New Jamf User - Question about Subscription

[rayskwire]

Hello,

To provide some basic background, I am a former Windows desktop engineer that used Dell Kace to configure and deploy Windows images to a wide variety of desktops and laptops, so I do have familiarity with scripted software installations and deployments in so much as those would apply to understanding the overall concepts of how Jamf works to manage devices, but I am still new to Jamf. I have not yet performed any training and have relied on my rudimentary Google skills and some higher level support within my institution to get me where I am today.

Here is my situation though that I don't yet know how to tackle. I have 18 iPads sitting on my desk that need to be used by students in a lab for teaching purposes and I've been asked to deploy VitalSource's BookShelf app to these iPads and then have two eBooks available in the app on all 18 devices. I also have been provided 36 VPP codes to cover this. However, I'm not sure where or how I'm supposed to be using these codes.

I got confused at first and thought they were part of Apple's own iBooks app and that Jamf recognized one of the VPP codes for one book but it did not recognize the other and that was when I realized first that one of the books is not available through the iBooks app and second, that the VPP codes were specifically for the Bookshelf app, not iBooks.

So what I have now is a configuration that pushes BookShelf out to these 18 iPads as a free app and I think I understand how to upload these codes in JAMF but it does not appear to be uploading them and I'm not sure what, if anything, I'm doing wrong? In my Mobile Device App configuration page for Bookshelf:

Under General, the app is enabled and unmarked as 'Free' (if I mark it as free, I think it prevents me from uploading the CSV?)
Under scope, I have targeted my group of these 18 iPads.

Under Managed Distribution, I have the option to Assign Content Purchased in Volume but when I check that, I get the licenses for the Bookshelf app itself that I configured in Apple School Manager to deploy the Bookshelf app itself.
If I try to upload a CSV of just VPP codes, it appears to complete the upload but nothing changes nor indicates that these two eBooks are now available in the app.

Thoughts/ideas/leads to other threads about this that may be useful?

[Tribruin]

Have you integrated your Apple School Manager instance with Jamf? You will need to do that first. Then, any licenses you purchase will be available in Jamf and then can be assigned to the iPads. That way you don't have to worry about CSV files. 

You mention, you are new to Jamf and using Google. Since you have a Jamf license, I would encourage you to look at the Jamf Training Catalog (Jamf Online Training Catalog). There is host of videos that go over many of the management processes. If you search for VPP you can find a couple of video that should help. 

[rayskwire]

We have ASM access centrally provided and then each school has their own instance of Jamf. The thing is, I'm not sure how the VPP codes were procured; it wasn't through out IT Dept and I have no idea if it was through our central computing dept either that oversees our ASm instance and administrates all school Jamf instances. It sounds like that might matter.

-- Ray

[mainelysteve]

Reading through your post and also looking at the apps' description on the preview page seems there is some disconnect here. You did the right thing and acquired the licenses (18, correct?) for the app itself from ASM, but the VPP codes from my perspective seem to be useless in this case. The app is from a 3rd party and requires a login to access based on it's App Store preview page. That means preloading the textbooks isn't possible unless each iPad will use the same account then you just login and "pre-download" each book. 

I would reach out and confirm what these codes are for: App or Book. If it's for the app then that's silly. Just toss them and use ASM. If it's for a book then that raises another question: What's the app for then?

[rayskwire]

I think that's the problem. Bookshelf appears to be its own eBook application with its own library; the app itself is otherwise free but the provided licenses appear to be for the content they want available in the Bookshelf app on these 18 Jamf managed iPads.

I'm concerned this may be an incompatible situation. Jamf managed devices requiring an external account based subscription on an individual app and this is where my novice status in Jamf doesn't help me, because I don't know if it's possible to do this.

When we first got these 18 iPads, I didn't know about nor have access to Jamf and so we were trying to add one AppleID account to all 18 devices before realizing we couldn't. Then we got Jamf, we changed management and made it easy. I don't know how non-Jamf or non-ASM subscriptions tie in here.

[mainelysteve · Accepted solution]

They generally won't. If the textbook was in an epub format you probably could distribute it using jamf Pro, but it's highly likely the textbooks have DRM to prevent that. 

I'm in K12 so my situation is different than yours, but if this were me I'd provide the access to the app and then punt this back or off to someone doing instructional technology duties. They can get accounts created and distributed and have the student get the book downloaded themselves. It's assumed that your university uses some sort of SSO for web based resources so I'd see if Vitalsource can hook into that.

[rayskwire]

Thank you, @mainelysteve . I spoke with the company that provided our faculty the eBook redemption codes and it sounds like this company may not be oriented towards enterprise distribution of content and whose current subscription and content disbursement model is far too limiting than we are equipped to manage in our environment.