Casper Newb Guides

[Drekko]

hey everyone
I am a Casper Suite newb and need to get some experience with it
Does anyone have any good step by step guides they can point me to?
Want to start off with an easy one and package chrome

Cheers

[dwandro92]

Check out AutoPkgr. At the very least, you can use this to package Chrome, and then follow the Casper Suite Admin Guide for instructions on uploading the package via Casper Admin, creating smart groups, policies, etc.

[adamcodega]

Distributing and (sometimes) self packaging apps could be it's own class. It's more about learning OS X than learning Casper.

You'll want to get your organization setup with AutoPkgr so apps in the JSS are up to date for distribution and if applicable auto updating on computers.

How to distribute an app depends on the app and any default settings, but for Chrome you can turn it into a package with the pkgbuild command built into OS X:

pkgbuild --component /path/to/Google Chrome.app --install-location /Applications /Where/To/Put/The/Output/Google Chrome.pkg

As for getting started with Casper I would learn enrollment options, and how policies are triggered via the Admin guide.

[Look]

Open Composer.
Cancel the wizard that pops up.
Drag Chrome from Applications to the side bar of Composer.
Expand Applications in main windows of Composer.
Confirm permissions are correct, correct as need be.
Click Build as DMG and save to your desktop.
Open Casper Admin.
Drag DMG from Desktop to Casper Admin.
Done!

[bradtchapman]

@Look . That is the bare essentials of using Composer. But what if the user is a non-admin? How do you disable Google's automatic update service? How do you do it for each and every upgrade of Chrome? How do you pre-populate the company home page?

There are a lot of subtle details that make the experience more polished for the end user, and it's why you should focus on being Mac savvy and well-rounded on that platform, including the use of Terminal. It's also part of why JAMF insists on training for its new customers. ;-)

[Drekko]

Cheers guys Ill check that stuff out!

[roiegat]

Composer is a very deep rabbit hole you can choose to go down. If I recall at one point JAMF was selling it as a separate applications. You can do simple things like @Look suggested...but if you really want to package right you need to think about a zero touch package. That's where everything is set up so the user doesn't have to do anything to configure it. That means settings preference files, possibly creating script to populate information....the rabbit hole gets deeper.

[kerouak]

Didn't you have a 'jumpstart'?

Also.. 'Casper Administrators guide' is a good point of reference..

It's not a 'black art'

Gluck!

[Drekko]

@kerouak No idea what a jumpstart is
I am the new guy at this job and they use Casper, I am just trying to get familiar with it on my own first
I have a package to do which is Chrome, so just trying to find out how do use this by packaging chrome Thanks

[apizz]

@Drekko as part of being a new JAMF customer, they give you a 3-day "Jumpstart" training on how configure and use the system. I would also email JAMF support if you don't know who you account manager is.

Admin guide is a good place to start. If your environment doesn't have a test JSS, I might look into building one. That way you'd have a sandbox to try things and mess around to your heart's content without messing up production.

[adamcodega]

Don't assume that everyone has a Jump Start. Many take positions as Mac Admins in existing JAMF environments, either by taking a new job or taking a job promotion. Some even get Casper Suite forced into their lap.

@Drekko There is no short answer to how to deliver applications to your computers, it depends on the application and if you need to tweak any settings. However to get you started, if you don't need to customize Chrome at all you can use the pkgbuild command line utility built-in to OS X. This is the simplest way to make a PKG installer when all the vendor gives you is a .app.

pkgbuild --component /path/to/Google Chrome.app --install-location /Applications /path/to/GoogleChrome.pkg

[rtrouton]

To follow up on @adamcodega, I've written an Automator application that does much the same task as the pkgbuild command he posted. It's available from here:

https://github.com/rtrouton/Simple-Package-Creator

I have a post on how it works available via the link below:

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/simple-package-creator-app/

That said, another way of getting Chrome packaged is to have AutoPkg do it for you. AutoPkg is an open-source application which provides automation for OS X software packaging and distribution:

http://autopkg.github.io/autopkg/

@elliotjordan has a great guide on how you can leverage AutoPkg to keep Casper updated, available from the link below:

https://github.com/homebysix/auto-update-magic