Apple Remote Desktop 3.1 User Manual

Apple Remote Desktop

Administrator’s Guide

Version 3.1

Apple Computer, Inc.

The owner or authorized user of a valid copy of Apple Remote Desktop software may reproduce this publication for the purpose of learning to use such software. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, such as selling copies of this publication or for providing paid for support services.

The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Use of the “keyboard” Apple logo (Option-Shift-K) for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of Apple may constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws.

Apple, the Apple logo, AirPort, AppleScript, AppleTalk, AppleWorks, FireWire, iBook, iMac, iSight, Keychain, Mac, Macintosh, Mac OS, PowerBook, QuickTime, and Xserve are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Apple Remote Desktop, Bonjour, eMac, Finder, iCal, and Safari are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.

UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd.

019-0835/11-13-06

Preface 9 About This Book

Using This Guide

Remote Desktop Help

Notation Conventions

Where to Find More Information About Apple Remote Desktop

Chapter 1 13 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Administering Computers

15 18

21 23 23 25 27

Deploying Software Taking Inventory Housekeeping

Supporting Users

Providing Help Desk Support Interacting with Students

Finding More Information

Chapter 2 28 Getting to Know Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop Human Interface Guide

31 32 33 34 35 36 36 36 37

Remote Desktop Main Window Task Dialogs Control and Observe Window Multiple-Client Observe Window Report Window Changing Report Layout

Configuring Remote Desktop

Customizing the Remote Desktop Toolbar Setting Preferences for the Remote Desktop Administrator Application

Interface Tips and Shortcuts

Chapter 3 39 Installing Apple Remote Desktop

System Requirements for Apple Remote Desktop

40 40

Network Requirements Installing the Remote Desktop Administrator Software Setting Up an Apple Remote Desktop Client Computer for the First Time

Upgrading the Remote Desktop Administrator Software

Upgrading the Client Software

42 43 43 44 46 46 46 47 48

Method #1—Remote Upgrade Installation

Method #2—Manual Installation

Upgrading Apple Remote Desktop Clients Using SSH Creating a Custom Client Installer Considerations for Managed Clients Removing or Disabling Apple Remote Desktop

Uninstalling the Administrator Software

Disabling the Client Software

Uninstalling the Client Software from Client Computers

Chapter 4 49 Organizing Client Computers Into Computer Lists

Finding and Adding Clients to Apple Remote Desktop Computer Lists

51 52 53 53

54 54

55 55 55 56 56 57 57

Finding Clients by Using Bonjour Finding Clients by Searching the Local Network Finding Clients by Searching a Network Range Finding Clients by Network Address Finding Clients by File Import Making a New Scanner

Making and Managing Lists

About Apple Remote Desktop Computer Lists Creating an Apple Remote Desktop Computer List Deleting Apple Remote Desktop Lists Creating a Smart Computer List Editing a Smart Computer List Creating a List of Computers of from Existing Computer Lists

Importing and Exporting Computer Lists

Transferring Computer Lists from Apple Remote Desktop 3 to a New Administrator Computer

Transferring Remote Desktop 2 Computer Lists to a New Remote Desktop 3 Administrator Computer

Transferring Old v1.2 Computer Lists to a New Administrator Computer

Chapter 5 60 Understanding and Controlling Access Privileges

Apple Remote Desktop Administrator Access

Setting Apple Remote Desktop Administrator Access Authorization and Privileges Using Local Accounts

Apple Remote Desktop Administrator Access Using Directory Services

66 66

Creating Administrator Access Groups

Enabling Directory Services Group Authorization Apple Remote Desktop Guest Access Apple Remote Desktop Nonadministrator Access

