How to Create and Deploy Applications for Mac Computers in Configuration Manager
Updated: May 14, 2015
Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP2, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager SP1
Note
The information in this topic applies to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 or later, and System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager or later.
You can use Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager to deploy applications to Mac computers. The steps to deploy software to Mac computers are similar to those that are used to deploy software to Windows computers. However, before you create and deploy applications for Mac computers that are managed by Configuration Manager, consider the following:
Before you can deploy Mac application packages to Mac computers, you must use the CMAppUtil tool on a Mac computer to convert these applications into a format that can be read by Configuration Manager.
Configuration Manager does not support the deployment of Mac applications to users; these deployments must be to a device. Similarly, for Mac application deployments, Configuration Manager does not support the Pre-deploy software to the user’s primary device option on the Deployment Settings page of the Deploy Software Wizard.
Mac applications support simulated deployments.
You cannot deploy applications to Mac computers that have a purpose of Available.
The option to send wake-up packets when you deploy software is not supported for Mac computers.
Mac computers do not support Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) to download application content. If an application download fails, it will be restarted from the beginning.
Configuration Manager does not support global conditions when you create deployment types for Mac computers.
Use the following steps to create and deploy applications for Mac computers.
Steps to Create and Deploy an Application
The following table provides the steps, details, and more information for creating and deploying applications for Mac computers.
Step |
Details |
More information |
|---|---|---|
Step 1: Prepare Mac applications for Configuration Manager. |
Before you can create Configuration Manager applications from Mac software packages, you must use the CMAppUtil tool on a Mac computer to convert the Mac software into a Configuration Manager .cmmac file. |
See Step 1: Prepare Mac Applications for Configuration Manager in this topic. |
Step 2: Create a Configuration Manager application that contains the Mac software |
Use the Create Application Wizard to create an application for the Mac software. |
See Step 2: Create a Configuration Manager application that contains the Mac software in this topic. |
Step 3: Create a deployment type for the Mac application |
This step is required only if you did not automatically import this information from the application. |
See Step 3: Create a Deployment Type for the Mac Application in this topic. |
Step 4: Deploy the Mac application |
Use the Deploy Software Wizard to deploy the application to Mac computers. |
See Step 4: Deploy the Mac Application in this topic. |
Step 5: Monitor the deployment of the Mac application |
Monitor the success of application deployments to Mac computers. |
See Step 5: Monitor the Deployment of the Mac Application in this topic. |
Supplemental Procedures to Create and Deploy Applications for Mac Computers
Use the following procedures to create and deploy applications for Mac computers that are managed by Configuration Manager.
Step 1: Prepare Mac Applications for Configuration Manager
The required process to create and deploy Configuration Manager applications to Mac computers is similar to the deployment process for Windows computers. However, before you create Configuration Manager applications that contain Mac deployment types, you must prepare the applications by using the CMAppUtil tool. This tool is downloaded with the Mac client installation files. The CMAppUtil tool can gather information about the application, which includes detection data from the following Mac packages:
Apple Disk Image (.dmg)
Meta Package File (.mpkg)
Mac OS X Installer Package (.pkg)
Mac OS X Application (.app)
After it gathers application information, the CMAppUtil then creates a file with the extension .cmmac. This file contains the installation files for the Mac software and information about detection methods that can be used to evaluate whether the application is already installed. CMAppUtil can also process .dmg files that contain multiple Mac applications and create different deployment types for each application.
To prepare Mac software to be deployed by Configuration Manager
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Copy the Mac software installation package to the folder on the Mac computer where you extracted the contents of the macclient.dmg file that you downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center.
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On the same Mac computer, open a terminal window and navigate to the folder where you extracted the contents of the macclient.dmg file.
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Navigate to the Tools folder and enter the following command-line:
./CMAppUtil <properties>
For example, if you want to convert the contents of an Apple disk image file named MySoftware.dmg stored in the users desktop folder into a cmmac file in the same folder and you want to create cmmac files for all applications that are found in the disk image file. To do this, use the following command line:
./CMApputil –c /Users/<User Name>/Desktop/MySoftware.dmg -o /Users/<User Name>/Desktop -a
Note
The application name must be no more than 128 characters in length.
To configure options for CMAppUtil, use the command-line properties in the following table:
Property
More information
-h
Displays the available command-line properties.
-r
Outputs the detection.xml of the provided .cmmac file to stdout. The output contains the detection parameters and the version of CMAppUtil that was used to create the .cmmac file.
-c
Specify the source file to be converted.
-o
This property must be used in conjunction with the –c property to specify the output path.
-a
Use this property in conjunction with the –c property and the disk image (.dmg) file to automatically create .cmmac files for all applications and packages that are found in the disk image file.
-s
Skips generating the detection.xml if no detection parameters are found and forces the creation of the .cmmac file without the detection.xml file.
-v
Displays more detailed output from the CMAppUtil tool together with diagnostic information.
-
Ensure that the .cmmac file has been created in the output folder that you specified.
