Bulk config of Macs with AC2

JureJerebic
Contributor

Hi everyone,

I'm working on setting up an Apple Configurator 2 laptop, from which we can bulk restore and enrol Macs (over DEP). I take it others are already doing this, so I'm wondering if so, which Thunderbolt/USB-C hub have you been using, and what your overall experience with AC2 and Apple Silicon Macs has been?

 

Thanks!

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jbisgett
Contributor II

For DFU restoring AS Macs using AC2, I would highly recommend the Cambrionix ThunderSync3 (https://www.cambrionix.com/products/thundersync3-16-rackmount-thunderbolt-usb-hub). It's pricey, but worth every penny. We have two of these, which you can link together, so you can mass restore a lot of devices at one time. It's a life saver for us right now, upgrading from BigSur to Monterey on our teacher refresh devices before enrollment. It's also great for DFU restoring iPads with AC2.

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mainelysteve
Valued Contributor II

Eh? You can use AC2 to add an Apple Silicon Mac to ABM or ASM, but it's not necessarily a tool to use for mass enrollment of them. If these Macs don't need a manually created standard/admin user at the setup assistant just change your prestage to auto advance. You'll need a usb-c ethernet adapter for each machine to achieve this.

jbisgett
Contributor II

For DFU restoring AS Macs using AC2, I would highly recommend the Cambrionix ThunderSync3 (https://www.cambrionix.com/products/thundersync3-16-rackmount-thunderbolt-usb-hub). It's pricey, but worth every penny. We have two of these, which you can link together, so you can mass restore a lot of devices at one time. It's a life saver for us right now, upgrading from BigSur to Monterey on our teacher refresh devices before enrollment. It's also great for DFU restoring iPads with AC2.

Thanks, that's awesome! How many Macs can you restore at a time with one/two of these? Do you also enrol over this or just restore?

okay so i put the m1 mac in dfu mode. I have the thundersync3-16 that you provide the link for. how you connecting the the dfu mac to the cambrionix. Do you using male usb a to usb c adapter?

https://www.amazon.com/Female-Adapter-Charger-Airpods-Samsung/dp/B079LYHNSR/ref=sr_1_7_sspa?crid=382...

jbisgett
Contributor II

We've done about 30 at one time. We do not enroll using this method, we just restore. We let the prestage handle enrollment and configuration.

30 at a time, wow that is awesome! On the host Mac you still need about 15 GB of free space for each connect target Mac. Do you have 1 TB storage on the host Mac?

jbisgett
Contributor II

I never really paid attention to that, but yea, we have a MacBook Pro with a 1TB hdd as the host machine.

marcus_ransom
New Contributor II
New Contributor II

can confirm the Thundersync is the way to go for doing this

These are great instructions for iOS setups, but this thread is about Mac deployments with AC2 🙂

AC2 can only configure and or enroll iPads. You can install/restore MacOS on Apple Silicon Macs, but enrollment isn't possible. Other than the provisioning utility for Thundersync that @jbisgett mentioned above your options for a USB type plug and go setup are fairly limited.

What's in your pre-stage? Are you asking for a user to be created?

Just the jamf admin user, the rest is then set up during the Setup Assistant

JureJerebic
Contributor

Question for you, @marcus_ransom and @jbisgett - when you restore several Macs at a time over Thundersync, did you notice a drop in time it takes to restore the Macs? When compared to restoring just one machine over the Apple Configurator Mac.

There is a minor overhead when restoring multiple machines, but not a huge amount. Definitely much faster than doing restores one at a time

Awesome! I'm looking at the Thundersync but I can only see the USB outputs, I take it one has to use the USB to USB-C cable with it?

Yes, you need to purchase USB-A to USB-C cables. Make sure they are USB 3 speed rated at 5gbps, some are only USB 2 speed at 480mbps.

jbisgett
Contributor II

Agreed, it may take a few minutes longer for multiple versus one, but not a huge difference. Really, barely noticeable, especially if you are using the time to get the next batch of devices ready. Yes, you do need USB to USB-C cables. They should be the USB 3.1 (to support the faster transfer speeds).

rmckellar
New Contributor III

Cambrionix just came out with their 10-port USB-C hub (https://www.cambrionix.com/products/thundersync3-c10), so you should be able to use the charging cable that comes with the Mac.

Cool! But it doesn't look like one can purchase it just yet, but just request a bulk quote?

@JureJerebic Yeah, that's what I did to get in touch with a sales rep before. They should be able to get you a quote then for just 1 or 2, or whatever you need.

pivott_prosys
New Contributor

@jbisgett AC can do 16 devices at one time. If you daisy-chain 2 Camrbonix  16 ports each, AC will pick randomly first 16 devices and preform restore, after that second set of 16. The same apply to iOS/iPadOS/macOS. For your next restore process, - select all, start restore and open Activity of AC . You will see progress, and you can actually count how many devices are being restore. I have 192 to stations, each mac has its own hub. I done have issues anymore like I had when I connected 2 or 3 together.