Contents

Virtual Network Computing Access

Command-Line SSH Access

Managing Client Administration Settings and Privileges

70 70

Getting an Administration Settings Report

Changing Client Administrator Privileges

Chapter 6 72 Setting Up the Network and Maintaining Security

Setting Up the Network

Using Apple Remote Desktop with Computers in an AirPort Wireless Network

Getting the Best Performance

Maintaining Security

76 76 77

Remote Desktop Authentication and Data Transport Encryption

Encrypting Observe and Control Network Data

Encrypting Network Data During Copy Items and Install Packages Tasks

Chapter 7 78 Interacting with Users

Controlling

81 81

81 82 82 82

83 83

85 86 86 88 89 89 89

91 92 92 93 93 93

Controlling Apple Remote Desktop Clients Control Window Options Switching the Control Window Between Full Size And Fit-To-Window Switching Between Control and Observe Modes Sharing Control with a User Hiding a User’s Screen While Controlling Capturing the Control Window to a File Switching Control Session Between Full Screen and In a Window Sharing Clipboards for Copy and Paste Controlling VNC Servers Setting up a Non–Mac OS X VNC Server VNC Control Options Configuring an Apple Remote Desktop Client to be Controlled by a VNC Viewer

Observing

Changing Observe Settings While Observing Changing Screen Titles While Observing Viewing a User’s Account Picture While Observing Viewing a Computer’s System Status While at the Observe Window Shortcuts in the Multiple Screen Observe Window Observing a Single Computer Observing Multiple Computers Observing a Computer in Dashboard

Sending Messages

Sending One-Way Messages Interactive Chat Viewing Attention Requests

Contents

Sharing Screens

95 95 95

96 96

Sharing a Screen with Client Computers Monitoring a Screen Sharing Tasks

Interacting with Your Apple Remote Desktop Administrator

Requesting Administrator Attention Canceling an Attention Request Changing Your Observed Client Icon

Chapter 8 97 Administering Client Computers

Keeping Track of Task Progress and History

98 99 99 99

10 0

Enabling a Task Notification Script Getting Active Task Status Using the Task Feedback Display Stopping a Currently Running Task Getting Completed Task History

10 0 Saving a Task for Later Use 101 Creating and Using Task Templates 10 2 Editing a Saved Task 10 2 Installing Software Using Apple Remote Desktop 10 2 Installing by Package and Metapackage 10 4 Installing Software on Offline Computers 10 5 Installing by Using the Copy Items Command 10 6 Using Installers from Other Companies 10 6 Upgrading Software 10 8 Copying Files 10 8 Copy Options

11 0 Copying from Administrator to Clients 11 0 Copying Using Drag and Drop

111 Restoring Items from a Master Copy 113 Creating Reports 113 Collecting Report Data 11 4 Using a Task Server for Report Data Collection 11 5 Report Database Recommendations and Bandwidth Usage 11 6 Auditing Client Usage Information 11 8 Finding Files, Folders, and Applications

12 0 Comparing Software

121 Auditing Hardware

12 6 Testing Network Responsiveness 12 7

Exporting Report Information

12 8 Using Report Windows to Work with Computers 12 9 Maintaining Systems 12 9 Deleting Items 13 0 Emptying the Trash

Contents

13 0 Setting the Startup Disk

131 Renaming Computers 131 Synchronizing Computer Time

13 2 Setting Computer Audio Volume 13 3 Repairing File Permissions 13 3 Adding Items to the Dock 13 4 Changing Energy Saver Preferences 13 5 Changing Sharing Preferences for Remote Login 13 5 Setting Printer Preferences 13 7 Managing Computers 13 7 Opening Files and Folders 13 8 Opening Applications 13 9 Quitting Applications Without Logging Out the User 13 9 Putting a Computer to Sleep 14 0 Waking Up a Computer 14 0 Locking a Computer Screen

141 Displaying a Custom Picture on a Locked Screen

141 Unlocking a Computer Screen 14 2 Disabling a Computer Screen 14 2 Logging In a User at the Login Window 14 3 Logging Out the Current User 14 4 Restarting a Computer 14 4 Shutting Down a Computer 14 5 Starting Up a Computer 14 6 UNIX Shell Commands 14 6 Send UNIX Command Templates 14 8 Executing a Single UNIX Command 14 8 Executing Scripts Using Send UNIX Command 15 0 Built-in Command-Line Tools

