Pending update issue

[lpaulson]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to doing Software Updates via DDM and am having a few issues.  One of which is a Mac that requires an update from 14.6 to 14.7.2.  I've posted a software update to it, 'Latest Minor Version' with Download, Install and Allow Deferrals (3).   While most of the machines in the target group have worked, one user has reported that they haven't received any notifications despite the machine being on and connected for many days.

Using the JAMF Api:

https://[jamf server]/api/doc/#/managed-software-updates/get_v1_managed_software_updates_update_statuses_computers__id_

I can see that there are 2 other updates that seem to date back to 2023, which are showing DownloadPercentComplete = 0.  The 14.7.2 update is in the list too, and says it has 'notified' 4 times but its download percent is also at '0'.

My assumption then is that the old updates are stuck for some reason, and the new update is waiting for them to complete before beginning to download.  

I've look to see if there is a way to delete in-progress updates but can't seem to find a simple way (I don't really want to reinstall the OS!).

Anybody seen this, or have any thoughts on troubleshooting?

Thanks in advance...

[AndrewNe]

Hi @lpaulson,

Without digging further into the logging I'm not entirely sure why this workflow would be failing, it may indeed be something on device such as a lack of storage space, or an issue with an existing update. However, the "Download, Install and Allow Deferrals" option does not use the Declarative Device Management (DDM) framework. The "Download and schedule to install" option is the one you want to use for DDM. I'd suggest testing it out on a non-production machine, if you're happy with the results, you could attempt sending this update command type to the affected computer.

If you'd like to do some further troubleshooting there is an article available at https://learn.jamf.com/bundle/technical-articles/page/Troubleshooting_Managed_Software_Updates_in_Ja...

Hope this helps!

[jamf-42]

as mentioned DDM only works with scheduled.. We tried it and found it to be hit and miss 70-80% .. and the forced reboot with no option to save work is poor.. So.. we moved to Nudge, better user experience and more consistent. 

maybe Apple will get this working in.. macOS ..16? 😎

[lpaulson]

Thanks for the replies!

So I assumed (wrongly it seems) that all the 'new workflow' Software Updates in JAMF were DDM.  Unfortunately, 'scheduled' isn't an option for me (I'm on-prem for a few more months).

Will check out Nudge but would be good to have the official process working.

[AndrewNe]

Certainly check out the "Download and schedule to install" option when you get migrated Jamf Cloud, we find it to be very effective!

@jamf-42's recommendation of Nudge is a good call. It's solid and is pretty simple to deploy, you do however need to consider what account types are in your fleet and what MDM settings you deploy to restrict the installation of software updates. Definitely kick the tyres in testing before pushing it out.