Step 2: Create a Configuration Manager application that contains the Mac software
Use the following procedure to help you create an application for Mac computers that are managed by Configuration Manager.
To create an application for a Mac computer
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In the Configuration Manager console, click Software Library.
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In the Software Library workspace, expand Application Management, and then click Applications.
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On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create Application.
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On the General page of the Create Application Wizard, select Automatically detect information about this application from installation files.
Note
Select Manually specify the application information if you want to specify information about the application yourself. For more information about how to manually specify the information, see the To manually define application information section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.
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In the Type drop-down list, select Mac OS X.
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In the Location field, specify the UNC path in the form \\<server>\<share>\<filename> to the Mac application installation file (.cmmac file) that will detect application information. Alternatively, click Browse to browse and specify the installation file location.
Note
You must have access to the UNC path that contains the application.
-
Click Next.
-
On the Import Information page of the Create Application Wizard, review the information that was imported. If necessary, you can click Previous to go back and correct any errors. Click Next to proceed.
-
On the General Information page of the Create Application Wizard, specify information about the application such as the application name, comments, version, and an optional reference to help you reference the application in the Configuration Manager console.
Note
Some of the application information might already be present on this page if it was previously obtained from the application installation files.
-
Click Next, review the application information on the Summary page, and then complete the Create Application Wizard.
-
The new application is displayed in the Applications node of the Configuration Manager console.
Step 3: Create a Deployment Type for the Mac Application
Use the following procedure to help you create a deployment type for Mac computers that are managed by Configuration Manager.
Note
If you automatically imported information about the application in the Create Application Wizard, a deployment type for the application might already have been created.
To create a deployment type for a Mac computer
-
In the Configuration Manager console, click Software Library.
-
In the Software Library workspace, expand Application Management, and then click Applications.
-
Select an application and then, on the Home tab, in the Application group, click Create Deployment Type to create a new deployment type for this application.
Note
You can also start the Create Deployment Type Wizard from the Create Application Wizard and from the Deployment Types tab of the <application name> Properties dialog box.
-
On the General page of the Create Deployment Type Wizard, in the Type drop-down list, select Mac OS X.
-
In the Location field, specify the UNC path in the form \\<server>\<share>\<filename> to the application installation file (.cmmac file). Alternatively, click Browse to browse and specify the installation file location.
Note
You must have access to the UNC path that contains the application.
-
Click Next.
-
On the Import Information page of the Create Deployment Type Wizard, review the information that was imported. If necessary, click Previous to go back and correct any errors. Click Next to continue.
-
On the General Information page of the Create Deployment Type Wizard, specify information about the application such as the application name, comments, and the languages in which the deployment type is available.
Note
Some of the deployment type information might already be present on this page if it was previously obtained from the application installation files.
-
Click Next.
-
On the Requirements page of the Create Deployment Type Wizard, you can specify the conditions that must be met before the deployment type can be installed on Mac computers.
-
Click Add to open the Create Requirement dialog box and add a new requirement.
Note
You can also add new requirements on the Requirements tab of the <deployment type name> Properties dialog box.
-
From the Category drop-down list, select that this requirement is for a device.
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From the Condition drop-down list, select the condition that you want to use to assess whether the or Mac computer meets the installation requirements. The contents of this list will vary depending on the selected category.
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From the Operator drop-down list, choose the operator that will be used to compare the selected condition to the specified value to assess whether the user or device meets in the installation requirement. The available operators will vary depending on the selected condition.
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In the Value field, specify the values that will be used with the selected condition and operator whether the user or device meets in the installation requirement. The available values will vary depending on the selected condition and the selected operator.
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Click OK to save the requirement rule and exit the Create Requirement dialog box.
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On the Requirements page of the Create Deployment Type Wizard, click Next.
-
On the Summary page of the Create Deployment Type Wizard, review the actions for the wizard to take. If necessary, click Previous to go back and change deployment type settings. Click Next to create the deployment type.
-
After the Progress page of the Wizard completes, review the actions that have been taken, and then click Close to complete the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
-
If you started this wizard from the Create Application Wizard, you will return to the Deployment Types page of the wizard.
Step 4: Deploy the Mac Application
The steps to deploy an application to Mac computers are the same as those used to deploy an application to Windows computers, except for the following differences:
The deployment of applications to users is not supported.
Deployments that have a purpose of Available are not supported.
The Pre-deploy software to the user’s primary device option on the Deployment Settings page of the Deploy Software Wizard is not supported.
Because Mac computers do not support Software Center, the setting User notifications on the User Experience page of the Deploy Software Wizard is ignored.
The option to send wake-up packets when you deploy software is not supported for Mac computers.
Note
You can build a collection containing only Mac computers. To do so, create a collection that uses a query rule and use the example WQL query in the Example WQL Queries section of the topic How to Create Queries in Configuration Manager.
For more information, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.
Step 5: Monitor the Deployment of the Mac Application
You can use the same process to monitor application deployments to Mac computers as you would use for application deployments to Windows computers.
For more information, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.