Chapter 9 156 Automating Tasks

15 6 Working with the Task Server 157 Preliminary Planning for Using the Task Server 157 Setting Up the Task Server 15 8 Setting Up an Admin Console to Query the Task Server 15 9 Setting Up Clients to Interface with the Task Server 15 9 Using Automatic Data Reporting 160 Setting the Client’s Data Reporting Policy

161 Creating a Template Data Reporting Policy

161 Working with Scheduled Tasks

161 Setting Scheduled Tasks 162 Editing Scheduled Tasks 162 Deleting Scheduled Tasks

Contents 7

162 Using Scripting and Automation Tools with Remote Desktop 163 Using AppleScript with Remote Desktop 166 Using Automator with Remote Desktop

Appendix A 167 Icon and Port Reference

167 Client Status Icons 167 Apple Remote Desktop Status Icons 168 List Menu Icons 168 Task Status Icons 169 System Status Icons (Basic) 169 System Status Icons (Detailed) 17 0 TCP and UDP Port Reference

Appendix B 171 Report Field Definitions Reference

171 System Overview Report

174 Storage Report 17 5 USB Devices Report 17 5 FireWire Devices Report 17 5 Memory Report 17 6 Expansion Cards Report 17 6 Network Interfaces Report 17 8 Network Test Report 17 8 Administration Settings Report 17 9 Application Usage Report 17 9 User History Report

Appendix C 180 AppleScript Remote Desktop Suite

18 0 Classes and Commands for the Remote Desktop Application.

Appendix D 187 PostgreSQL Schema Sample

Index 18 9

8 Contents

About This Book

What Is Apple Remote Desktop?

Apple Remote Desktop is easy-to-use, powerful, open standards-based, desktop management software for all your networked Macs. IT professionals can remotely control and configure systems, install software, offer interactive online help to end users, and assemble detailed software and hardware reports for an entire Mac network.

You can use Apple Remote Desktop to:

Â Manage client computers and maintain, update, and distribute software

Â Collect more than 200 system-information attributes for any Mac on your network

Â Store the results in an SQL database and view the information using any of several

hardware or software reports

Â Control and manage multiple computer systems simultaneously, making shutdown,

restart, and sending UNIX commands fast and easy

Â Provide help and remote assistance to users when they encounter problems

Â Interact with users by sending text messages, observing and controlling users’

screens, and sharing their screens with other client users

Preface

You can use Apple Remote Desktop to manage your client systems. IT administrators use Remote Desktop in education and business to simplify and empower the management of their organizations computer assets. For system administrators, Apple Remote Desktop can be used to administer large numbers of servers, like a virtual Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) sharing unit. In computer administration environments, it’s the ideal solution for managing remote systems, reducing administration costs, and increasing productivity.

Apple Remote Desktop can also be used by educators to facilitate instruction in computer labs or one-on-one learning initiatives. Used in a classroom, Apple Remote Desktop enhances the learning experience and allows teachers to monitor and control students’ computers.

Using This Guide

The Apple Remote Desktop Administrator’s Guide contains chapters to help you use Remote Desktop. It contains overviews and explanations about Apple Remote Desktop’s features and commands. It also explains how to install and configure Apple Remote Desktop on clients, how to administer client computers, and how to use Remote Desktop to interact with computer users.

This guide is provided on the Apple Remote Desktop installation disc and on the Apple Remote Desktop support website as a fully searchable, bookmarked PDF file. You can use Apple’s Preview application or Adobe (Acrobat) Reader to browse the contents of this guide as well as search for specific terms, features, or tasks.

Remote Desktop Help

Remote Desktop Help is available using Help Viewer. To open Remote Desktop Help, choose Help > Remote Desktop Help. The help files contain the same information found in this guide, and are useful when trying to accomplish a task when this guide is unavailable.

