NetSUS: Setting branch as root branch

My understanding is that when you use the JAMF NetBoot/SUS Appliance (or indeed, Reposado itself), you don't get the "centralized" catalog URL that you get with a true OS X Software Update Server. So, you have to manually supply the catalog URL via Managed Preferences or Configuration Profiles (setting it under Settings - Servers - Software Update Servers isn't enough). And since each OS version has its own catalog, you have a different MCX/CP for each OS.

JPDyson is correct. While the NetSUS appliance is great (we have one set up too) the necessary URLs to get clients to properly pull updates down isn't well explained in the included documentation. I'll say the same thing I say to everyone that has run into this, which is to take a look at the documentation on the Reposado pages, as it does a much better job of explaining the proper URLs each client OS needs.

As for how to get your Macs to use those addresses, take your pick - MCX, Config Profiles, scripted with defaults. Any will work, just depends on your preference.

Thanks for the replies. I completely understand the different URLs for the different OS versions (and have read the specific documentation from Reposado). From the documentation on the NetSUS, they make it sounds like this is possible without the need for MCX, Profiles, etc.

*Pointing Clients at a SUS Branch
There are several methods for pointing clients at a SUS branch:

Make a branch the root branch and add it to the JSS—You can make a branch the root branch using the Appliance web application. Then, add the root branch to the JSS and use Casper Remote or a policy to point clients at the root branch.*

So it seems that one of the methods is to make the branch the 'root branch', put the server in the JSS, and execute via Policy. Other methods include setting MCX, Policy, or executing a command to set the plist. I'll also mention that I have done the Apache re-writes so that I have a unified URL that will serve the updates to all darwin versions from a single URL. That all works flawlessly (tested by setting with the defaults write on the plist file). The last step is integrating into the JSS (which is where I am at now).

So if the answer is that I need to set this via MCX, Policy, or command, that's the way we will go. But it seems from the documentation that this is not necessary. What else would the 'set as root branch' do if it wasn't for this purpose?

Thanks again for the help.

You may have to clear out the SUS settings on the client machine, or image a new machine to test this, after removing an available update from the SUS branch. In my experience, if a computer checks in with the SUS and sees an available update and doesn't do it, the next time the computer checks for updates it will report that it still needs to do that update even if the SUS is no longer advertising it.

This may only be the case if you have "Download newly available updates in the background", in the Software Update System Preference pane, checked on the client. In this case, the client machine has already downloaded the update so it doesn't need the SUS to say that it's available. However, I didn't test extensively to see if this was the case.