macOS Sierra Available as an Automatic Download

[AVmcclint]

macOS Sierra Available as an Automatic Download Starting Today

Oh boy. Just what we needed.

Starting today, Apple is making the new macOS Sierra operating system available as an automatic download to customers running OS X El Capitan in order to encourage them to update. Customers who have auto downloads enabled will see macOS Sierra start to download automatically, but it will not install without express user permission.

Better make sure Automatic updates are disabled on your managed systems or your bandwidth will suffer.

[milesleacy]

@pcrandom

Thanks for having a look!

• yes, you would need to have a copy of the InstallESD in the JSS. This is where I'm sourcing the package ID from in the portion of the script that builds the XML file.
• yes, it is possible that there is a difference in the packages however, I believe that to be unlikely as the byte size is identical.
• yes, I am able to cache the InstallESD from the JSS and upgrade successfully

[milesleacy]

I've re-verified that the Self Service upgrade policy functions properly if the Mac caches the installer via policy.

What I'm banging my head against are two things...
1. Why am I seeing the error "Installation failed. The package could not be verified."
2. Why is my script-generated XML file four bytes smaller than the Casper-generated one?

[milesleacy]

General note for those who haven't seen it yet...

The attached image is the notification center message users will see after the "Install macOS Sierra" application has automatically downloaded.

[mpermann]

@milesleacy is it possible that the checksum on the InstallESD package in your JSS doesn't match the checksum of the package that was automatically downloaded from the App Store?

[pcrandom]

@mpermann has the right idea about checksums potentially not matching, even if size matches, I didn't articulate it explicitly. Probably a longshot, but you never know.

Also, @milesleacy, does it work if you used the InstallESD "generated" from your script (a.k.a. copied from the install .app) but instead of using your script to generate the XML too, use a copy of the Casper-generated XML instead? Also, you can diff the two XML files to see what the difference is. Maybe it's just errant line breaks or spaces?

[rtrouton]

@milesleacy, thanks for sharing what the upgrade notification looks like. I've added the graphic you've shared to my post on managing the automatic download of the Sierra installer, available via the link below:

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2016/10/03/managing-the-automatic-download-of-the-macos-sierra-ins...

[milesleacy]

@pcrandom I solved the XML file problem. The echo in line 15 needed single quotes to pass the double quote characters within. After that change, the XML files were identical.

I still get the same errors on the policy execution, even if I disable package validation on computerSecurity.html.

[bpavlov]

Have you considered just using the command line install tool included in the Sierra installer? I believe they've made some additions/updates to it, but this might get you started: https://macops.ca/new-adventures-in-automating-os-x-installs-with-startosinstall

[ClassicII]

Has anyone found a way to remove the "macOS Installer Notification" update? Or at least disable it from popping up?