Using Apple Remote Desktop ADR to Deploy Items

Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) 3 is the remote control, management, reporting, and deployment tool for Mac OS X systems. Every Mac OS X v10.5 system includes the client-side ARD Remote Management software that allows remote administration. However, the tool used by administrators to access the ARD features, the Remote Desktop administrator application, is not included with Mac OS X. Although this software is a separate purchase, it’s an indispensable tool for deployment and general Mac administration. Because of this, the ARD system is demonstrated heavily throughout this reference guide. In this section, you will first learn how to set up ARD on a Mac OS X system and set up remote access to those systems from the Remote Desktop administrator application. Then you will get to the primary goal of this section: You will learn how to deploy individual files quickly and efficiently using ARD.

Note P All references to ARD in this guide are based on the version that was available at the time of writing, ARD version 3.2.1.

Setting Up ARD 3

There are two main processes for setting up the ARD system. First, you must enable the ARD remote management service on the Mac OS X system you intend to remotely administrate. Then, using the Remote Desktop administrator application, you must establish a connection to the remote systems. If you intend to use ARD to administer your deployed systems, you should absolutely make enabling the Remote Management service part of your system deployment plan.

The Remote Desktop administrator application can create an installer that can be used to set up and enable the Remote Management service on any client Mac. If you already have Remote Desktop installed and open, choose File > Create Client Installer. This opens an assistant that will automatically create the installation package for you.

Enabling ARD Remote Management

The client-side ARD Remote Management service is disabled by default on Mac OS X. The same is true for Mac OS X Server, but because the initial Server Setup Assistant prompts you to enable Remote Management by default, it’s more likely that this service is enabled on Mac OS X Servers. In any case, you must ensure that Remote Management is enabled to take advantage of the ARD system.

To enable the ARD Remote Management service:

1 Open the Sharing preference and authenticate as an administrative user to unlock the preference.

2 In the Service list, select the Remote Management checkbox to enable ARD clientside services.

If this is the first time you have enabled remote management, you’ll see a dialog that allows you to select the ARD options you want to allow for all nonguest local users. You can individually select options, or you can hold down the Option key and then select any checkbox to enable all options. Click OK once you have made your selections.

3 Optionally, if you want to limit ARD access, select “Only these users” and click the Add (+) button. Then select a standard or administrative local user for whom you want to grant ARD access.

Once you’ve added the administrative user, an ARD access options dialog appears for this user. This dialog is identical to the access options shown in the previous step, except it’s used to define options for a specific user. Select the appropriate ARD access options and click OK.

You can edit a user’s ARD options at any time by double-clicking that user’s name in the user access list.

4 To see additional ARD computer options, click the Computer Settings button. A dialog appears that allows you to enable guest and VNC screen-sharing access, enable the Remote Management menu bar item, and add information to help identify this particular Mac. When you’ve made your selections, click OK.

Connecting to Remote ARD Systems

Once your Mac OS X v10.5 systems have the ARD Remote Management service enabled, you can connect to them using the Remote Desktop administrator application. Once you establish an initial connection to the remote systems, the Remote Desktop application will automatically remember those systems so you don’t have to reestablish the connection.

Note: The steps here assume that you have already purchased and installed the Remote Desktop 3 administrator application on a Mac OS X v10.5 computer.

To enable the ARD Remote Management service:

1 Open the /Applications/Remote Desktop application. If you plan on frequently using ARD, you should permanently add the Remote Desktop application to the Dock.

2 If this is the first time the Remote Desktop application was opened on your computer, you will be prompted to enter your ARD 3 serial number and registration information. Enter the appropriate information and click Continue. Entering the registration information will authorize the Remote Desktop application for every user on the system.

3 If this is the first time the Remote Desktop application was opened by your current user account, you will be prompted to enter an ARD password and report collection settings. Enter the requested information and click Done.