Managed computers have 40 percent lower total cost of ownership.
Source: Summary TCO Analysis for Windows XP. Table 1 and Table 3, Use Best Practices to Reduce Desktop PC TCO, 20052006 Update, 8 December 2005, Michael A. Silver, Federica Troni, Gartner, Inc.
Whats New in Apple Remote Desktop 3
Built to leverage the powerful capabilities of Mac OS X, the worlds most advanced operating system, Apple Remote Desktop 3 offers more than 50 new features for managing networked Mac OS X systems. These include: Remote Spotlight search. With the revolutionary Spotlight technology in Mac OS X, you can perform lightning-fast searches on remote systems. Summary results for each client are updated instantly as results are returned. Administrators can view details or refine searches further using additional qualifiers o n different types of metadata. Results can be viewed on remote client systems, copied back to the administrator system, or deleted. Remote Desktop widget. This new Dashboard widget provides you with instantaneous, at-a-glance views of remote computers in your system. The Remote Desktop widget is fully integrated with the computer lists that youve defined in Apple Remote Desktop. Automator actions. Apple Remote Desktop 3 includes more than 40 Automator actions. Administrators can chain actions together to create powerful system administration workflows. Save your Automator workflows as plug-ins to provide an easy, customized interface to Apple Remote Desktop capabilities. Remote Drag and Drop. Transfer files between two computers easily by dropping a file or folder from your computer onto a remotely controlled computeror from a remote computer onto your own. Remote Copy and Paste. Copy and paste information between your local computer and a remote computer. AutoInstall. With automatic, policy-based installation of software packages, you can stage software to install on remote, mobile, or offline systems. AutoInstall is ideal for distributing software to mobile computers. Power Copy. A new file copy engine uses multicast technology and supports 64-bit file sizes, network bandwidth limits, and optional encryption of data streams. A new permissions editor can specify the user and group ownership permissions of a copied file on a remote computer.
Curtain Mode. When controlling a remote computer, administrators can now choose to block the remote users view of the desktop with a virtual curtain. User History report. Administrators can find out which users have logged in to which computers on their network, making it easy to monitor networks for unauthorized computer use. Application Usage report. Administrators can view details on which applications have been used on remote systems, ensuring compliance with software licenses. Task Templates. Apple Remote Desktop 3 allows you to save task settings as emplates t for later use. The Task Template menu comes populated with more than 30 sample UNIX scripts. Its also easy to add your own favorites to the list for convenient access.

Setting Up Apple Remote Desktop 3
Apple Remote Desktop 3 gives you all of the tools you need to manage the Mac computers on your networkwhether youre distributing software, providing online assistance, or collecting information about hardware and software assets. You can manage computers individually or multiple computers at the same time.

Getting Started

To get started with Apple Remote Desktop, install the administration software on the system you will use to manage remote Mac computers. Client software is built into Mac OS X, so its easy to implement Apple Remote Desktop 3 across your organization. Apple Remote Desktop 3 is available in two versions: a 10 Managed Systems edition for small workgroups, and an Unlimited Managed Systems edition for managing more than 10 clients.
Client authentication To manage a Mac OS X system using Apple Remote Desktop, administrators need to authenticate and receive authorization from the Apple Remote Desktop Client softwareensuring that only authorized users can control a computer or perform specified administrative tasks. Apple Remote Desktop can perform authentication and authorization against your organizations directory server. Or, for organizations that rely on the local computer for authentication, Apple Remote Desktop supports authentication against one or more local accounts.
Security and encryption Apple Remote Desktop 3 uses 128-bit AES encryption to ensure that all remote communications are secure, even over the Internet, with client computers unning r Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later. For screen control and file copy tasks, where encrypting large amounts of data may significantly degrade performance, administrators can use encryption for improved security, or turn it off for better performance. Using a Task Server A Task Server can collect reporting data on a scheduled basis or execute the new , AutoInstall feature to update software on mobile systems whenever they connect to the network. By assigning a Task Server to perform these tasks, you can free up the administrator computer for handling critical management demands.1 User mode If you wish to allow non-administrator users to implement specific features of Apple Remote Desktop 3, you can enable or disable features in the Apple Remote Desktop Security preference pane. This can be useful for classroom teachers or less echnical t users who need to perform a limited set of desktop management tasks without r eliance on the administrator.

Security Preference Pane

1 Security options for file copy and package installation. Specify whether network data should be encrypted when copying files or installing packages. 2 Security options for controlling computers. Specify whether all network data should be encrypted during a control session, or just passwords and keystrokes. 3 User mode. Allow non-administrator users full or partial access to the feature set of Apple Remote Desktop 3. 4 Features. Specify which Apple Remote Desktop features non-administrator users can access.
Setting Up Client Computers
After installing the administration software, you need to install and enable the Apple Remote Desktop Client software on the computers you wish to manage. If you are installing the client software for the first time, you can use Setup Assistant in the administration application to create a custom install package. If the client systems already have Apple Remote Desktop Client version 1.2 or later,2 you can upgrade them from the administration application. Setup Assistant makes it easy to centrally upgrade the client software and update the client settings on one or multiple Mac systems.
Main Apple Remote Desktop Window with Scanner Selected
1 All Computers list. As you add computers to individual computer lists, the All Computers list is updated. 2 Computer lists. To help you organize computers, you can create as many computer lists as you need. For example, you can have a computer list for each location and each department in your organization.
6 Task Server list. Find all the tasks that are currently executing on the Task Server. 7 Active Tasks list. Find all queued and executing tasks.
8 History list. Find completed tasks, specifying how many you wish the list to display. Additional details on past tasks can be viewed using the Task History window. 9 Configurable toolbar. Customize the toolbar with the commands that you use frequently. Change the appearance of the toolbar and how the icons and text are displayed. 10 Filter. Enter text to filter the results displayed in the computer list details. 11 Network scanner types. Network scanners operate in one of six modes: local network; network address range; network address or DNS computer name lookup; and importing a list of computer names or network addresses from a file, Task Server, or Directory Server. Scans work across all available network interfaces, such as built-in Ethernet, AirPort, and IP over FireWire.

