application.
| Note |
| You can also start the Create Deployment Type Wizard from the
Create Application Wizard and from the Deployment Types tab
of the <application name>Properties dialog
box. |
-
On the General page of the Create Deployment
Type Wizard, in the Type drop-down list, select Mac OS
X.
-
In the Location field, specify the UNC path in
the form \\<server>\<share>\<filename> to the
application installation file (.cmmac file). Alternatively,
click Browse to browse and specify the installation file
location.
| Note |
| You must have access to the UNC path that contains the
application. |
-
Click Next.
-
On the Import Information page of the Create
Deployment Type Wizard, review the information that was
imported. If necessary, click Previous to go back and
correct any errors. Click Next to continue.
-
On the General Information page of the Create
Deployment Type Wizard, specify information about the
application such as the application name, comments, and the
languages in which the deployment type is available.
| Note |
| Some of the deployment type information might already be
present on this page if it was previously obtained from the
application installation files. |
-
Click Next.
-
On the Requirements page of the Create
Deployment Type Wizard, you can specify the conditions that must be
met before the deployment type can be installed on Mac
computers.
-
Click Add to open the Create Requirement
dialog box and add a new requirement.
| Note |
| You can also add new requirements on the Requirements
tab of the <deployment type name>Properties
dialog box. |
-
From the Category drop-down list, select that
this requirement is for a device.
-
From the Condition drop-down list, select the
condition that you want to use to assess whether the or Mac
computer meets the installation requirements. The contents of this
list will vary depending on the selected category.
-
From the Operator drop-down list, choose the
operator that will be used to compare the selected condition to the
specified value to assess whether the user or device meets in the
installation requirement. The available operators will vary
depending on the selected condition.
-
In the Value field, specify the values that will
be used with the selected condition and operator whether the user
or device meets in the installation requirement. The available
values will vary depending on the selected condition and the
selected operator.
-
Click OK to save the requirement rule and exit
the Create Requirement dialog box.
-
On the Requirements page of the Create
Deployment Type Wizard, click Next.
-
On the Summary page of the Create Deployment
Type Wizard, review the actions for the wizard to take. If
necessary, click Previous to go back and change deployment
type settings. Click Next to create the deployment type.
-
After the Progress page of the Wizard completes,
review the actions that have been taken, and then click
Close to complete the Create Deployment Type
Wizard.
-
If you started this wizard from the Create
Application Wizard, you will return to the Deployment
Types page of the wizard.
Step 4: Deploy the Mac Application
The steps to deploy an application to Mac computers are
the same as those used to deploy an application to Windows
computers, except for the following differences:
- The deployment of applications to users is
not supported.
- Deployments that have a purpose of
Available are not supported.
- The Pre-deploy software to the user’s
primary device option on the Deployment Settings page of
the Deploy Software Wizard is not supported.
- Because Mac computers do not support Software
Center, the setting User notifications on the User
Experience page of the Deploy Software Wizard is ignored.
- The option to send wake-up packets when you
deploy software is not supported for Mac computers.
For more information, see How to Deploy
Applications in Configuration Manager.
Step 5: Monitor the Deployment of the Mac
Application
See Also
