Workflow for our first update and upgrade of OS on MBA fleet

[MattT]

Hi there,

We have a fleet of Macbook Airs deployed last September that we are looking to upgrade from Mavericks to Yosemite. This will be our first upgrade of this kind. Problem is, we have not since updated the laptops at all since this deployment due to time restrictions and frankly, lack of workflow knowledge.

Context.. Casper 9.32 (to be upgraded to 9.65 beforehand). We have a Software Update Server set up and ready to go. All our clients are pointed to a dummy SUS via config profile, to be pointed to our real SUS when ready.

I am seeking some help on a possible workflow to achieve the following:

Upgrade from 10.9.4 (no OS updates at all bar those included in 10.9.4) to 10.10.2. In this process I am guessing we also need to install all the relevant Apple updates etc.

It would be very much appreciated if someone can work with me briefly to develop a workflow. Thank you!

[tanderson · Accepted solution]

Hi @mtaylor934,

Will the end users be initiating the upgrade or will they bring them in to support? We provide the Yosemite upgrade through Self Service and direct our users there to get the upgrade. We have a Yosemite category and step our users through the process. We provide an upgrade checklist, a PDF on how to check the disk before upgrading, a link to install Apple updates, the Yosemite installer, and then some policies that open Apple's pages on what's new in Yosemite and how to use some of the new features like Continuity. It looks like this:

Hope this helps.

[jgrubbs]

Hey @tanderson, this is awesome!

Would you be willing to share the actual policies? What is in the upgrade checklist and the check your disk for Yosemite files?

Did you just download the Yosemite Installer from the app store, then package it as a DMG with Composer?

[MattT]

@tanderson That is a fantastic set up, very user friendly. At this stage I have committed to trialling both methods but the thing I like about the Self Service method is that it puts the choice back on the user. I would like to start configuring a similar set up, would you mind answering a few questions?

-With the Apple Updates, did you just enable all the desirable updates and the policy forces the laptop to install any available?
-What is in the checklist?
-I am assuming the policies can be run out-of-order but you trust the users to run them consecutively?
-Do you require users to back up their laptops before running the install?

Thank you for your help with this, much appreciated!

[tanderson]

Morning @jgrubbs and @mtaylor934!

Yep, the policies can be done in any order. We don't require the user to backup their files first, but they are instructed to in the checklist and in the Self Service description for the Install OS X Yosemite policy.

Here's a breakdown of the policies:

Yosemite checklist - installs the checklist PDF to the desktop and opens the file in the users default PDF viewer using an "open" command in the policy.

Check Your Disk - basically the same policy as the checklist but it installs a different PDF and opens it.

Install Apple Updates - Opens Software Update (App Store) for the user and then they install the updates from there. You could use the policy itself to install the updates but I like the visual reinforcement for the user that Software Update/App Store is where they should expect to go to see and install updates.

Install Yosemite - Copies and installs the Install OS X Yosemite.InstallESD.dmg (that gets created when you drag the Install Yosemite.app into Casper Admin) and then restarts to the OS X Installer startup disk.

Connect iOS and Mac with Continuity - Opens https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT6337 in the user's default browser.

Make and Receive Calls on Your Mac - Opens https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18756?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US in the user's default browser.

What's New in Yosemite - Opens http://help.apple.com/osx/mac/10.10/whats-new/mavericks in the user's default browser.

As for packaging the installer, yes, I used the installer app from the App Store and followed the steps in the JAMF PDF for Deploying OS X (http://resources.jamfsoftware.com/archive/Deploying-OS-X-v10.7-or-Later-with-the-Casper-Suite.pdf) except for the policy to cache the installer. The process in the PDF is simple enough and it works so it meets my two "let's move forward" criteria. lol

I've cleaned up the Keynote files for the checklist and "Check Your Disk" documents. Feel free to download if you'd like.

Yosemite Upgrade Checklist - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1g4CA1JzbHFSk1YOGVYVWRWTTQ/view?usp=sharing

Check Your Disk - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1g4CA1JzbHFckF0cnctYzBfc1k/view?usp=sharing

Hope this helps!

[jgrubbs]

@tanderson Thanks for the reply! We tried to make it so much harder than it was! Dragging the installer did the trick, thanks again!

[tanderson]

@jgrubbs Nice, glad it helped out!

[MattT]

Good morning @tanderson !

Thank you a bunch for sharing that with us, I will definitely look at replicating this for our environment. On a technical note.. Because out laptops have not been updated (Apple Updates) for a good 6 months, when we enable their Software Update will they have to do many update and restart cycles, or is the Mac smart enough to download the combo updates for each category do you know?

[MattT]

Hey, quick question.. for the guides, I am deploying them to /Users/Shared and trying to run a few commands after.. Is anyone able to help me with the syntax? I am trying to mv command the file from Shared to the current logged in users desktop..

[MattT]

Can you delete posts on JN? -_-

[Simmo]

You can edit them.

Did you solve your issue with deploying the guides?

[tanderson]

@mtaylor934 If there is a combo update available for the OS, it should install it (say to update from 10.9.2 to 10.9.5). However, depending on the state of the computer, there may be additional updates available after the first round get installed.

With the guides, I packaged them on the Desktop and then check the box for Fill Existing Users in the package details in Casper Admin. Then I run the following to open the PDF:

open /Users/"$USER"/Desktop/Yosemite Upgrade Checklist.pdf

HTH.

[MattT]

@tanderson Thanks for all your help here. I have replicated the setup and will continue testing.