Updated: Send softwareupdate command through ARD
This script will run software updates only on machines that are logged out. This ensures you don’t reboot machines that are in use and don’t leave machines in an inconsistent state (by not rebooting after patching). This is not a perfect solution to patching but it’s better than nothing. You can even schedule this to run on a recurring basis.
Update: Added sleep command with random wait. This will help alleviate some load on your SUS and perhaps prevent a DOS attack. Thanks to rsaeks via Twitter.
Copy and paste the following into an Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) “Send Unix Command” window and send as root:
#!/bin/sh <pre lang="bash"># Random number of seconds to wait # The more machines you use this with, the higher the number should be sleep `expr $RANDOM % 120`
if who | grep console; then
echo Machine is in use
exit 1
fi
COMMAND_LINE_INSTALL=1 softwareupdate -i -a
shutdown -r now
exit 0
Script to Configure the Mac OS X firewall
Here is a script that can be deployed via ARD, Absolute Manage (LANrev), LANDesk or virtually any other method to enable and configure the firewall for 10.4, 10.5 or 10.6. You will need to decide how exactly you want your clients firewalls configured. Pay special attention to the stealth setting. If this is enabled, you will not be able to ping that system which will make discovery difficult if they are on a different subnet than your admin system.
Bind to OD Script & Add to Computer Group
The following script is what I use to bind machines to Open Directory and it solves the following challenges:
- If bound to another OD domain, it removes that binding. If you’re not moving from another domain, you can ignore that part, it won’t hurt that it’s in there.
Read the rest of this entry »
Absolute Manage (LANrev) webinar archive available
Edweek.org did a webinar featuring Absolute Manage yesterday and the archive is available online. You can either watch the webinar (bit less than 1 hour) or just download the slides. It featured a case study from a school district with a few thousand managed machines and has a heavy focus on asset management and software license monitoring. It’s worth watching.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/marketplace/webinars/webinars.html
Scroll down to the section titled: Getting a Grasp on Computer Assets to Deliver Maximum Cost Efficiency
Add directory services data to LANDesk inventory
I posted over at the LANDesk community site on how I add AD and OD data to inventory, most of which LANDesk does not collect on it’s own. Much of this I did because we were moving from one OD domain to another and needed a way to see which machines remained on the old domain.
You can get the script here: http://community.landesk.com/support/docs/DOC-9232.
