A quick guide to start deploying applications on Mac OS X - The basics

Knowledge Article

A quick guide to start deploying applications on Mac OS X - The basics
How to install an application on mac os x by using BCM
BMC Client Management
Client Management
Any version of BCM
BMC Client Management
Client Management
Any version of BCM
How can I deploy an application to Mac OS?

Can I use the same packager to create packages for mac os than for linux or windows?

Will you provide the command lines to me?

I'll try to cover a couple of things in this document that you have to know/to do to successfully deploy a package on a Mac OS x target. If you want to deploy on  a Windows target, you should read the KA 000121358 instead.

A - Build and send a package:

1- Set the packager:

The packager must be a Mac OS X device. Once you have chosen a device you'll have to:
- select it in the console
- double click on the page of its "General" tab and check the option "Packager":

add_pkger_mac_gl.png

- go to Packages > Package Factory, you should see your new packager:

added_pkger_mac.png


2- Find the relevant command-line:

Most MacOS applications are distributed as either zip archives or DMG disk images which contain an application bundle, and these are "installed" by simply copying the application bundle to the /Applications folder. To create a custom package in Asset Core for this type of application it is generally easisest to use a MacOS device as the package factory, and following the steps below to create the package:
- Copy the application bundle to any location on the Mac which is acting as the package factory
- In the Asset Core console, create a new custom package on the MacOS package factory
- Under the Files node of the package, add the application bundle (it will appear with an extension of .app when viewed in the Asset Core file browser).
- Set the destination location in the package to /Applications (no run command is needed).

PKG files are similar to MSI files in a Windows environment, and you would need to use the "installer" command line utility to install the package (similar to using msiexec on Windows). Once you have worked with the application vendor to identify the correct command line parameters to perform the installation, you would enter this same command in the run command field within the package (the destination can be any directory, as installer will perform the installation and copy the application bundle(s) to the appropriate location).

MPKG files work just like PKG files in that they need to be used with the installer command line tool. The difference is that an MPKG file does not itself perform any installation operations, it just references other PKG files. For example, the MPKG for an suite of applications such as iWork could reference PKG files for each of the individual applications included with iWork (I'm not sure off the top of my head if iWork actually installs this way, but it demonstrates the concept).

You will also find a great explanation on mac os application installers here.

If you don't already know which options to use, you should consider looking for that application name and version on ItNinja. This site is the best site i know to find options to use to deploy specific applications. You'll often find options there that are not even documented on the editor's website.

You should first test to install this application manually by using the command line you found on your test device, in order to validate it actually works.


3- Setup your custom package:

This is the only type of packages that exists for macs. To create your package, select your mac package factory then select the "Custom Packages" folder and right click on "Create package..." or use the package creation wizard:

create_pkg.png

- As mentioned earlier in this document it might not always be required to run a command, so the field "run command" can be left blank.
- If no run command is necessary, the "Destination" filed will more likely be set to "/Applications".
- Be careful with the "Overwrite" tab if you are updating files
- You might need to check the option "Run in its context" to have the package work. This is the first thing you should check or uncheck if your package doesn't work right away.
- It's almost never necessary to set an admin account in the "Run as" tab of the package properties as packages usually install correctly using the "system" account. Only set an admin account there if the package doesn't install properly during your tests. This is the second thing to test after (un)checking the option "Run in its context"


5- Publish the package:

publish_pkg.png

This will make it available in the main node "Packages"  and be ready to be assigned to devices.  It might take a while to publish it, wait for the "Package Status" line in the "General" tab of the package to be set to the status "Package successfully published to target device":

pkg_success.png

The files will be copied from the packager to the master. The package archive can be found in ../master/data/Vision64database/Packages once the package has been published in the console.


6- Assign or advertise the package to a test device (group) or user:

Read steps 5 and 6 of the KA 000121358



B- Best practices:

Read them from the KA 000121358 as they're identical.



C- Practical examples:

This page on ItNinja's forum seems quite relevant to get examples of the several ways that exist to install an application on Mac OS X.

The installation method will vary with the software title.  Some things, like Firefox, you can just upload the DMG and use the defaults:  https://support.software.dell.com/k1000-systems-management-appliance/kb/111167

Silverlight, as a similar example: http://www.itninja.com/blog/view/k1000-mac-deploy-silverlight-through-a-managed-install

Others, you will have to tweak a little:  http://www.itninja.com/blog/view/kace-mac-managed-install-of-adobe-flash-player-for-mac-using-install-adobe-flash-player-app

Read the KA 000147620 for step by step examples.
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