How to use macOS Profile Management in Client Management Suite 8.x?

Products

• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

How to use macOS Profile Management in Client Management Suite 8.x?

macOS Profile Management feature lets you import Mac configuration profiles and deploy them to Mac devices.

A configuration profile is an XML file that allows you to distribute configuration information. It contains a number of settings, or payloads, that you can specify. If you need to configure a large number of devices or to provide a lot of custom email settings, network settings, or certificates to a large number of devices, configuration profiles are an easy way to do it.

Note: Currently, this feature supports device type profiles only.

Environment

ITMS 8.1 and later

Resolution

Process of creating and implementing macOS configuration on computers

1. Import a configuration profile

Create and export a configuration profile into a .mobileconfig file. Following are the links to a few of tools that you can use to create the profile:

• macOS Server profile manager (Paid Tool)
• Apple Configurator 2 (Free Tool)

After you create the configuration profile, transfer it to the Notification Server computer.

2. Create a policy

1. In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Policies.
2. In the left pane, expand Profile Management > Mac.
3. Right-click the folder, and then click New > Mac OS Profile policy.
4. On the new profile policy page, turn on the policy. At the upper right corner of the page, click the colored circle, and then click On.

3. Upload the configuration profile

On the Mac configuration policy page, click Browse and upload the Configuration Profile for distribution, select the configuration profile that you transferred and click Open.

NOTE: If the import is unsuccessful using a remote Console, try this workaround: open an RDP session to the SMP server, open up the Console on the SMP, and import the file.  If needed, connect to the RDP session as the App ID service account.

4. Set the target computers

In the right pane, under Applied To, on the toolbar, click Apply to > Targets, choose the target computers, and then click Save changes.

5. (Optional) View the reports

Mac profile configuration policy reports display the status of the Mac configuration profile policy application. To view the reports, navigate to Reports > All reports > Profile Management.

6. (Optional) Logs and troubleshooting

1. In the /opt/altiris/notification/nsagent/var/aex-client.log file, find messages with 'MacProfilesManager >' prefix
2. Use profiles utility to get information about installed profiles, to install or remove the profile:
   • List Profiles: profiles -C
   • Install the profile: profiles -I -F profile.mobileconfig
   • Remove the profile (using profile file): profiles -R -F profile.mobileconfig
   • Remove the profile (using profile identifier): profiles -R -p ident