Additionally, the Remote Desktop Help contains new information, corrections, and latebreaking information about Apple Remote Desktop. The most up-to-date information is available through Remote Desktop Help before it’s available on the web as an updated PDF file.

Notation Conventions

This guide and Remote Desktop Help contain step-by-step procedures to help you use Remote Desktop’s commands effectively. In many tasks shown in this manual and in Remote Desktop Help, you need to choose menu commands, which look like this:

Choose Edit > Clear.

The first term after Choose is the name of a menu in the Remote Desktop menu bar. The next term (or terms) are the items you choose from that menu.

10 Preface About This Book

Terminal Command Conventions

Notation Indicates

monospaced font A command or other Terminal text

[text_in_brackets] An optional parameter

(one|other) Alternative parameters (type one or the other)

underlined A parameter you must replace with a value

[...] A parameter that may be repeated

A shell prompt

A displayed value that depends on your configuration or settings

Commands or command parameters that you might type, along with other text that normally appears in a Terminal window, are shown in this font. For example:

You can use the doit command to get things done.

When a command is shown on a line by itself as you might type it in a Terminal window, it follows a dollar sign that represents the shell prompt. For example:

$ doit

To use this command, type “doit” without the dollar sign at the command prompt in a Terminal window, then press the Return key.

Where to Find More Information About Apple Remote Desktop

For additional information related to Apple Remote Desktop, try these resources.

You’ll find more information in the Apple Remote Desktop Read Me file and on the Apple Remote Desktop website:

www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

You can find the most recent edition of the Apple Remote Desktop Administrator’s Guide at:

Â the Apple Server Division Documentation page

www.apple.com/server/documentation/

Â the Remote Desktop section of Apple.com, and

www.apple.com/remotedesktop/

Â the Help Menu in the Remote Desktop application

Preface About This Book 11

The Apple Remote Desktop Support website provides a database of technical articles about product issues, use, and implementation:

www.apple.com/support/remotedesktop/

To provide feedback about Apple Remote Desktop, visit the feedback page:

www.apple.com/feedback/remotedesktop.html

For details about how to join the Apple Remote Desktop Mailing list, visit:

lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/remote-desktop/

To share information and learn from others in online discussions, visit the Apple Remote Desktop Discussions Forum:

discussions.info.apple.com/appleremotedesktop/

For more information about PostgreSQL go to:

www.postgresql.org

For more information about using Apple products for IT professionals go to:

apple.com/itpro/

12 Preface About This Book

1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Apple Remote Desktop helps you keep Macintosh computers and the software running on them up to date and trouble free. And it lets you interact directly with Macintosh users to provide instructional and troubleshooting support.

This chapter describes the main aspects of Apple Remote Desktop’s administration and user interaction capabilities and tells you where to find complete instructions for using them.

Administering Computers

Apple Remote Desktop lets you perform a wide range of client hardware and software administrative activities remotely, from an administrator computer (a computer on which administrator software resides):

Â Keep users’ software up to date by using Apple Remote Desktop to deploy software

and related files to client computers.

Â Create reports that inventory the characteristics of client computer software and

hardware.

Â Use Apple Remote Desktop’s remote administration capabilities to perform

housekeeping tasks for client computers.

You can administer client computers individually, but most Apple Remote Desktop features can be used to manage multiple computers at the same time. For example, you may want to install or update the same applications on all the computers in a particular department. Or you may want to share your computer screen to demonstrate a task to a group of users, such as students in a training room.

Marketing department Engineering department

To manage multiple computers with a single action, you define Apple Remote Desktop computer lists. A computer list is a group of computers that you want to administer similarly. Computer lists let you group and organize computers for administration. Setting up computer lists is easy; you simply scan the network or import the identity of computers from files.

A particular computer can belong to more than one list, giving you a lot of flexibility for multicomputer management. A computer can be categorized by its type (laptop, desktop), its physical location (building 3, 4th floor), its use (marketing, engineering, computing), and so forth.