12 Customizable list views. Customize which attributes are displayed for each computer: Name, Current Application, Current User, IP Address, DNS Name, Label, Apple Remote Desktop Version, Ethernet ID, Mac OS Version, Computer Info Fields 14, Machine Model, CPU Information, Lights Out Management (LOM) status, Installed RAM, and Startup Disk. 13 Labels. To easily identify computers and organize them into your own custom categories, you can label computers using one of seven colors. 14 Detailed view. View details on network devices: whether the computer is already included in a computer list, has Apple Remote Desktop Client software configured (with version number), or is VNC enabled (with network address).
3 Groups. Use groups to organize your computer lists and tasks. 4 Smart Computer Lists. Similar to Smart Playlists in iTunes, this feature lets you dynamically create a computer list that matches the rules and conditions youve specified. Use one or more of the following attributes to construct your smart lists: Name, IP Address, DNS Name, Label, Apple Remote Desktop Version, Boot Volume, Installed RAM, CPU Information, Machine Model, Mac OS Version, and Computer is in List. 5 Network scanners. Quickly discover the computers that you need to manage. Create as many network scanners as you need, and configure each to search specific areas of your network.
Discovering and Organizing Computers
Remote control of server systems Apple Remote Desktop 3 enables you to control Xserve systems as well as Mac computers from anywhere on your network even over a virtual private network from home. Because servers are often headless and in remote locations, Setup Assistant in Mac OS X Server includes a ne-click o option to install and configure the Apple Remote Desktop client. Also available is a command-line utility for configuring software on the server. Apple Remote Desktop 3 also supports the Lights Out Management (LOM) capabilities of the Intel-based Xserve. You can remotely power on/off and restart the Xserve, as well as obtain information on how the LOM is configured.
Once youve enabled the client computers, you can discover them using the uilt-in b network scanners and organize them using computer lists. Computers located on the same subnet as the administrator show up automatically. You can search for c omputers outside your subnetor, if you know the computer you wish to add, you can specify its name or IP address. Network scanners To discover Mac systems that are Apple Remote Desktop enabled or VNC enabled, each network scanner uses one of six methods: Bonjour, Task Server, Directory Server, network address range search, network address or DNS name lookup, or file import of network addresses or DNS names. Organizing computers After discovering the computers on your network, you can organize them into lists. By default, the All Computers list includes all enabled computers. Administrators can create additional lists, organizing computers by computer model, by organization, or by location. Inspired by iTunes Smart Playlists, Apple Remote Desktop 3 features Smart Computer Lists that allow an administrator to define a set of rules. Any computer that meets the criteria will be included in the smart list. If a new computer meets the criteria, it is automatically added to the list, as is an existing computer that is modified and now meets the criteria. Apple Remote Desktop 3 also includes a Group feature that allows you to place tasks, computer lists, or scanners in their own folders. And with the ability to label computers, administrators can tag a computer with a particular color for quick and easy reference.

Task lists Apple Remote Desktop tasks can be executed immediately, scheduled to run at a specified date and time, or saved for future execution. To streamline the administration of Mac OS X systems, Apple Remote Desktop 3 allows you to view lists of running, queued, and completed tasks. You can also create new tasks by running saved tasks with different parameters. Task Progress with Software Installation
1 Active Tasks list. View all current and queued tasks. 6 Task progress. View the overall status of the task. Stop button. Halt the execution of the task. Detailed view. View detailed information on the progress and status of the task. Summary information. View a dynamic summary of the task: its progress, and how many computers succeeded or failed in executing it. History list. Icons provide an at-a-glance overview of the success or failure of completed tasks.
Task History Apple Remote Desktop 3 allows you to view a list of your previously executed tasks, as far back as you choose. Past tasks are organized by day, so administrators can review them quickly. Administrators can also choose to reapply or reuse any of the tasks that they have previously executed. Task History Window
1 History. View a list of each day that tasks were executed, specifying how many days the list will display. 2 Summary. View a list of tasks executed during the selected day. Double-click a task to redo it. 3 Task summary. View a summary of a specified executed task. 4 Task details. View details on which computers executed the task, and the status of the task for each computer.

Software Distribution

Apple Remote Desktop 3 is an ideal solution for installing or upgrading software across multiple Mac systems. Whether its a new version of Mac OS X or a suite of applications, its easy to keep all of your computers up to datewithout interrupting your users or requiring any user interaction. Users dont even need to be logged in. And with the new AutoInstall feature, administrators can initiate a software installation, then let Apple Remote Desktop 3 take care of the rest.

Network Copy Performance

Custom install packages Apple Remote Desktop 3 includes the Apple Package Maker utility, making it easy to c reate custom install packages for organization-specific software. Once youve created the package, you can copy and install the software to specified locations using Apple Remote Desktop.

Remote Spotlight Search

Apple Remote Desktop 3 extends the revolutionary Spotlight technology in Mac OSX, so administrators can perform comprehensive, lightning-fast searches not only on their own computers, but on any Mac on the network. Whether youre looking for a file, application, or image, Spotlight can find it. Results are returned instantlyfrom the first letter you typeand updated continuously, with no lag times or slowdowns. You can refine searches using different metadata types or additional qualifying filters. With Apple Remote Desktop 3, administrators can display the search results on remote systems, copy results back to their own computers, or simply delete them.

Usage Reports

SQL database All of the data for hardware reports is stored in the included SQL database for fast and easy retrieval. System administrators can tap into this database using any number of third-party SQL-aware tools to generate custom reports.
The new User History report gives detailed information on who is using a computer, when they logged in and out, and how they accessed the computer. The Application Usage report details which applications have been used on remote systems, including the number of launches of an application, the duration of the launch, and who executed the launch. Administrators can use this report to ensure compliance with their software license agreements, and to discover any unauthorized use of applications.
1 Search field. Enter search words in the Spotlight-powered search field. 2 Locations. Filter the locations to be searched on remote computers. 3 Search options. Add one or more rules to narrow search results. 4 Target computer list. Select computers to be searched. For each computer, the total number of search results is displayed. 5 Search results. All files that match the search criteria are displayed. 6 File path. See the exact location of the selected file. 7 Filters. Filter the results view to further narrow your search. 8 Open selected items. Open files on remote computers by selecting them and clicking this button. 9 Copy to this computer. Copy files from remote computers to your computer by selecting them and clicking this button. 10 Delete selected items. Delete files on remote computers by selecting them and clicking this button.

Hardware Reports

Computer information fields Administrators can view up to four organization-specific computer information fields, such as asset tags or AppleCare contract details. You can set these fields centrally from your computer, and include them in your System Overview report or computer lists along with other system attributes.
Hardware reports cover details on hard drives, network interfaces, memory, USB and FireWire devices, and PCI cards. System Overview. This report provides information about a clients processor and memory, system software, AirPort setup, attached devices, displays, network settings, Lights Out Management configurations, system preferences, printer lists, and key software attributes. The report can be used to identify problems, verify system configurations before installing new software, or determine how many devices of a particular type (such as scanners) are being used in a specific lab. Storage. Information about internal hard-drive hardware, volumes, file systems, and journaling. Network Interfaces. This report provides information for all active and inactive network interfaces, including detailed network input, network output, and Ethernet statistics from the client computer. Use this information to identify network errors or faulty network equipment, troubleshoot network performance, and query the network settings of client computers. Memory. Specific information about the memory (RAM) installed in the client system includes each memory modules size, type, speed, and slot location. Memory reports can be used to manage computer resources, troubleshoot hardware, or determine which client computer can best handle a memory-intensive application or task. FireWire Devices. Information on FireWire devices connected to the client computer includes the manufacturer, model, speed, software version, and firmware version for each device. USB Devices. Information on Universal Serial Bus devices connected to the client computer includes the product name and ID, vendor name and ID, speed, and bus power for each device. PCI Cards. This report provides the card name, type, vendor ID, slot location, and other information about each PCI card installed in a client computer. Network Performance. This test measures and troubleshoots the communication between client computers and the administrator system. Use the report to help identify reasons for network communication problems that could affect Apple Remote Desktop. For example, if there are issues copying items to a particular client computer, the Network Performance report can isolate the problem to a particular cable or hub. Administration Settings. This report shows which Apple Remote Desktop 3 administration privileges are enabled or disabled. These privileges can also be found in the Sharing or Remote Desktop pane of System Preferences on individual client computers.

