Apple ARD31 User Manual
Apple Remote Desktop 3
Technology Overview
November 2006
Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
Contents
Page 3 Introduction
Desktop Management Made Easy
What’s New in Apple Remote Desktop 3
Page 6 Setting Up Apple Remote Desktop 3
Getting Started
Setting Up Client Computers
Discovering and Organizing Computers
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Page 12 Software Distribution
Network Copy Performance
Installing Software
Page 16 Asset Management
Remote Spotlight Search
Usage Reports
Hardware Reports
Reporting Using Task Server
Software Reports
Page 22 Remote Administration
Remote Shell Scripts
Remote Boot Disk Selection
Page 25 Remote Assistance
Observe and Control
Multi-Observe with System Status Indicators
Screen Sharing and Text Messaging
Page 28 Automation
Page 29 Product Details
Page 30 Technical Specifications
Technology Overview
Managed
Unmanaged
$0 $1000 $2000 $3000 $4000 $5000 $6000
Hardware and software
Operations
Administration
End-user IT costs
Downtime
Apple Remote Desktop 3
Introduction
Desktop Management Made Easy
Every Mac computer is easy to use and simple to maintain—thanks to advanced
Mac OS X features like Software Update, powerful preferences, and built-in networking.
Now with Apple Remote Desktop 3, you can enjoy the same ease of use when you’re
managing more than one Mac. Whether you’re responsible for a small business with a
few computers, a midsize creative group, or an educational institution with a network
of thousands, Apple Remote Desktop 3 enables you to manage all these computers—
all from your own Mac.
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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,
2005–2006 Update,” 8 December 2005, Michael A. Silver,
Federica Troni, Gartner, Inc.
Apple Remote Desktop 3 is a suite of integrated desktop management tools that facilitate
a wide range of IT tasks. Using a single affordable product, you can distribute software,
control and configure computers, offer live online help and training, run detailed reports,
and implement security policies. Because Apple Remote Desktop allows you to work
remotely and efficiently, you can accomplish more in less time—without ever needing
to leave your desk and often without interrupting your users.
Software distribution. Apple Remote Desktop 3 makes it easy to install or copy software across a network of Mac computers, including remote systems. You can ensure
that all systems in your organization are running the most current version of Mac OS X
or running the same applications, fonts, and templates.
Asset management. Using the Spotlight technology in Mac OS X Tiger, Apple Remote
Desktop 3 can perform detailed searches on all your Mac OS X systems. You can quickly
generate comprehensive user histories and application usage reports, as well as hardware and software inventories about servers, desktop systems, and portable computers.
Remote administration. Apple Remote Desktop 3 gives you the tools to perform
administration tasks from the comfort of your own office. Configure systems, run
applications, empty the Trash, log out current users, set the startup disk, and lock
screens—from anywhere on the network.
Remote assistance. Apple Remote Desktop 3 enables you to observe or control any
number of remote Mac or Virtual Network Computing (VNC)–enabled computers. New
features for managing Mac computers include easy drag and drop of files, remote copy
and paste of text and images, and Curtain Mode for concealing sensitive information
from users. And thanks to innovative screen sharing, you can provide help and training
to users without leaving your desk.
Apple integrates these essential IT management capabilities in an accessible interface
designed for first-time users—making it easy to discover and manage computers on
your network and to perform multiple management commands in sequence. For anyone managing a group of Mac computers, Apple Remote Desktop 3 is an innovative
application that streamlines your workflow while reducing support costs, improving
system management, and increasing security.
Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
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What’s New in Apple Remote Desktop 3
Built to leverage the powerful capabilities in Mac OS X Tiger, the world’s most
advanced operating system, Apple Remote Desktop 3 offers more than 50 new
features for managing networked Mac OS X systems. These include:
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Remote Spotlight search. With the revolutionary Spotlight technology in Mac OS X
Tiger, 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 on different types of
metadata. Results can be viewed on remote client systems, copied back to the
administrator system, or deleted.
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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 you’ve defined in Apple Remote Desktop.
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Automator actions. Apple Remote Desktop 3 includes more than 30 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 computer—or from a
remote computer onto your own.
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Remote Copy and Paste. Copy and paste information between your local computer
and a remote computer.
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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.
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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.
Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
• Curtain Mode. When controlling a remote computer, administrators can now choose
to block the remote user’s view of the desktop with a virtual “curtain.”
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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.
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Application Usage report. Administrators can view details on which applications
have been used on remote systems, ensuring compliance with software licenses.