Once you’ve set up computer lists, you can perform most of the computer administration activities described next for groups of client computers.

14 Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Deploying Software

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

configuration files

Deploy

drag-and-drop

application folders

Deploy

install packages

(.pkg or .mpkg)

Deploy UNIX

shell scripts

Administrator

computer

Set startup

partition

Mac OS X Server

Network

install images

NetBoot

images

Xserve cluster node Marketing department Engineering department

Distributing Installer Packages

You can distribute and automatically install packages in .pkg and .mpkg formats. Apple Remote Desktop 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, Apple Remote Desktop erases the installer files. If the computers need to be restarted, as they do following an operating system update, you can restart them from Apple Remote Desktop.

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 15

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 installer 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 Apple Remote Desktop to deploy new versions of computational software to Xserve computers in a cluster node.

You can use the PackageMaker tool (included on the Apple Remote Desktop installation CD and with Apple’s developer tools) to create your own installer packages, such as when you want to:

Â Distribute school project materials or business forms and templates

Â Automate the installation of multiple installer packages

Â Deploy custom applications

Before performing remote installations, you can send an Apple Remote Desktop text message to notify users, perhaps letting them know that you’ll be using Apple Remote Desktop 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 that’s already installed and set up, or by using an installation disc or an image downloaded using Apple Software Update. If you choose to auto-install, you won’t have to interact with each computer. On the Apple Remote Desktop 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 Apple Remote Desktop text message to client users to notify them of a pending installation. For example, tell users you’ll 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 Apple Remote Desktop installed and configured. Otherwise, administering the computer using Apple Remote Desktop after starting up from NetBoot is impossible.

16 Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Client computers that boot from a NetBoot image get a fresh system environment every time they start up. For this reason, using NetBoot images is useful when a particular computer is shared by several users who require different work environments or refreshed work environments, or when you want to start a new experiment or use a different computing environment in a cluster node.

You can use Apple Remote Desktop to set the startup disks of client systems to point to the NetBoot image, and then restart the systems remotely using Apple Remote Desktop. Users can also choose a NetBoot image for startup by using the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences. With just a few clicks you can reconfigure all the computers in a lab or cluster without having to manually restart and configure each computer individually.

Distributing Preference Files

Managed computers often require a standard set of preferences for each instance of an application. Use Apple Remote Desktop to distribute preference files when you need to replace or update application preferences. For example, you can copy a standardized preference file to the currently logged in user’s Library/Preferences folder.

Using UNIX Shell Scripts

You can use Apple Remote Desktop to distribute and run UNIX shell scripts on client computers.

For example, a script can mount an AFP server volume, from which it downloads a disk image to client computers. The script might also download an installer package and then perform a command-line installation.

On an Xserve in a cluster node, you could also run a script that mounts an Xserve RAID disk designed for high throughput and then downloads large data sets for processing.

You can also use Apple Remote Desktop to distribute AppleScript files that automate PDF workflows, or job instructions for computational clusters.

Distributing Drag-and-Drop Applications

You can distribute and install self-contained (drag-and-drop) applications by copying them to one or more client computers. Use this approach, for example, to distribute application updates.

Verifying Installations

To check whether an installation has been completed successfully, use Apple Remote Desktop’s remote control capabilities.

For example, you can start an application remotely, or search for particular files. You can also use the File Search report to verify that all files for an application are installed correctly.

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 17

Taking Inventory

Apple Remote Desktop lets you capture data describing the attributes of client computers, then generate reports based on the data.

You specify how often you want to capture data, the data you want to capture, and the computers you want to profile. You can collect data just before generating a report if you need up-to-the-minute information. Or you can schedule data to be collected by Apple Remote Desktop at regular intervals and stored in its built-in SQL (Structured Query Language) database for use on an as-needed basis.

You can also specify where you want the database to reside—on the local administrator computer, or on a server where the Apple Remote Desktop administrator software is installed and always running, so data can be captured on an ongoing basis.

