Manage your Macs: Client Management for Apple Hardware

Many folks consider “Windows” machines as the de-facto platform for any type of business.  Because of the maturity of the platform, there is a plethora of applications developed to help with your business (or add to your fun at home).  There have also been a fairly large number of utilities and applications developed which can help with administration of a “Windows” environment (large and small).  As a business owner, you can also find a fairly large base of job seekers and consultants with experience on how to design and support any size network of “Windows” machines.  It is no wonder Microsoft seems to be prevalent just about anywhere.

However, there is a growing number of businesses starting to use Apple hardware/software on a daily basis.  With the Apple OS X based on Unix, and generally considered to be “more secure” and less prone to viruses, the switch to Apple hardware seems like a potential boost to productivity.  Additionally, the software library for Macs has been steadily increasing, mostly due to the change to a Unix core and increased adoption of the platform.  One could also venture to say Apple hardware is much more eye-pleasing than its Windows-based counterparts (but that shouldn’t really be the driver behind your business decision… hehe).

Having experience with Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) and Altiris, I am quite familiar with the various ways of managing a Microsoft-centric environment.  However, the growing adoption of Apple platforms made me question the current state of Apple manageability.  After all, if you’re going to drop some serious cash on Apple computers, you want to make sure you can keep them running, right?  What I found actually surprised me – Apple’s OS X appears to be quickly catching up with the manageability of Windows platforms.  There are built-in utilities for disk imaging, remote desktop viewing, and policy configuration (remotely setting what a user can/cannot do).  While most of the options I found required the presence of an Apple XServe (Apple’s Server Hardware), anyone considering an Apple platform would probably be interested in purchasing one for the benefits of OS X Server (File Sharing, Collaboration, Mail Server, Shared Address Book, Calendar Server, iPhone management, etc).

Here’s a few links that illustrate the new features:

• Best Practices for Mac OS X Client Management (Apple)
• Bombich Software – OS X Cloning Utilities
• InformIt – Top Three Client Management Options

As a side note, I also stumbled upon some software that allows XServe to act as a Terminal server. This would give you the potential to share a “Mac” experience to inexpensive thin clients. Check it out at AquaConnect – Turn your XServe into a Terminal Server.

Feel free to Contact Me if you have any questions about Apple OS X or Apple Hardware. While this is not my specialty, I do enjoy the opportunity to learn more about it and will do my best to get you an answer!

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