File Search with File Search Result
1 Attribute selector. Choose from 16 file system search attributes: name, parent path, full path, extension, date modified, date created, actual size, size on disk, kind, visibility, version number, version string, owner, group, permissions, and lock status. 2 Attribute qualifier. Select options from a pop-up list that can help narrow your search. For example, when searching for names, you can use qualifiers such as includes or begins with. 3 Search terms. Provide values to search that will be used in conjunction with the attribute qualifier to perform the search. 4 View options. Select which file attributes should be displayed in the search results window. 5 Cached report settings. Specify whether to generate a report from cached data or to collect fresh data.
6 Target computer list. Select the computers and computer lists that will be searched. You can drag additional computers and computer lists from the main Apple Remote Desktop window, or remove computers from the list. 7 Schedule task. Schedule the task for a future date and time, or choose a frequency for repeating the task. 8 Save task. Save the task with the current configuration and target computers for later use. 9 Task Template. Save settings for this task for later use, or apply settings from a previously saved task. 10 Print. Print the report or save it as a PDF file. 11 Export. Export the contents of your report to a comma- or tab-delimited text file, which can then be imported into another program, such as a spreadsheet.
12 Open selected items. Open files on remote computers by selecting them and clicking this button. 13 Copy to this computer. Copy files from remote computers to your computer by selecting them and clicking this button. 14 Delete selected items. Delete files on remote computers by selecting them and clicking this button. 15 Results. Display information about the requested system attributes, with each row containing information about one computer. Click the columns to sort the data.

Remote Administration

New in Apple Remote Desktop 3, you can save task settings as templates in the Task Template menu, making it easy to apply them at a later time. For the Send UNIX task, the Task Template menu comes populated with more than 30 sample scriptsjust add your favorites to the list for convenient access. You can use more than a dozen commands securely on one or more remote Mac OS X client systems, including: Sleep, wake, restart, and shut down computers Power on computers that feature Lights Out Management Log out users Open files and applications Empty Trash Lock and unlock screens with a custom or default image Rename computers, with the option of adding unique numbers Set startup disk Send and execute remote shell scripts or UNIX commands With all Apple Remote Desktop commands, you can schedule tasks for a future date and time, choose a frequency for repeating the tasks, or save themcomplete with current configuration and target computersfor later use.

Remote Boot Disk Selection
Apple Remote Desktop 3 allows you to designate the startup disk of client ystems s from your own computer. This feature enables you to set any number of Mac omputers c to start up from a NetBoot or Network Install image, or from a specific partition on the local hard drive. This capability is especially useful for deploying a standard desktop configuration across multiple systems in classrooms, computer labs, kiosks, or compute clusters. After selecting the boot disk, you can set the systems to restart immediately, or at a later date and time. Theres no need to travel from location to location configuring each system individually. Set Startup Disk
1 Select startup disk. Choose from a list of available network volumes, specify server and image name, or select a local drive or partition to be the startup disk. 2 Restart computers. Indicate whether the computers should restart immediately after the startup disk has been changed. 3 Target computer list. Select the computers and computer lists for setting the startup disk. You can drag additional computers and computer lists from the main Apple Remote Desktop window, or remove computers from the list. 4 Schedule task. Schedule the task for a future date and time, or choose a frequency for repeating the task. 5 Save task. Save the task with the current configuration and target computers for later use. 6 Task Template. Save task settings for later use, or apply settings from a previously saved task. The Task Template menu includes over 30 sample scripts and UNIX commands.

Remote Assistance

With powerful screen-sharing and text-messaging capabilities, Apple Remote Desktop 3 makes it easy to provide thorough technical assistance to the computer users in your organization. Observe and control one or many remote Mac OS X systems. Apple Remote Desktop 3 uses the Virtual Network Computing (VNC) standardwhich means its also possible to observe and control VNC-enabled Windows, Linux, and UNIX ystems. New remote assistance capabilities, such as drag and drop and copy s and paste, make interacting with client computers even easier. And when youre c onfiguring sensitive information on remote systems, Curtain Mode provides an added degree of privacy.

Observe and Control

Quartz 2D graphics Apple Remote Desktop leverages theQuartz 2D library, including the use of optimized CoreGraphicslibraries, to boost the performance of itsscreen-sharing capabilities.
Apple Remote Desktop 3 allows you to observe and control remote Mac OS X systems from anywhere on the network. Each observe and control window includes a oolbar t for adjusting the color depth of the remote screen; a screen capture button allows you to take snapshots of the remote screen. Toggle buttons let you switch between observe and control modes, sharing control and taking complete control of the mouse and keyboard, and fit-in-window and full-screen modes. With the fit-in-window mode, you can scale your view of the remote screen to fit your control window. Resizing the screen in your window also resizes the client screen. By scaling down the screenand, as a result, transmitting less datayou can achieve better performance over slower network connections. Apple Remote Desktop 3 also lets you control computers that have multiple displays attached. You can choose to view all the displays in one virtual window, or to view only one display at a time. Remote Drag and Drop Now its easy to transfer files and folders between two computers. With the new Remote Drag and Drop feature, you can simply drag and drop a file or folder from your computer to a remotely controlled computeror from a remote computer to your own. Remote Copy and Paste You can move text or images easily by copying and pasting them from your local computer to a remote computer. Curtain Mode Apple Remote Desktop 3 allows you to block the remote users view of the desktop with a virtual curtain. This gives administrators additional security when configuring sensitive information.

Remote Control

1 Remote computer. Control any Mac OS X screen or any VNC-enabled computer. 2 Control mode. Toggle between control mode and observe mode. 3 Keyboard and mouse control. Toggle between sharing the keyboard and mouse with a remote user and taking absolute control. 4 Remote screen size. Toggle between fit-in-window mode and full-screen mode. In fit-inwindow mode, the remote screen is scaled to fit the control window. In full-screen mode, the remote screen is displayed at its normal size; if the control window is smaller, the contents pan and scan as you move the mouse. 5 Curtain Mode. Toggle into and out of Curtain Mode. In Curtain Mode, the remote screen displays a Curtain graphic. This prevents the end user from viewing the screen, while the administrator continues to have full access to the screen. Click the Curtain Mode button again to give the end user access to the screen. 6 Screen capture. Take a screen capture of the remote screen. 7 Full-screen mode. Toggle into and out of full-screen mode. In full screen, your whole screen displays the remote screen. 8 Remote Copy and Paste. Move the contents of a remote clipboard to the clipboard of your computer. Or move the contents of your local clipboard to the clipboard of one or more remote computers. 9 Color depth. Adjust the color depth of the displayed screen. Choose one of four modes: millions of colors, thousands of colors, grayscale, or black and white.
Multi-Observe with System Status Indicators
With Apple Remote Desktop 3, you can observe up to 50 screens simultaneously, so you quickly understand whats happening on your network. The multi-observe window allows you to specify the number of remote computer screens to display in one window. If you have more computers on your network than you wish to view in the multi-observe window, you can page through their screens based on an djustable a timer setting. As with the control and observe windows, you can specify the color depth at which the remote screens are displayed.