SQL tools

Administrator

computer

ARD SQL database

Mac OS X Server

ARD SQL database

Xserve cluster node Marketing department Engineering department

Using the collected data, Apple Remote Desktop generates reports tailored to your specifications.

18 Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

File Search Report

Use the File Search report to search client systems for specific files and folders and to audit installed applications.

This report can help you find out how many copies of a particular application are in use so you don’t violate license agreements.

Spotlight File Search

Use the Spotlight Search report to search Tiger client systems for specific files and folders. The information in the report is updated as files matching your search change on the client systems.

Software Version Report

Use the Software Version report to make sure that all users have the latest application versions appropriate for their systems.

Software Difference Report

Use the Software Difference report to detect application versions that are out of date, nonstandard, or unacceptable. You can also learn whether a user has installed an application that shouldn’t be installed.

System Overview Report

The System Overview report makes visible a wide variety of client computer characteristics. Using this report, you can review information about a client’s AirPort setup, computer and display characteristics, devices, network settings, system preferences, printer lists, and key software attributes.

There are numerous uses for this report, such as identifying problems or verifying system configurations before installing new software, or determining how many devices of a particular type (such as scanners) are in a particular lab.

Hardware Reports

Several reports provide details about particular hardware used by client computers— storage, FireWire devices, USB devices, network interfaces, memory, and expansion cards.

Use these reports to determine, for example, which computers need more memory, which computer has the fastest processor speed, and how much free space is left on a particular disk.

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 19

Administration Settings Report

Use the Administration Settings report to determine which Apple Remote Desktop administrator privileges are enabled or disabled for you in the Sharing pane of System Preferences on individual client computers.

User History Report

Use the User History report to show you who has logged in to a client, how they logged in, and for how long.

Application Usage Report

Use the Application Usage report to find out which applications have been running on your client computers and who ran those applications.

Network Test Report

A Network Test report helps you measure and troubleshoot the communication between your administrator computer and your client computers. The Network Interfaces report might also help troubleshooting network hardware issues.

Use this report to help identify reasons for network communication problems that could affect Apple Remote Desktop. For example, if you’re unable to copy items to particular client computers from the administrator computer, you may find you have a bad connection to the computers. Using this information can help you isolate the problem to a particular cable or hub.

Generating Your Own Reports

Because the Apple Remote Desktop database is in standard SQL format, you can also use your favorite SQL scripts to query, sort, and analyze the collected data. In addition, you can export data from the database into a file so you can import it for viewing in a different program, such as a spreadsheet application.

20 Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Housekeeping

Apple Remote Desktop provides several ways to remotely control client computers for housekeeping activities, which you can conduct using one or more Apple Remote Desktop windows.

Restart/

shutdown/sleep

Empty

Trash

Remote screen

control

Execute UNIX

shell script

Send text

notification

Administrator

computer

Mac OS X Server

Set startup

partition

NetBoot

images

Xserve cluster node Marketing department Engineering department

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 21

Managing Power State

Use Apple Remote Desktop to control the power state of client computers.

For example, you may need to have all computers turned off during maintenance of a power generation unit or during a holiday shutdown. You can send an Apple Remote Desktop text message reminding users to shut down their computers at a particular time. Any computers still running when you need to start maintenance can be detected and shut down remotely with Apple Remote Desktop.

Locking Computer Screens

You can lock the screens of client computers for specified durations when you don’t want the computers to be used. For example, you may need to perform network maintenance and want to make sure computers don’t use the network for a few hours.

You can display custom pictures or text messages on locked computer screens to let users know when the computers are available again.

Reclaiming Disk Space

Periodically empty the Trash on client computers to conserve disk space.

Automating Periodic Maintenance

Use AppleScript and UNIX shell scripts to automate periodic maintenance, such as checking permissions or deleting log files.

Controlling Screens

Use Apple Remote Desktop’s remote screen control to perform activities on the desktop of Xserve computers, or use graphical applications on them. Apple Remote Desktop replaces the need for KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) switches for accessing Xserve computers without a monitor attached.

