Configuration Manager Server has the ability to manage Microsoft operating systems, but not only. Starting with the 2012 version, it also knows how to manage OSX, Android and iOS.
Figure 1: An example of the collection of mobile devices supported by the ConfigMgr server.
Below, I will briefly describe the prerequisites for installing the Configuration Manager server client on MAC OS X.
Currently, the Current Brach (1610) version of the Configfuration Manager server can support the following MAC OS X systems:
- Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
- Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
- Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion)
- Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks)
- Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)
- Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan)
- Mac OS X 10.12 (macOS Sierra)
Regardless of the Mac OS X system we will want to support, the prerequisites are identical:
- We must have Public Key Infrastructure implemented. Installation of the Configuration Manager server client requires the use of a certificate. Without it, there is no way to establish a connection between the client and the Configuration Manager server.
- Server roles of the Configuration Manager server that provide communication must work in HTTPS mode.
- The certificates used to secure communications must be generated based on specially prepared templates.
- The ConfigMgr server must be properly configured to work with mobile devices. A computer running Mac OS X is obviously not a mobile device, but an ordinary laptop. Nevertheless, the ConfigMgr server treats it as a mobile device
We configure certificate templates and certificates through the Certifiaction Atuthority console. The rest is done on the ConfigMgr server.
Server configuration consists of the following steps:
- Configuring the ConfigMgr server to work in HTTPS mode
- Installation of Management Point server role to work in HTTPS mode
- Installation of Distribution Point server role for HTTPS operation
- Installation of Enrollment Point server role to work in HTTPS mode
- Installation of Enrollment Proxy Point server role to work in HTTPS mode
- Indications of the certificate used for mobile devices.
Once the server configuration is complete, you can proceed to connect the client to it. This task consists of two steps:
- Installing the ConfigMgr server client on a computer running Mac OS X
- ConfigMgr server client registration on the server.
If everything is well configured, the result should be as below.
Fig. 2. ConfigMgr server client information, registered on the server.
Immediately after installation, the client performs a Hardware Inventory and sends the data to the ConfigMgr server. The results of this scan can be viewed on the console.
Figure 3: Hardware Inventory results on the ConfigMgr server console.