New in Apple Remote Desktop 3 are system status indicators (SSIs) that provide at-a-glance information about the computers in your network. Under each screen, youll see the name of the computer, the name of the current user, and the users account picture. Red, yellow, and green indicators show the status of the computer. (Users who are color-blind can choose shapes to indicate status.) Click the indicator light to get details on available disk space, memory utilization, and CPU utilization. Multi-Observe Window
1 Remote screens. View multiple remote screens in a single window. Screens can be those of any Mac OS X or VNC-enabled computer. Your screen updates in real time. 2 Page forward and backward. When you are observing more computers than are visible in one window, use the arrows to page forward and backward between groups of screens.
3 Perform tasks. Select a screen to perform a task on the orresponding c computer. For instance, you can select a screen and initiate a full-control session or select all screens and copy files to all of those computers. 4 View options. Adjust the number of screens that are visible in the window, from one computer to up to 50. Adjust the observation time when you have more computers selected than are visible. Adjust
the color depth of the viewed screens using one of four modes: millions of colors, thousands of colors, grayscale, or black and white. Specify an optional caption to be displayed under each screen; options include name, IP address, host name, and computer status.
5 Scale window. Scale the multi-observe window to the size you like. Individual screens automatically scale to fit.
Screen Sharing and Text Messaging
Guest Access The Guest Access option allows computer users to accept or refuse an administrators request to control or observe their systems. It can be enabled or disabled based on the policies of your organization.
Apple Remote Desktop 3 enables you to select one or multiple Mac screens and share them with other Mac OS X systems. This feature is useful for demonstrating specific tasks or for training a group of computer users. Two-way text messaging allows you to broadcast text messages to one or more Mac OS X systems, or to initiate a private, real-time computer-to-computer text chat. With text messaging enabled, client users can also initiate text communications to request assistance from their administrator or help desk.

Automation

Apple Remote Desktop 3 includes more than 40 Automator actions, making it quick and easy to accomplish time-consuming, repetitive manual tasks.

Storage: Hardware: Drive Manufacturer, Drive Model, Drive Revision, Drive Protocol, Removable, Serial Number, Logical Unit Number, Detachable Volume: Creation Date, Disk Name, File Count, Folder Count, Total Disk Space, Free Space, Startup Disk, UNIX Mount Point File system: Disk Format, Owner, Group, Permission Modes, Permissions, Write Access, Modification Date, Case Sensitive, Preserves Case Backup: Journaling Capable, Journaled, Last Backup Date, Last Check Date FireWire devices: Manufacturer, Model, Device Speed, Software Version, Firmware Version Network Interfaces: Network overview: Name, Active, Primary, Configured With, Hardware Address, Interface Name, Flags Active interface: Domain, Router Address, IP Address, Broadcast Address, DNS Server, Subnet Mask, IP Addresses, Broadcast Addresses, DNS Servers, Subnet Masks Network statistics: Network Collisions, Network Input Errors, Network Input Packets, Network Output Errors, Network Output Packets Output statistics: Output Queue Capacity, Output Queue Size, Output Queue Peak Size, Output Queue Drop Count, Output Queue Output Count, Output Queue Retry Count, Output Queue Stall Count Ethernet statistics: Ethernet Alignment Errors, Ethernet FCS Errors, Ethernet Single Collision Frames, Ethernet Multiple Collision Frames, Ethernet SQE Test Errors, Ethernet Deferred Transmissions, Ethernet Late Collisions, Ethernet Excessive Collisions, Ethernet Internal MAC Transmit Errors, Ethernet Carrier Sense Errors, Ethernet Frames Too Long, Ethernet Internal MAC Receive Errors, Ethernet Chip Set, Ethernet Missed Frames, Ethernet Receiver Overruns, Ethernet Receiver Watchdog Timeouts, Ethernet Receiver Frames Too Short, Ethernet Receiver Collision Errors, Ethernet Receiver PHY Errors, Ethernet Receiver Timeouts, Ethernet Receiver Interrupts, Ethernet Receiver Resets, Ethernet Receiver Resource Errors, Ethernet Transmitter Underruns, Ethernet Transmitter Jabber Events, Ethernet Transmitter PHY Errors, Ethernet Transmitter Timeouts, Ethernet Transmitter Interrupts, Ethernet Transmitter Resets, Ethernet Transmitter Resource Errors, Ethernet Collision Frequencies PCI cards: Card Name, Card Type, Card Memory, Card Revision, Vendor ID, Device ID, ROM Revision, Slot Name Memory: Slot Identifier, Module Size, Module Type, Module Speed USB devices: Product Name, Vendor Name, Device Speed, Product ID, Vendor ID, Bus Power Amps Reporting capabilities Schedule reports for a specific date and time Set Mac OS X computers to rebuild and send data on their hardware and software settings on a regular schedule, or only as needed Store data for hardware reports in the included SQL database for fast and easy retrieval

Manage systems remotely Sleep and wake one or more Mac OS X systems Restart and shut down one or more Mac OS X systems; perform restart and shutdown immediately, or allow users to save their work first Power on one or more Mac OS X systems that feature Lights Out Management Open files and applications on one or more Mac OS X systems Empty Trash for all users on one or more Mac OS X systems Log out current user for one or more Mac OS X systems Upgrade Apple Remote Desktop Client software on a group of Mac OS X computers running earlier versions of Apple Remote Desktop Client software (v1.2 or later) Send UNIX commands to a group of Mac OS X systems Execute commands as the current user or a specified user Set Network, Energy Saver, and Date & Time system preferences using command-line tools Use any of more than 30 sample UNIX scripts in Task Template menu; add your own scripts Set startup disk Set startup disk to local disk or partition, or select from a list of NetBoot or Network Install images Start up multiple computers remotely Optionally restart computers after setting new startup disk Rename Mac OS X computers Append a unique number for each computer when multiple computers are selected Change Apple Remote Desktop Client settings Change the Apple Remote Desktop Client settings for one or more Mac OS X systems Save as a package to apply to Mac OS X systems at a later date
Observe and control screens of remote Mac computers Support VNC-enabled computers, including Windows and Linux systems Drag and drop a file from one remote computer to another Use Remote Copy and Paste to quickly transfer text or images Adjust the color depth to one of four modes: millions of colors, thousands of colors, grayscale, or black and white Scale screens to fit in the current window when viewing larger screens Use Curtain Mode to block a users view while configuring sensitive information Take complete control, or share the mouse and keyboard with a remote user Toggle between full-screen mode and fit-in-window mode Capture screen shots
Observe and control multiple screens of remote Mac or VNC-enabled computers simultaneously View up to 50 screens in a single window Adjust the number of screens visible on each page Adjust the color depth to one of four modes: millions of colors, thousands of colors, grayscale, or black and white Rotate through the list of observed computers manually or automatically View at-a-glance information about network computers using system status indicators Screen sharing and text communication Share a Mac screen with other Mac OS X systems Send a text message to a group of Mac OS X systems Conduct one-to-one real-time, computer-to-computer text chats