You can also remotely control a user’s computer to help determine reasons for slow performance or other problems.

Changing Startup Disks

Change the startup disk of a client computer to perform diagnostic or troubleshooting activities.

For example, start up a computer using a server-based NetBoot image that’s been set up for troubleshooting. When you’re finished, reset the startup disk to the original boot volume.

Managing Shared Computers

On computers that are shared among users, check for files that need to be deleted, close applications, log users off, or perform other activities needed to prepare computers for the next users.

22 Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Supporting Users

Apple Remote Desktop lets you interact with users from your administrator computer in these ways:

Â Provide help: respond to users who need help by using Apple Remote Desktop to

receive user requests and to remotely diagnose and fix problems.

Â Interact: conduct instructional interactions with students in a school or corporate

training environment—from controlling or observing student screens to sharing your screen with all your students in order to perform a demonstration.

Providing Help Desk Support

When a user is having trouble, Apple Remote Desktop provides several ways to interact with the user and his or her computer to diagnose and fix the problem.

Administrator computer

Use

text chat

Copy

items

Control, observe, and

share screens

Marketing department Engineering department

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 23

Requesting Help

A user can discreetly notify you of a problem by sending a request for help using an Apple Remote Desktop text message.

Users initiate requests using the commands in the menu that appears when they click the Apple Remote Desktop icon in the menu bar. A notification on the administrator computer alerts you to the message, and you can use several techniques to obtain more information and troubleshoot the problem.

Chatting with the User

Conduct two-way Apple Remote Desktop text communication with the user to obtain more information.

Screen Monitoring

Use Apple Remote Desktop to observe the user’s screen if you need more details to understand the problem.

Screen Controlling

Use Apple Remote Desktop to control the user’s screen in order to diagnose and fix the problem. You may have unlimited control, or a user can grant you temporary guest access so you can control the computer only during troubleshooting.

There are two levels of control available. You can take complete control of the user’s computer, or you can share control of the keyboard and mouse with the user.

Screen Sharing

If the problem is caused by incorrect actions by the user, share your screen with the user as you demonstrate the correct way to perform the action.

Using Reports

Use hardware and software reports as diagnostic tools to determine whether the client computer setup is part of the problem. For example, if a user can’t save his or her work, the storage report can help you determine whether it’s a disk space issue.

Deploying New Software or Files

If software or configuration settings are part of the problem, use Apple Remote Desktop to copy new configuration files, installer packages, or other items to client computers.

24 Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Interacting with Students

Apple Remote Desktop helps instructors teach more efficiently by letting them interact with student computers individually or as a group.

Broadcast

text messages

Observe and share one or

multiple screens

Control

screen

Lock

screens

Log out

students

Distribute

items electronically

Administrator

computer

Open applications

help desk support

or files

One-to-one

Classroom

Using Text Messages

Send Apple Remote Desktop text messages to communicate with students. For example, notify them that a classroom activity will start soon or that they have ten minutes to finish an examination.

Monitoring Student Computers

View student computer screens on your computer, so you can monitor student activities or assess how well they’re able to perform a particular task. You can also monitor the applications running on any student’s computer.

Sharing Screens

Display your screen or a student’s screen on other student computers for training and demonstration purposes.

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 25

Controlling Screens

Show students how to perform tasks by controlling their screens from your computer, opening applications and using files as required.

Locking Screens

Lock student screens to prevent students from using their computer 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 won’t disrupt class activities or when they’re 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.

26 Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop

Finding More Information

You’ll find detailed instructions for performing the tasks highlighted in this chapter— and more—throughout this manual.

