We tried to get @gregneagle to speak at JNUC2014. Your's truly offered to walk on stage in a tutu, introduce him, and walk off stage, stoping to curtsy along the way. Such a golden opportunity and he declined (OMG THANK YOU!!!). ;)
Posted to IRC today:
Direct link to image: http://donmontalvo.com/jamf/jamfnation/IRC/valid-constructive-criticism-01.png
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Direct link to the relevant feed: http://osx.michaellynn.org/freenode-osx-server/freenode-osx-server_2014-06-18.html
A couple years ago we had a JNUC session where JAMF sat with some of the large clients and discussed the upcoming version, and what we wanted/needed in the new version. I came prepared, suggesting (1) exclusions and (2) ring fencing. Both requests made it into JSS 9 (as exceptions and sites).
I really hope JAMF does the same at JNUC2014, so we might finally get new patch management functionality in JSS 10. Whether it's something simple like adding is equal to or greater than to Smart Computer Group criteria (not sure that would be reliable in all scenarios), or some other way of determining if an installed piece of software needs to be updated.
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@loceee's Patchoo (gesundheit!) got a lot of attention, as it showed, at least conceptually, what might be possible if JAMF could dedicate some time/resources...:
Hello junki! Casper patching done right!
https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=10636
...and it stirred up a lot of discussion; if you're not already on the ##osx-server IRC channel, do yourself a favor and join. Scroll to the bottom of:
http://wiki.afp548.com/index.php/Main_Page
Don't miss @tbridge's excellent IRC article:
http://www.afp548.com/2013/02/06/a-field-guide-to-irc
The more attention this gets, the greater the chances JAMF might pull this off...hopefully without anyone needing to parade around in a tutu at JNUC2014.
Thanks,
Don
I have my fingers crossed that we'll hear some good news at JNUC 2014. :)
@donmontalvo - sounds like insider trading on your part! I would love to hear of such things...
@yr_joelbruner - I missed this post, pretty interesting idea! You could also store the receipts in more hidden location and just add that to your application search scope.. in Settings / Computer Management / Inventory Collection ...
It's got me thinking... thanks!
@boettchs I wish I did know what's coming in JSS 10. :)
@elliotjordan][/url - looking forward to it!
I hope to see folks at mine also https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/jnucEvent.html?eventId=83
The JSS Gem I'm presenting will be opensourced, and is the precursor to opensourcing 'd3', another pkg deployment system I presented at JNUC 2012. I had to wait for approval to announce that!
@donmontalvo what was announced in regards to Patch management ?
@mikedodge04 Patch Management would be another section under "Computers". It would pull all the up to date information from JAMFNation.com and check it against all computers known to the JSS. Once it calculates who needs the new version, it would then take whatever action you want. You can choose install via Self-Service or automated install in the background like other policies, or according to them you could do both. Provide it in Self-Service and if it's still not installed by X date force the update.
I like the part about never having to download and package stuff. ;)
I echo @donmontalvo... this is greatness!!!
Thanks JAMF... #JNUC
Maybe my first ever implemented feature request? https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/featureRequest.html?id=662
It will be nice to finally get what several PC management products have offered for years.
Looking forward to seeing it implemented. Thanks for posting, @donmontalvo.
Loving the announcement of the Patch Mgmt feature to come. My only (major) concern would be the source of the patches due to legal/HIPPA compliance concerns. I couldn't imagine JN would be the source for the actual package... Regardless, I will be eagerly anticipating the technical aspect of the great feature!
From the little bit I got from it, JAMF will be using the download locations (URLs) posted for each 3rd party software item already in JAMFNations 3rd party section to know where to download it from.
It's actually very similar to something I've been working on myself. The main difference was that I am not using JAMFNation as a source, but only because I couldn't actually figure out how to do that reliably.
In any event, this new feature will be a game changer for many of us. I don't know that it will be a perfect fit for all environments, nor will it likely work for every single app you may need to keep up to date, but even if it only works for all the major products, it will handle 90%+ of the now manual patching we need to do. And I love that this won't even require complex Smart Groups to work! Pure brilliance!
I have lots of questions on how this will work. In larger corporate environments I need to scope the updates to a static group first, and let some period of time (1-2 weeks) pass before deployment to everyone who needs it...
I wonder if this would apply to Apple software updates in addition to third-party apps?
NetSUS/AppleSUS should handle this.
This sounds very interesting and exciting. However, I hope there's more to it than what they stated because right now it sounds like it depends on JAMF Nation to get update links and then it deploys to all computers. That definitely won't work for all environments. 2 major problems I see with that right off the bat:
- Admins should get the ability to deploy their own customized updates because some vendors have horrible packages that sometimes need to be modified.
- Admins should be able to deploy the patch to one, many or all computers based on whatever groups they configure in the JSS.
Let me reiterate that it is very exciting to hear this news. It's kind of like rolling some of the features of Munki and AutoPkg into one. The ability to update out-of-date applications based on the app version the computer is running (Munki) while also automating how it checks/downloads updates (AutoPkg).
I just hope when it gets deployed that it's fully featured and not something that is limited in how it can be customized.
From what was presented, it does not auto deploy to all computers. You set up each individual software title individually and for each one you set up, have the option of choosing between just placing the update in Self Service or deploying it silently.
The preview at JNUC was only a brief overview. There is definitely more to come on this so we'll just need to be patient. But what we saw looked pretty awesome.
Watching with interest (and continuing secret work on Patchoo2 - let's just say I am planning on eliminating many of those yicky smart groups and wonky version checks).
I am hoping they have some sort of software testing track implementation. It's invaluable to have dev / beta / production client groups.
But I also will just be happy to something simple that will save many hours of wasted time for the majority of Casper admins!
Life's too short to be packaging.
I agree! The concept of staged deployment is built into @gregneagle's Munki tool. New/updated apps or patches need to be vetted before deployment. Automatic downloading/packaging/importing into JSS is awesome, hopefully staging will be included in JSS n.
Yeah, that's my number one request. The munki catalogs are a great idea. So great that I was trying to come up with a best of both worlds approach for my environment. I'm very interested in how the patch management gets implemented.
As JNUC attendees may have seen at my session this afternoon, AutoPkgr now supports direct JSS integration, and can be extended to completely automate the Mac app patching process (although you may want to proceed with caution).
There's a discussion open here, for those who are interested:
https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=12280
I'm hoping other Casper admins find this as useful as we have. We're looking forward to seeing what JAMF introduces, but until then AutoPkgr is your friend.
Woohoo....UNDER REVIEW:
Please make JSS track "package-id" and "version" in package receipts
https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/featureRequest.html?id=2367
In the interest of keeping this thread alive, here is another tidbit from the ##osx-server IRC channel.
Scroll to around 09:12: https://botbot.me/freenode/osx-server/2015-01-20/?msg=30023695&page=6
@gneagle: Yet another example of a basic task that should be simple, but isn't: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=13056
@adamcodega: I don't know why people are even bothering trying to update apps with Casper right now.
@gneagle: adamcodega: Because that's the tool they bought and they expect to be able to use it
@adamcodega: Well, now they know.
@gregneagle will probably rag on me for picking up on "fumes from a previous conversation"...but he has some very valid points.
Just a reminder to take a moment to watch the relevant part of last October's JNUC2014 keynote address.
This link takes you to that point in the video. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jKKPGNPE8&t=48m8s