Easy Setup

Discover the computers you need to manage using network scanners; create as many scanners as you need, and configure each to search particular areas of your network Create computer lists to organize the system however you wish; for example, by model, location, or department Review or reuse tasks using lists of previously executed tasks Allow non-administrator users to run Apple Remote Desktop 3 with some or all features enabled Use a computer other than the administrator computer as a Task Server to automatically collect reporting data Use groups to organize computers by location, model, or department Define a set of rules to add computers to Smart Computer Lists automatically Associate computers with one of seven user-defined labels Use customized Computer List views to show only information of interest, including 14 optional attributes Authenticate clients using your organizations directory services group names Encrypt all communications between Apple Remote Desktop 3 and client computers with 128-bit AES encryption, or disable encryption for data-intensive tasks
Create powerful system administration workflows by combining Apple Remote Desktop actions Create end-to-end solutions by combining actions with other applications actions Save Automator workflows as plug-ins Choose from more than 40 ready-to-use Automator actions
Automator actions in Apple Remote Desktop 3
Choose Computer List Choose Remote Computer Close Every Safari Window Close Every Window in Finder Convert Computer Lists to Computers.caction Copy Items to Computer Lists Copy Items to Computers Delete Desktop Items Eject All Disks Empty Trash Enable-Disable Dashboard Execute AppleScript Execute New UNIX Task Force Quit All Applications Force Quit Applications Get Every Computer Get Selected Computers Hide Other Applications Install Chosen Package on Remote Computers Launch Dashboard Lock Screens New Computer List Observe Computers Open Folder Open URL in Safari Restart Computers Retrieve References to Computers Send Text Message Set Browser Dimensions Set Desktop Picture Set Remote Access Set Remote Finder Prefs Set Sleep and Wake Set Time Zone Set Time to Current Time Set Volume Start Application Start Screen Saver Store References to Computers Unlock Screens

For More Information

For more information about Apple Remote Desktop 3, visit www.apple.com/ remotedesktop. For more information on Automator, visit www.apple.com/macosx/features/automator. For technical articles about product issues, usage, and implementation, visit www.apple.com/support/remotedesktop.

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Deploying Software

ARD lets you distribute software and related files to client computers from your ARD administrator computer or from a computer running Mac OS X Server.

Administrator computer

Deploy configuration files Deploy drag-and-drop application folders Deploy install packages (.pkg or.mpkg) Deploy UNIX shell scripts Set startup partition

Mac OS X Server

Network install images

NetBoot images

Xserve cluster node
Distributing Install Packages You can distribute and automatically install packages in.pkg and.mpkg formats. ARD lets you install software and software updates on one or more client computers without user interaction or interruption, or even if no user is logged in. After installation, ARD erases the installer files. If the computers need to be restarted, as they do following an operating system update, you can restart them from ARD.
For example, you can use Apple Software Update to download an iCal update or an operating system update to a test computer. If the update works as expected and introduces no compatibility issues, copy the install package to the administrator computer to distribute to computers that need upgrading. Note that this approach conserves Internet bandwidth, because only one copy of the package needs to be downloaded. You can also use ARD to deploy new versions of computational software to Xserve computers in a cluster node. You can use the PackageMaker tool from Apples Developer Tools to create your own install packages, such as when you want to: Distribute school project materials or business forms and templates Automate the installation of multiple install packages Deploy custom applications Before performing remote installations, you can send an ARD text message to notify users, perhaps letting them know that youll be using ARD to lock their screens at a particular time before you start the installation. Using Network Install Images You can also distribute and install software, including the Mac OS X operating system, by using Network Install images. On Mac OS X Server, use the Network Image Utility to create a Network Install image. You can create the image by cloning a system thats already installed and set up or by using an install disc or image downloaded using Apple Software Update. If you choose to auto-install, you wont have to interact with each computer. On the ARD administrator computer, set the startup disk of remote client systems to point to the Network Install image, and then remotely reboot the clients to initiate installation. Before initiating installations that require computers to be restarted afterwards, send an ARD text message to client users to notify them of a pending installation. For example, tell users youll log them off at 5:00 P.M. to install an operating system update. Using NetBoot Images Another kind of system image you can create using Mac OS X Server is a NetBoot image. Like a Network Install image, a client computer uses NetBoot images to start up. Unlike a Network Install image, the boot software is not installed on the client system. Instead, it resides on a remote server. It is recommended you use a NetBoot image that has ARD installed and configured. Otherwise, administering the computer using ARD after NetBooting is impossible.

Locking Screens Lock student screens to prevent students from using their computers when you want them to focus on other activities. Terminating Computer Use Remotely log students out or shut down their computers at the end of a class or school day. Distributing and Collecting Files Distribute handouts electronically, at a time that wont disrupt class activities or when theyre needed for the next class activity, and collect homework files. Automating Website Access Open a webpage on all student computers. Drag a URL from Safari to your desktop, then copy it to student computers and open it in Safari. You can also copy files and open them in the appropriate applications on student computers. Providing One-to-One Assistance Provide help when a student needs it, conducting private and discreet computer-tocomputer interactions as required.

Finding More Information

Youll find detailed instructions for performing the tasks highlighted in this chapter and morethroughout this manual.
To learn more about ARD administration See information for Administration privileges Administrator computers Security Creating computer lists Installing software Upgrading software Copying files Data collection options Auditing software Auditing hardware Network responsiveness Customizing reports Exporting report data Deleting items Emptying the Trash Setting startup volumes Renaming computers Sleeping and waking Locking screens Logging users out Restart and shutdown Configuring data gathering Scheduling tasks Using UNIX shell scripts Text messages Controlling Observing Share screens Starting on page page 38
Computer lists Deploying software Distributing files Taking inventory
page 57 page 58 page 63 page 66

Housekeeping tasks

page 77

Automating tasks

Using ARD text messages Controlling screens Observing screens Sharing screens
page 100 page 94 page 97 page 102
Additional information can be obtained at several Apple websites: For information about NetBoot and Network Install, go to www.apple.com/server/ documentation/ and download the system imaging administration guide. For information about PackageMaker, go to www.developer.apple.com and search for PackageMaker.

Setting Up

To use Apple Remote Desktop, install the administration software on the administrator computer first, and then install and enable the client software on the computers you want to manage.
This chapter describes the main aspects of setting up and configuring ARD for system administration and user interaction and gives complete instructions for setting up. You can learn about: System Requirements for Apple Remote Desktop on page 25 Setting Up an Apple Remote Desktop Administrator Computer on page 26 Setting Up Client Computers With Mac OS X 10.2 Installed on page 28 Setting Up Client Computers With Mac OS X 10.3 Installed on page 32 Creating a Custom Client Installer on page 36 Understanding Access Types on page 38 Considerations for Managed Clients on page 44 Configuring the Administrator Software on page 44 Setting Up the Network on page 48 Getting the Best Performance on page 49 Maintaining Security on page 50

Installing the Administrator Software
To set up ARD on administrator computers, you install the software on the computer you plan to use to administer remote computers. Then, you open the application and create a main list of computers. To install Apple Remote Desktop on an administrator computer: 1 Insert the Apple Remote Desktop disc. 2 Double click the ARD install package and follow the onscreen instructions. The application Remote Desktop will be installed in the Applications folder. 3 Open Remote Desktop (in the Applications folder). The Remote Desktop Setup Assistant appears. 4 Enter the ARD serial number. The serial number can be found on the Apple Remote Desktop Welcome document that came with your software. 5 Click Continue. If ARD 2 client software is not already present, the assistant asks if you want to install it. Click OK to continue.
6 Enter a Remote Desktop password and verify it. The Remote Desktop password is used to encrypt names and passwords of client computers for ARD. You can store this password in your keychain for convenience, or you can require that the password be entered each time you open Remote Desktop. 7 Click Done. The main application window appears. If ARD 1.2 was previously installed (or if you transferred computer lists from another administrator computer), all the existing computer lists are available in the new window. Update and configure your clients using the instructions in Upgrading Existing Client Software On Mac OS X 10.2 on page 29 or Upgrading Existing Client Software on Mac OS X 10.3 Using ARD on page 33. If no version of ARD was previously installed, you must enable and configure the client computers before Remote Desktop can administer them.
Uninstalling the Administrator Software
To remove the administrator software completely, you must remove the application, the encrypted list of computer login names and passwords, and the client information database. To remove the administrator software: 1 Drag the Remote Desktop application to the Trash. 2 Empty the Trash. 3 Delete the ARD database from /var/db/RemoteManagement/ using the following command in the Terminal application:

$ sudo rm -rf /var/db/RemoteManagement $ sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist $ rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist
Setting Up Client Computers With Mac OS X 10.2 Installed
The following section contains information on installing Apple Remote Desktop 2 on computers running Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar. See the appropriate instructions, depending on whether youre setting up clients for the first time or upgrading existing ARD clients.
Installing the Client Software on Mac OS X 10.2 for the First Time
To install the client software on the computers you plan to use with Apple Remote Desktop, use the ARD administration software to create a client software installer. You need the name and password of a user with administrator privileges on the client computer to install the package.
To install the client software for the first time: 1 Create the custom client install package. For detailed instructions, see Creating a Custom Client Installer on page 36. 2 Copy and install the package on the client computers. There are several ways to do this. For example, you can: Distribute the package by removable media, such as a CD Copy the installer to the clients over the network using file sharing Copy the installer to the clients using command-line tools like scp (if ssh is enabled), and use Apples command-line installation tool, installer, to install the package remotely. This process is described in detail in Upgrading Existing Mac OS X 10.2 Client Software Using ssh on page 29. Warning: Custom installer packages that create login names contain sensitive password data. Take care to store such custom installers securely.
Upgrading Existing Client Software On Mac OS X 10.2
For Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar computers using Apple Remote Desktop client software version 1.2 or later, you can use the Upgrade Client Software feature to update client software with Remote Desktops built-in features. If you choose not to use Remote Desktops Upgrade Client feature, you can use the process described in Installing the Client Software on Mac OS X 10.2 for the First Time, above, to upgrade Jaguar clients manually. Upgrading Existing Mac OS X 10.2 Client Software Using ARD To upgrade ARD clients, find them in your ARD computer lists, or with a network scan. To upgrade existing computers: 1 Open Remote Desktop. 2 Select a computer list. 3 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 4 Choose Manage > Upgrade Client Software. Upgrading Existing Mac OS X 10.2 Client Software Using ssh You may not be able to use Apple Remote Desktops administration software to upgrade existing Jaguar clients to ARD 2. The clients may have software older than version 1.2, for example. If the clients have ssh enabled (called Remote Login in System Preferences), and are available on the network, you can still upgrade the client computers. You still need to use the ARD administration software to create a custom installer package. You also need the login name and password of a user with administrator privileges on the client computer.

To upgrade existing client software via ssh: 1 Create the custom client install package. For detailed instructions, see Creating a Custom Client Installer on page 36. 2 Make sure Remote Login is selected in the Sharing pane of System Preferences on the client computer. 3 Open Terminal. 4 Copy the installer package to the client computer by typing:
$ scp -r <path to installer package> <user>@<host>:<path to package destination>
For other scp options, see its man page. 5 Log in to the client computer using the ssh command-line tool.
$ ssh <user>@<host>
For other ssh options, see its man page. 6 On the client computer, install the package by typing:
$ sudo installer -pkg <path to package> -target /
For other installer options, see its man page.
Preparing Mac OS X 10.2 Clients for Administration
To prepare a client for administration, after installing or updating the Apple Remote Desktop client software on the computer, you activate ARD and grant access privileges to the computer by using the ARD pane of the computers System Preferences. If you chose to have the privileges set and ARD enabled when you created the custom installer package, your computers are already prepared. Note: You can skip this step if you create a custom installer that automatically enables your desired client settings. If you did not create an ARD user login or define ARD administrator access privileges when you created the custom installer package, you need to configure your clients. You set access privileges separately for each user account on the computer for which you want the ARD administrator to be able to log in and take command of the computer. Follow the steps in this section to set access privileges on each client computer that uses Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar. To make changes on a Mac OS X client, you must have the name and password of a user with administrator privileges on that computer.
To set administration privileges on each computer: 1 On the client computer, open System Preferences and click Apple Remote Desktop. If necessary, enter the user name and password of a user with administrator privileges on that computer. 2 To activate the ARD client, make sure to select Make Apple Remote Desktop active on this computer. 3 Select the checkbox of each user account that you want enabled for ARD. 4 Select a listed user whose access privileges you want to change, and then make the changes you want to the access privileges. Your changes take effect immediately. See User Privileges and Permissions Security on page 50 for more information. 5 Repeat for additional users whose access privileges you want to change. 6 If you wish, enter information in any or all of the four Computer Information fields. This information appears in ARD System Overview reports. For example, you can enter an inventory number for the computer, a serial number, or a users name and telephone number.

Generate reports Open and quit applications Change settings Delete and replace items
Send text messages Restart and shut down

Select Copy items

To allow administrators to Use these Manage menu and Server menu commands: Copy Items and Install Package. This item must be enabled in order to use the Upgrade Client Software and Change Client Settings features. Use these Interact menu commands: Control, Share Screen, Lock Screen. This item must be enabled in order to use the Upgrade Client Software and Change Client Settings features.

Control

ARD Administrative Access Using Directory Services You can also grant Apple Remote Desktop administrative access without enabling any local users at all by enabling group-based authorization. When you use specially named groups from your Directory Services master domain, you dont have to add users and passwords to the client computers for ARD access. When Directory Services authorization is enabled on a client, the user name and password you supply when you authenticate to the computer is checked in the directory. If the name belongs to one of the ARD access groups, you are granted the access privileges assigned to the group. You must create groups in the Directory Services master domain named ard_admin and ard_reports The groups have the following management privileges:.
Privilege Generate reports Open and quit applications Change settings Copy items Delete and replace items Send messages Restart and shut down Control Observe Show being observed ard_admin x x x x x x x x x x ard_reports x
Enabling Directory Services Group Authorization In order to enable group-based authorization for Apple Remote Desktop access, you create the appropriate groups in your Directory Services master directory domain. To complete this task, you need to be the Directory Services administrator and have access to your organizations users and groups server.
To enable ARD authorization by group: 1 In your directory system, create two groups with the short names ard_admin and ard_reports. 2 Add users to the groups. 3 Make sure the clients to be administered are bound to your directory system. When changing client settings or making a custom installer, choose to enable directory services authorization on the clients, and specify these groups. Getting an Administration Settings Report You can query active Apple Remote Desktop clients for a report on what commands they are accepting from your administrator authentication. The report is a list of the ARD administrator access types with a yes or no to indicate whether it is available to you. To get an administration settings report: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Report > Administration Settings. 4 Click Get Report. Changing Client Administration Privileges Once the client computers are able to be administered, you can change the administrator access privileges for multiple computers simultaneously, using the Change Client Settings command. If you are using Directory Services to designate administration privileges, you dont need to change the settings on the clients. To make changes on a client, you must have the name and password of a user with administrator privileges on the computer. Additionally, you must already have the Control privilege. Note: You do not have to make a selection on every page of the assistant. You can click Continue to move to the next set of settings. To change administration privileges on each computer: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Manage > Change Client Settings. The ARD client assistant appears.