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Task Templates. Apple Remote Desktop 3 allows you to save task settings as templates
for later use. The Task Template menu comes populated with more than 30 sample
UNIX scripts. It’s also easy to add your own favorites to the list for convenient access.
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Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
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 network—whether you’re 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
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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
software—ensuring that only authorized
users can control a computer or perform
specified administrative tasks.
Apple Remote Desktop can perform
authentication and authorization against
your organization’s directory server. Or for
organizations that rely on the local computer
for authentication, Apple Remote Desktop
supports authentication against one or
more local accounts.
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 version 10.3 Panther and later, so it’s 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.
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 running
Mac OS X v10.3 or later. For screen control and file copy tasks, where encrypting large
amounts of data may significantly degrade performance, administrators can choose
encryption for improved security or leave encryption 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 in Apple Remote Desktop 3, ideal for updating 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.
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 technical
users who need to perform a limited set of desktop management tasks without
reliance on the administrator.
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Security Preference Pane
Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
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Security options for file copy and package installation.
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Specify whether network data should be encrypted when
copying files or installing packages.
Security options for controlling computers. Specify
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whether all network data should be encrypted during
a control session or just passwords and keystrokes.
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.
Toggle user mode. Allow non-administrator users full or
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partial access to the feature set of Apple Remote Desktop 3.
Specify features. Specify which Apple Remote Desktop
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features non-administrator users can access.
Main Apple Remote Desktop Window with Scanner Selected
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Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
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All Computers list. As you add computers to individual
computer lists, the All Computers list is updated.
Group. Use groups to organize your computer lists and tasks.
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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.
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Smart Computer Lists. Similar to Smart Playlists in iTunes,
this feature lets you dynamically create a computer list
that matches the rules and conditions you’ve 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.
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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.
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Task Server list. Find all the tasks that are currently
executing on the Task Server.
Active Tasks list. Find all queued and executing tasks.
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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.
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Configurable toolbar. Customize the toolbar with the
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commands that you use frequently. Change the appearance
of the toolbar and how the icons and text are displayed.
Filter. Enter text to filter the results displayed in the
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computer list details.
Network scanner types. Network scanners operate in
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one of four modes: local network; network address range;
network address or DNS computer name lookup; or importing
a list of computer names or network addresses from a file.
Scans work across all available network interfaces, such as
built-in Ethernet, AirPort, and IP over FireWire.
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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 1–4, Machine Model, CPU Information, Lights Out
Management (LOM) status, Installed RAM, and Startup Disk.
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Labels. To easily identify computers and organize them into
your own custom categories, you can label computers using
one of seven colors.
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Detailed view. View details on network devices: whether
the computer is already included in a computer list, if the
computer has the Apple Remote Desktop Client software
configured (and its version), or if the computer is VNC
enabled (and its network address).
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 from a virtual private network from
home. Because servers are often “headless”
and in remote locations, Setup Assistant
in Mac OS X Server includes a one-click
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 new Intel-based Xserve. You can
remotely power on/off and restart the
Xserve as well as obtain information on
how the LOM is configured.
Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
Discovering and Organizing Computers
Once you’ve enabled the client computers, you can discover them using the built-in
network scanners and organize them using computer lists. Computers located on
the same subnet as the administrator show up automatically. You can search for
computers outside your subnet—or if you know the address of a computer you wish
to add, you can specify that 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 four methods: Bonjour, 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 the iTunes Smart Playlist, 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.
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Apple Remote Desktop 3 also includes a Group feature that allows you to place tasks,
computer lists, or scanners in their own folder. And with the ability to label computers,
administrators can tag a computer with a particular color for quick and easy reference.
Task Progress with Software Installation
Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
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.
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Active Tasks list. View all current and queued tasks.
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Task progress. View the overall status of the task.
Stop button. Halt the execution of the task.
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Detailed view. View detailed information on the
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progress and status of the task.
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Summary information. View a dynamic summary of the
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task: its progress and how many computers succeeded or
failed in executing the task.
History list. Icons provide an at-a-glance overview of the
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success or failure of completed tasks.
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Task History Window
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Technology Overview
Apple Remote Desktop 3
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.
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History. View a list of each day that tasks were executed,
specifying how many days the list will display.
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Summary. View a list of tasks executed during that day.
Double-click a task to redo.
Task summary. View a summary of a specified executed task.
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Detailed task. View details on which computers executed
the task and the status of the task for each computer.
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