Book Image

Instant Apple Configurator How-to

Book Image

Instant Apple Configurator How-to

Overview of this book

The Apple configurator is an incredible piece of software which grants full control in mobile device management, but on a larger scale. The popularity of people taking their own devices to work has grown tremendously. However, valued professional and personal information is at risk, through loss, theft, or hacking. Instant Apple Configurator How-to is a hands-on guide that eliminates any worries that are associated with the deployment and security of iOS devices. This book provides practical, quick win solutions to combat these issues, with clear, concise, and informative examples providing solutions to secure, remote wipe, and encrypt devices. The book will further explore how to personalize iOS devices for configuration and deployment. With the Instant Apple Configurator How-to, learn to build profiles with customised control settings, with examples on how to capture device information and use console logs for added protection. You will become skilled at tracking and installing provisional profiles for greater security. We will also explore developing workflows for successful deployment, installing software and applications whilst managing files on iOS devices, and how to deploy enrolment profiles for mobile device management solutions en masse. If you are looking for a complete guide that provides simple solutions to complex problems, look no further.
Table of Contents (7 chapters)

Creating a cart workflow (Should know)


The cart workflow is designed around the devices used throughout the day and brought back to a single sync point such as a cart or tray.

Getting ready

Before creating a workflow designed around a cart, determine how your users are going to utilize the iOS devices. It is recommended you set up one device and configure your settings until you get the device exactly how you want it and then push it out via Configurator.

How to do it...

To create a classroom set, you must first set up your naming scheme. To do so:

  1. Open Apple Configurator.

  2. Click on Prepare.

  3. Now in the name area, enter the name of your devices.

    Tip

    By checking the box below the Name field you can incrementally number devices by adding a number after the name.

    In the preface we discussed whether to supervise the devices or not; choose what will work for you. Remember devices that are under supervision can only be managed by the Mac they are supervised by. This includes iTunes content.

  4. Next, select if you would like the iOS version to be updated to the newest available release. This is a great way to update many devices at once.

    Tip

    The box below iOS will erase the device before updating the iOS version. This box will be grayed out unless iOS is set to the latest version.

Post this we see the backup section where we go more in depth into backing up and restoring from backups.

The last section is the profile section. Profiles are used for setting up specific settings as well as restrictions. Later on we explore the depths with profiles including adding third-party profiles such as Casper, and Meraki.

Users are always finding new applications to be added to the devices. Much like classrooms, companies will need certain applications put on all devices; this can be a daunting task but luckily Configurator helps with this task. We go more in depth in the Deploying applications on prepared devices (Become an expert) and Deploying applications on managed devices (Become an expert) recipes. Click on Prepare.

Configurator monitors the computer's USB port. Any time a device is plugged in, Configurator will take over and set up the devices. It's important to note that if you are charging your personal devices, they will also be subjected to Configurator and possibly delete all of your content.

How it works...

The cart workflow allows administrators/teachers the ability to control devices en masse and make changes as needed. In this workflow, all of the devices come back to one sync point.

Note

If you supervise a device, you can only make changes to that device with the computer it was supervised with. This can be a hassle if you are deploying the devices to sales teams across the country or classrooms across town.