4 Choose whether to start Remote Desktop sharing at system startup. This changes the setting found in the Sharing pane of System Preferences (for Mac OS X 10.3 or later) or the Remote Desktop pane of System Preferences (for Mac OS X 10.2). 5 Choose whether to hide or show the ARD menu bar icon. 6 Click Continue. 7 Choose whether to create a new user for ARD login. Click Continue. New users can be used to grant ARD administrator privileges. Creating a new user does not overwrite existing users or change existing user passwords. If you choose not to create a new user, skip to step 9 after clicking Continue. 8 Add a new user by clicking Add and filling in the appropriate information. Click OK after adding each user, and click Continue when youre ready to go on. 9 Choose whether to assign ARD administrative access privileges to Directory Services groups. If you choose to do so, select Set authorized groups to. Edit the groups, if necessary. See ARD Administrative Access Using Directory Services on page 39 for more information on using this method to grant ARD administrative access. 10 Choose whether to assign ARD administrative access privileges to specific users. Click Continue. If you choose not to assign administrative access privileges, skip to step 13. 11 Click Add to designate a user to receive ARD access privileges. 12 Provide the users short name and assign the privileges as desired. See User Privileges and Permissions Security on page 50 for more information. Click OK after each user, and click Continue when youre ready to go on. 13 Choose whether to allow temporary guest control by requesting permission on the client computers. See ARD Guest Access on page 42 for more information. 14 Choose whether to allow non-Apple VNC viewers to control the client computers, and click Continue. See Virtual Network Computing (VNC) Access on page 43 for more information. 15 If desired, select and enter information in any or all of the four System Data fields. This information appears in ARD System Overview reports. For example, you can enter an inventory number for the computer, a serial number, or a users name and telephone number.
16 Choose whether to allow OpenWBEM tools to request data from the client computers. See OpenWBEM Access on page 44 for more information. 17 Click Continue to change the clients settings. The client configuration assistant contacts all of the selected computers and changes their administration settings.

ARD Guest Access

You can configure an Apple Remote Desktop client to give temporary, one-time access to an ARD administrator who does not have a login name or password for the client computer. Each time the ARD administrator would like to control the client computer, he or she must request permission from the remote clients user. Warning: Granting access to control a screen is the most powerful feature in ARD, and can be equivalent to unrestricted access. To allow guest access: 1 On the client computer, open System Preferences and click Sharing. On Mac OS X 10.2 clients, select the Remote Desktop pane and skip to step 4. If necessary, enter the user name and password of a user with administrator privileges on that computer. 2 Select Apple Remote Desktop in the Sharing Methods pane. 3 Click Access Privileges. 4 Select Guests may request permission to control screen. 5 Click OK.

In the Control/Observe pane, you can set: Whether control of the mouse and keyboard is shared with the client computer when the client is controlled Whether a remote screen is shown at its actual size in a window or if it shrinks to fit the window Whether remote screens are shown in color or black and white How many computers can be observed on one page Image quality for observing multiple screens In the Data Collection pane, you can set: Where the saved data for reports resides Whether other ARD administrators can access your local report database In the Restricted Access pane, you can set: Which features of Remote Desktop are available to non-administrator users See Limiting Features in the Administrator Application on page 51.

Setting Up the Network

Your network configuration determines Apple Remote Desktops performance and usability. AirPort and AirPort Extreme networks offer slower performance than almost any Ethernet network. Therefore, file copying, client monitoring, and reporting will be slower over AirPort and AirPort Extreme connections. Network routers and firewalls also shape, direct, or block network traffic; these things can have an effect on ARDs reliability and efficiency. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when setting up ARD on your network: The more AirPort clients are connected to a base station, the lower the bandwidth for each computer. AirPort Base Stations are not considered switched networks. Bonjour does not extend beyond the local subnet. Bonjour names do not resolve across routers like domain names do. Networks with switches have fewer collisions and packet errors than networks with hubs. This means greater reliability and speed. If network traffic will pass through firewalls, make sure you have a large Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) setting (1200 or greater). Too small an MTU setting can result in black screens when sharing or sending screens. If you are going across a wide-area network (WAN), or metropolitan area network (MAN), make sure that the defrag bit is turned off in your router so packets don't get chunked up. This can result in black screens when sharing or sending screens. NAT (Network Address Translation) networks (such as those that use the Mac OS X Internet Sharing feature) can pose configuration and access difficulties.
If you want to use Remote Desktop from behind a NAT router to access computers beyond the NAT router, you need to set TCP and UDP port forwarding for ports 3283 and 5900 to your administrator computer. Similarly, if you wish to access a client computer that is behind a NAT router, you need to set the router to forward TCP and UDP ports 3283 and 5900 to the client computer you wish to access. Note: You can access only that one client computer.

Finding Clients by File Import
You can import a list of computers into Apple Remote Desktop by importing a file listing the computers IP addresses. The list can be in any file format (text, spreadsheet, word processor) and must contain either IP addresses or fully qualified domain names (such as foo.example.com). To import a list of computers from a file: 1 Select a scanner at the left of the Remote Desktop window. 2 Select File Import. 3 Browse for the file by clicking the Browse button, or drag a file into the window. Alternatively, you can enter the files pathname in the File field. 4 Click the Scan button. All responding clients are listed in the Remote Desktop window. 5 Select the desired computers. 6 Drag the selected computers to the Master List. 7 Authenticate by providing a login name and password for an ARD administrator. The computer is now in your Master List.

Making a New Scanner

You may want several scanners to search for specific address ranges or to do other types of searches. you can make and save your own scanner so you can quickly do the search at any time. You can rename scanners to make them easy to identify. To make a custom search list: 1 Choose File > New Scanner. 2 Rename the newly created scanner. 3 Select the new scanner icon. 4 Choose a search type from the pop-up menu to the right. 5 Customize the search by entering the specific parameters for the search (such as an IP address range, or file location). You can find out how to customize the search in the following sections: Finding Clients by Searching the Local Network on page 54 Finding Clients by Searching a Network Range on page 55 Finding Clients by Network Address on page 55 Finding Clients by File Import on page 56
6 Click the Scan button. All responding clients are listed in the Remote Desktop window. Select your scanner icon and click the Scan button whenever you want to run the search.
Making and Managing Lists
You use lists to organize and perform management tasks on client computers. Apple Remote Desktop has several different kinds of lists. The following section describes the kinds of lists, and explains how to create lists and use them for client management.

About ARD Computer Lists

Apple Remote Desktop displays computers in lists in the main section of the Remote Desktop window. The default computer list is called Master List; this is a full list of all possible clients that you have located and authenticated to. You can create other lists to group the computers on your network in any way you wish. Computer lists have the following capabilities: You can create as many lists as you want. Each list can have up to 1000 computers in it. The Master List can have up to the number of computers your license allows. Computers can appear in more than one list. Lists can be made in any grouping you can imagine: geographic, functional, hardware configuration, even color.