To learn more about See information for Starting on page

Remote Dekstop interface Window and icon functions page 28

Computer lists Creating computer lists page 49

Apple Remote Desktop administration

Controlling screens Controlling page 79

Observing screens Observing page 86

Deploying software Installing software

Distributing files Copying files page 108

Taking inventory Data collection options

Client use reporting User login accounting

Housekeeping tasks Deleting items

Automating tasks Configuring data gathering

Administrator privileges Administrator computers

Upgrading software

Auditing software Auditing hardware Network responsiveness Customizing reports Exporting report data

Application usage

Emptying the Trash Setting startup volumes Renaming computers Sleeping and waking Locking screens Logging users out Restart and shutdown

Scheduling tasks Using UNIX shell scripts

page 60

page 102

page 113

page 116

page 129

page 156

Additional information is available at several Apple websites: Â For information about NetBoot and Network Install, download the system imaging

administration guide at: www.apple.com/server/documentation/

Â You can find the Software Delivery Guide on the Apple Developer Connection

website at: developer.apple.com/referencelibrary/

Chapter 1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 27

2 Getting to Know Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop is the administrator application for Apple Remote Desktop. Its attractive interface is powerful, yet simple to use. Remote Desktop’s interface is customizable, allowing you to get the information you want quickly, the way you want it.

This chapter contains screenshots and short descriptions of Remote Desktop’s interface, as well as detailed instructions for customizing the appearance and preferences of the application. You will learn about:

Â “Remote Desktop Human Interface Guide” on page 28

Â “Configuring Remote Desktop” on page 36

Â “Interface Tips and Shortcuts” on page 37

Remote Desktop Human Interface Guide

The following sections give basic information about the human interface of Remote Desktop, Apple Remote Desktop’s administrator application.

Â “Remote Desktop Main Window” on page 29

Â “Task Dialogs” on page 31

Â “Control and Observe Window” on page 32

Â “Multiple-Client Observe Window” on page 33

Â “Report Window” on page 34

Â “Changing Report Layout” on page 35

Remote Desktop Main Window

The main window of Remote Desktop has a customizable toolbar, groups of lists, tasks, and scanners on the left, and the main window area to the right. “List Menu Icons” on page 168 contains icons seen in the list menu of the main window.

K L

A All Computers list: The All Computers list is a list of all client computers that you plan to

administer. It includes all the clients you have authenticated to, as well as the client computers that you plan to authenticate to. Computers need to be in the All Computers list before you can command or administer them. If you have a 10-client license, the All Computers list can contain only 10 computers.

B Apple Remote Desktop computer lists: A list of computers you create to group computers in

ways that are convenient for you. Any list is a subset of the client computers in the All Computers list. If you add a computer directly to a computer list, it is added automatically to the All Computers list as well.

C Smart computer lists: A smart computer list is a list of computers which is a subset of the client

computers in the All Computers list that meet a predetermined criteria. Smart Computer lists update themselves based on your criteria compared to the contents of the All Computers list.

D Group folders: Groups are tools to help you organize all your possible lists, tasks, and scanners.

Groups look like folders, and can be collapsed to hide the group contents.

E Saved tasks: Saved tasks are listed in the left portion of the main window. They have the icon of

the type of task and have a user-changeable name.

F Scanner: Scanners find clients to add to the All Computers list. You can make new scanners and

customize them for your needs. See “Making a New Scanner” on page 53.

Chapter 2 Getting to Know Remote Desktop 29

G Task server list: This lists tasks delegated to the Task Server, rather than run those run directly

from the application. When all the target computers have come online and participated in the task, the task is labeled as complete.

H Active tasks list: This list shows all tasks that are currently running or scheduled and

uncompleted.

I History list: The History list shows a list of most recently run tasks, as defined in the Remote

Desktop preferences. You can inspect each task by double-clicking it. Once a task is completed (whether successfully or not) it is moved to the History list.

J Task status icon: These icons represent the current state of a task. See “Task Status Icons” on

page 168.

K Client status icon: Icon representing the current state of a client computer. See “Client Status

Icons” on page 167.

L Customizable toolbar: The toolbar can be fully customized with icons of your most-used Apple

Remote Desktop features.

30 Chapter 2 Getting to Know Remote Desktop

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