How do you handle Sites, and how are you grouping your iPads?

[obi-k]

Hello,

Was wondering how some of you were handling Sites, as well as SMART Groups for your iPads.

We have 32 schools, and admin offices. We cannot rely on "Buildings" or "Departments" because our network isn't accurate.

1) How are you naming your iPads? Right now we are putting the school code in front of each iPad's name. So for example: "ABC". That way we can can create a SMART Group for that Site, "ABC".

Is there a better way you are identifying your bulk of iPads?

2) For Sites, how are you handling it for iPads? Do you group iPads manually, and list the Site? Or do you create a SMART Group, have that group fall into a Site so that is dynamic (all new iPads fall into that SMART Group, thus that site)?

Any help would be great.

Best,
Michael

[alanmcseveney]

In our experience, the Sites feature can only be used to limit administrative access for a subset of devices to certain administrators. It has little use beyond that in its current form, primarily because policies or profiles or smart computer groups cannot be related to more than one site, or all sites. In practical terms, this means that there is no common policy or profile you can create that will affect two iPads that belong to different sites. Kind of a deal breaker for us.

[lehmanp00]

7 schools and a Admin building.

We are naming our iPads exactly the same way you do. If we need to break it down even further, say a teacher name, then the name also goes into the iPad name. Example

xx12345-Staff-BigBird-Ipad7 or
xx21212-Grade1-iPad8

Not using sites either as we have profiles and SMART Groups that need to handle all devices.

[obi-k]

Thanks for your answer and time guys.

Here is the thing, naming the iPad is a manual process, yes? Plus they can change at any time. So here is what I am testing out:

For the 32 sites, create a local JSS Account and give the admin user at the school only Mobile Devices permissions. When they enroll the iPad, they use their JSS account, that way the iPad falls under their school Site.

So far, so good. Plus they'll have permissions to manage their iPads--Configurations, apps, etc.

With this method, naming the iPad doesn't matter; it will fall under the correct Site based on the enrollment credentials used.

Thoughts?

--Michael

[lehmanp00]

The only issue is if you have the same profiles needed, then you would have to re-create the profile for each site. However, if you have the staff/time than it really isn't anymore of an issue than naming each iPad out-of-box.

[obi-k]

I see what you mean. Maybe a new feature to add multiple sites? Good point.