Will JSS 10 finally bring us easy patch management?

[donmontalvo]

We tried to get @gregneagle to speak at JNUC2014. Your's truly offered to walk on stage in a tutu, introduce him, and walk off stage, stoping to curtsy along the way. Such a golden opportunity and he declined (OMG THANK YOU!!!). ;)

Posted to IRC today:

Direct link to image: http://donmontalvo.com/jamf/jamfnation/IRC/valid-constructive-criticism-01.png
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Direct link to the relevant feed: http://osx.michaellynn.org/freenode-osx-server/freenode-osx-server_2014-06-18.html

A couple years ago we had a JNUC session where JAMF sat with some of the large clients and discussed the upcoming version, and what we wanted/needed in the new version. I came prepared, suggesting (1) exclusions and (2) ring fencing. Both requests made it into JSS 9 (as exceptions and sites).

I really hope JAMF does the same at JNUC2014, so we might finally get new patch management functionality in JSS 10. Whether it's something simple like adding is equal to or greater than to Smart Computer Group criteria (not sure that would be reliable in all scenarios), or some other way of determining if an installed piece of software needs to be updated.

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@loceee's Patchoo (gesundheit!) got a lot of attention, as it showed, at least conceptually, what might be possible if JAMF could dedicate some time/resources...:

Hello junki! Casper patching done right!
https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=10636

...and it stirred up a lot of discussion; if you're not already on the ##osx-server IRC channel, do yourself a favor and join. Scroll to the bottom of:

http://wiki.afp548.com/index.php/Main_Page

Don't miss @tbridge's excellent IRC article:

http://www.afp548.com/2013/02/06/a-field-guide-to-irc

The more attention this gets, the greater the chances JAMF might pull this off...hopefully without anyone needing to parade around in a tutu at JNUC2014.

Thanks,
Don

[georgecm12]

So, I guess I may as well go ahead and implement something "in the mean time."

Is Patchoo still in development?

[dvasquez]

Excited about patch management policy.

Excited about version 10.

[mikedodge04]

<cough>MUNKI<cough>

[iJake]

@CasperSally Would you rather rush it or get it right? v10 is not just a reskinning of the console. They are rewriting the presentation framework to handle much larger datasets. Us larger customers have been complaining for quite a while that the current design does not scale. And it doesn't. They are taking the time to rewrite the UI to handle scale of tens of thousands of machines.

[dvasquez]

Munki is good I have used the tools. I am more excited about how Jamf will implement and integrate.

Excited to see how it all plays out.

Scalability is key!

[donmontalvo]

I'm actually quite happy Jamf (yee-amf? jam-eff?) decided to rewrite from the ground up, as there is 10+ years of legacy code under the hood. Fresh slate. Lots of foundation work to lay down before putting up walls and curtains.

"When I told my wife Jamf wanted to film us in bed, she was like 'Awesome!'" - Dean Hagar at #JNUC2016

[CasperSally]

@iJake - C'mon, obviously, I'd rather them get it right. "Wouldn't you rather they get it right" was the same thing people said after JNUC 2015. My patch feature request goes back to July of 2012. Sorry for being disappointed we will be waiting another 3-8 months after requesting it 50+ months ago .

And if it's released more towards mid 2017 (May/June), we probably aren't the only school system who will be hard pressed to implement it before next Fall.

It is what it is. Luckily, Autopkgr exists and seems to work great for our environment. I'm thankful that Erin and the rest of the team are dedicated to make a good product, but I think it's fair to be disappointed on timeline, too, given the cost of the JAMF Pro suite.

[iJake]

@CasperSally I should have been more clear that I meant I'm fairly certain the reengineering for scale has delayed patching not to mention they scrapped their original plan for it. You're definitely not wrong to be disappointed it has taken so long. I think the reporting could have been implemented long ago. We are mostly on the same page.

[loceee]

@georgecm12 re: Patchoo, I am back in the land of macAdmins, so ...... maybe, but I kind of want it to be made irrelevant by jp10. We'll see I guess. Check out @franton repo for the most functional version. I have a few other priorities before I sink my teeth into my macs at newjob.