Installing Software Using ARD
There are several methods you can use to install software with Apple Remote Desktop. The following section describes how to install software using installer packages or metapackages, using the copy command in ARD, using installers made by other software companies, or using NetBoot or Network Install. Warning: Distributing copyrighted software without the appropriate license agreement is a violation of copyright law.
Installing by Package (pkg) and Metapackage (mpkg)
You can install new software automatically and without user intervention by copying installer packages (.pkg or.mpkg files) to one or more remote clients using Mac OS X version 10.2 or later. Apple Remote Desktop copies the package to the computers you choose, runs the installer with no visible window or user interaction required, and then erases the installer files upon completion. You can install multiple packages in succession. When you execute installation of multiple packages, ARD copies over a package, installs it, and then copies and installs the next package until finished. It is not possible to stop the installation of a package. Once the installation starts, it will complete (assuming no errors occur on the client). However, you can click the Stop button to stop any additional packages (in a multiple-package install) from being copied over and installed. Alternatively, an administrator with access to Apple Developer Tools can use the PackageMaker application to create a metapackage that contains several installers to be run in sequence. In addition to creating metapackages, you can also use PackageMaker to create packages for custom software that your organization may have developed. More information about making and using packages and metapackages is available through the Apple Developer Connection website: http://developer.apple.com/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/ SoftwareDistribution/index.html To copy and install software using a.pkg file: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Manage > Install Packages. 4 Select a.pkg or.mpkg file to install. 5 Click Install. During installation, a progress bar appears on the administrators screen. No progress bars appear on the client computer. The package copied is deleted from the client computer if an error occurs during installation. However, a failed installation may leave behind other files created by the installer. Note: Client computers are not restarted automatically after an installation is complete. If restarting is necessary, use the Restart command to restart selected computers after using the Install Packages command.

Testing Network Responsiveness
Apple Remote Desktop can test network responsiveness between your administrator computer and client computers. It sends network packets to the clients and reports the time taken to receive confirmation from the clients. You can choose how many network packets to send, how often they are sent, and how long the administrator computer waits for a reply before listing a packet as lost. To generate a Network Test report: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Report > Network Test. 4 Select the options you want. Choose the number of packets sent from the Packets pop-up menu. Choose how often to send the send packets from the Interval pop-up menu. Choose how long to wait before reporting a packet as lost from the Time-Out pop-up menu. 5 Click Get Report. The newly generated report window appears. Evaluating the Network Test Report You can use the Network Test report to diagnose whether task failures in Apple Remote Desktop are due to network congestion or some other factor. You may, for example, find that a Copy Items task is failing on a particular subnet, due to network congestion on that subnet. Here are some suggestions for evaluating your network performance based on this report: The number of routers between your computer and another computer can affect the time the packets take to return. When you evaluate the times for a computer, you should compare them to the times for a computer in the same area of the network or with the same number of intervening routers. If the maximum time for a packet to return from a computer is significantly greater than the times for other computers in the same area of the network, there may be a problem with the computer. If a single computer has a large number of lost packets, there may be a problem with the network connection to that computer. If several computers in the same area of the network have a large number of lost packets, there may be a network connection problem or a problem with an intervening router or bridge.

Changing Report Layout

You can customize report layouts for your own purposes. By default, reports include a column for each information type you selected before running the report, in the order presented in the report dialog. The columns in the report are initially sorted by computer name.
You can resize or rearrange the columns of a report as well as sort the rows by column. Additionally, in the File Search report, you can choose what information is displayed about a found item. By default, the item name, kind, parent path, actual size, and date modified are displayed. To change what information is displayed: 1 In the File Search report window, select or deselect each report column as desired.

Report column Name Parent Path Full Path Extension Date Modified Date Created Actual size Size on Disk Kind Invisible Version Number Version String Owner If checked, will show. The item name The path to the folder that the item is in The full file path The file extension indicating the file type (.app,.zip,.jpg) The last date and time the file was changed and saved The date and time the file was created Actual file size in KB or MB Amount of disk space used by the file in KB File, folder, or application A checkmark indicating whether it is visible in the Finder If an application, the version reported If an application, the version reported The items owners short name
Report column Group Permissions Locked
If checked, will show. The items groups name The items UNIX permissions (for example, -rw-r--r--) A checkmark indicating whether it is a locked file
2 After making your selections, click Generate Report as usual. When the report window appears, you can rearrange the columns or sort by a different column.
Exporting Report Information
You can export reports into a comma-delimited or tab-delimited text file. All the columns of information in the report window are included, and the report rows are exported in the order theyre sorted at the time of export. Exported reports can be put into databases, spreadsheets, or word processors for further analysis or organization, or to be sent to another administrator. You could even use certain reports as input files for network scanners for Remote Desktop. To export a report: 1 Generate any report, and bring the report window to the front. 2 If desired, sort the report rows by selecting a new column to sort by. 3 If you do not want to export the entire report, select the rows to be exported. 4 Choose File > Export Window. 5 Name the file, and choose a location to save to. 6 Select a Text Encoding.
Western (Mac OS Roman): Best choice if the report information uses the Roman
alphabet, and the exported document will be opened in an application or on an operating system that does not support Unicode text encoding, like some installations of Mac OS 9. Unicode (UTF-8): Best choice if the exported file will be opened on Mac OS X and contains no Asian text characters, like Chinese or Japanese. Unicode (UTF-16): Best choice if the report contains Asian language text characters. 7 Select a Field Separator.
Tab: Inserts a Tab character between column values. Comma: Inserts a comma between column values.
8 If you have selected only some rows of the report, and want to export only the selected rows, select Save Selection Only. 9 Click Save.
Using Report Windows to Work With Computers
After youve created a report, you can use it to select computers and then do any of the following: Add computers to ARD computer lists. Drag any row from a report window to a computer list in the main Remote Desktop window. This adds the computer in that row to the computer list.

networksetup The command-line tool networksetup is used to configure a clients network settings. It can create or modify network locations, change IP addresses, set network service proxies, and much more. You will find the command-line syntax, explanations, and an example in the tools help prompt, by entering the following as one line in Terminal:
/System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Support/ networksetup -help
systemsetup The command-line tool systemsetup is used to configure other non-network system settings. It can query or alter time zones, network time servers, sleep settings, Energy Saver preferences, Remote Login (ssh) preferences, and more. You will find the command-line syntax, explanations, and example in the tools help prompt, by entering the following as one line in the Terminal:
/System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Support/ systemsetup -help
Executing a Single UNIX Command Using the UNIX Command window, you can send a single command to the selected client computers. The command is executed using the bash shell and root permissions. To execute a single UNIX command: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Manage > Send UNIX Command. 4 Type or paste the command. If your command is a multi-line script, enter each command on its own line. If you want to break up a single line command for better readability, use a back slash (\) to begin a new visual line. 5 Set the user whose permissions are used to execute the command. You can choose the currently logged in user, or choose the name of any other user known to exist on the client computers. 6 Click Send. Executing Scripts Via UNIX Command There are two kinds of scripts you can execute via the command line. First, and most common with command-lines, is a shell script. A shell script is a file that contains a collection of UNIX commands that are all executed in the sequence in the file. Shell scripts can have normal programming procedures like loops, conditionals, and variables. Shell scripts are text files with UNIX line endings. Shell scripts are interpreted using the bash shell.
Executing Shell Scripts Shell scripts can be copied, then executed. If a script has any degree of complexity, or cannot be expressed on a single line, you can use Copy Items to copy the script file to the client computers, then execute it using the Send UNIX Command. To send a singleline command you can just use Send UNIX Command. To copy and execute a script: 1 Prepare and save your script. Make sure your script is saved with UNIX line endings. 2 Open Remote Desktop. 3 Select a computer list. 4 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 5 Use the Copy Items command to copy your script to the client computers. 6 After copying the script, choose Manage > Send UNIX Command. 7 Execute the script by typing: