Computer mysteriously disappearing from Casper...

[wccadmin]

We have computers that we deploy and install quick add package on... They show up for a season, collect inventory, work fine, etc. And then mysteriously disappear as if they were never there. I would say out of the last 12 macbook airs we rolled out, 6 of them are now no longer seen by Casper Suite. Really makes it impossible to manage your deployment if you can't even count on the machines being IN the system.

Right now we have at least 14 out of 100 machines that once were there, but now are gone.

[mm2270 · Accepted solution]

You likely are using the same USB to Ethernet dongle when you image these MacBook Airs. Because Casper Suite uses the MAC address (in version 8.x) to identify a Mac as a unique system, using the same dongle without first adding them to the Removable MAC Address list will cause machines to overwrite each other.

Solution: Get the MAC Address for all the dongles you use for imaging and enter them into the Removable MAC Address list in the jSS. The problem should then go away, but unfortunately, you will need to re-enroll any Macs that have mysteriously disappeared as they likely won't come back on their own.

Note that I'm making some assumptions on the issue, but that doesn't mean I'm necessarily right. You'll need to verify if this is the case.

[wccadmin]

That sounds like a real possibility. We'll look into it. Thanks!

[csantos]

Does this applies to the Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter?

[mm2270]

It would happen with either type, since its using a MAC address that is part of the hardware dongle, not one that's part of the Mac itself. Adding these to the Removable MAC address list in the JSS will prevent those addresses from being used as identifiers.