Author: aucadmin

Duncan McCracken, Mondada Pty LtdPart of XW15

In the last year, Mondada has created literally thousands of packages. Our packages are used with just about every deployment tool out there and as such we cater for their individual quirks.

This session is an insight into the lessons learned from our experience: what we encounter; what we consider; and how we address these things. We’ll cover the varying workflows encountered when creating installer packages, the tools best suited to each workflow, the things you need to consider when creating your packages and some tips and tricks on how to address each key point.

Duncan is the Technical Director of Mondada Pty Ltd, an organisation leading the way in creating installation packages for OS X deployment solutions.

With over 19 years working with Apple and associated products Duncan as a consultant and has worked with some of the leading integration companies at home in Australia and around the world. He is known for his willingness to adapt to new playing fields through embracing different technologies, and his knack for creating modular, re-usable solutions.

Duncan is an Apple Certified Trainer and has spoken at various Apple-centric conferences around the world, including MacSysAdmin and MacWorld.

  1.2 MB

Craig Richardson, Macquarie UniversityPart of XW15

This presentation will examine and demonstrate the tools and configuration we’re utilising for automating the deployment of Windows 8.1 to each of our 200 Mac computers.

Firstly it will explore why our centre needs to use Boot Camp to run Windows instead of deploying via popular virtualisation platforms such as VMWare Fusion or Parallels Desktop.

It will then examine how we’ve prepared the Windows out-of-box experience (OOBE) for Microsoft Sysprep. In particular it’ll pay attention to configuration unique for Windows setup on Mac hardware.

Lastly we’ll examine our use of a commercial tool (Winclone) to create Apple Software packages (.pkg files) that we use to deploy Windows remotely via tools such as Apple Remote Desktop.

This session is for anyone who needs to install Windows via Boot Camp onto a large number of Macintosh computers.

Craig is the Systems Analyst at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders at Macquarie University.

He is responsible for the management of the server and desktop infrastructure of the research centre compromising approximately 200 dual boot Macintosh desktops and laptops as well as our Xsan storage solution. He is also responsible for the centre’s website and research laboratories.

  9.1 MB

Peter Wells, UNSW AustraliaPart of XW15

Providing excellent Mac support is as much about knowing who your Mac customers are, and how they differ to the typical PC user, than it is knowing how to ssh into a server.

Excellent Mac support requires a little more flexibility, and a lot more talking to the customer, and each other. It’s about offering advice as much as support. About knowing what works, and what doesn’t, in the Mac space. Sometimes the best support is to honestly admit the Mac’s shortcomings, and working around that.

My discussion will focus on how UNSW Australia has changed its focus with Mac customers from a rigid, locked down SOE environment with networked accounts, to a more open MOE environment, with local accounts, admin rights for the users, etc. I’ll discuss how this has resulted in much happier Mac users, and how we’ve grown the MOE to more departments within the university.

I’ve been working with UNSW IT for the last 3 years, developing the SOE and working with our two main Mac areas – Faculty of Arts and the School of Art and Design – to design a SOE that gets out of the way of the user as much as possible, given a close to retail experience.

I’m an Apple Certified Technical Co-ordinator andTrainer (10.6, 10.7) with over 10 years experience building, supporting, and deploying desktop images to Apple computers in many environments. I complement my technical knowledge with excellent interpersonal skills thanks to many years of working in customer service roles.

From 2009-2011 I was contracting with Key Options Technology, providing on site and remote support to over 30 clients, from large Architecture firms, Television production companies, schools and smaller media agencies, via Remote Desktop and VPN. I was also sub-contracted to UNSW Australia and Screen Australia during this time, until I was offered the Sales and Training Co-ordinator role.

In that role, I became an Apple Certified Trainer in Support Essentials and Server Essentials, and working closely with our Business Development Manger to design proposals for new clients. Working directly with Apple Australia, I also wrote a course on iOS Deployment Strategies.

Personally, I’ve ran Australia’s largest Apple Community, mactalk.com.au for a number of years. I’ve been interviewed by the SMH and The ABC as an Apple consultant, and have spoken at conferences as diverse as Ad:Tech Sydney, SxSW, Swipe, OneMoreThing and the AUC’s /dev/world.

  12 MB

Jon Rhoades, St Vincent’s InstitutePart of XW15

Open source Mac Management tools have matured to the point where they are nearly on par with commercial/Apple offerings (and in a few case superior!). This talk showcases open source tools from deployment to installation to inventorying – with a close look at profile management.

Jon is an Senior IT Officer at St Vincent’s Institute. He currently manages the service lifecycle of a fleet of Macs – both deployment and ongoing support.

  6.9 MB

Paul Cowan, University of WaikatoPart of XW15

The iBeacon specification is Apple’s official Bluetooth 4.0LE implementation for providing location based services and notifications to apps and web services on iOS and OS X. There are some interesting potential classroom and teaching applications for this technology, most of which we’ve only just begun to explore. In this presentation Paul Cowan, the Innovation & Technology Team Manager from the University of Waikato, will explain the underlying architecture of iBeacons, and then take you through some interesting examples and experiments designed to explore how they might best be used.

Paul is an Educational Technology expert and IT Team Manager for the University of Waikato, working for the Faculty of Education where he supervises the technology team. His role in the Faculty obliges him to innovate with consumer and IT technologies with a view to discovering their applications in education and teaching. His current primary focus is in the fields of podcasting, eBooks, mobile devices and collaborative learning spaces.

  2.8 MB

Marcus Ransom, RMIT UniversityPart of XW15

Apple IDs pose many challenges to traditional ITS models in Enterprise and Education. This presentation will look at the different kinds of Apple IDs and how they are intended to be integrated into Apple’s deployment solutions and online systems such as VPP, DEP, GSX, Family Sharing and so on. These offerings from Apple have also changed the landscape for provisioning and managing devices away from the traditional “Golden Triangle” of binding to both Active and Open Directory. We will look at how the Apple ID fits into the new methodologies and some strategies that will help provide the best possible user experience.

Marcus has been integrating Apple devices into various enterprise environments for over a decade, from small design studios through to one to one iPad programs. In his current role as the Lead Apple Technician at RMIT University, he is responsible for the integration and support of the Apple fleet into the wider University. Understanding the changing Apple ecosystem and developing a community amongst Apple system administrators are two objectives that motivate him to improve the way Apple devices are supported and perceived in the wider IT environment.

  2.3 MB

Tony Williams, Computers NowPart of XW15

System administration often encompasses repetitive tasks that formerly we used to write a shell script for. With the development of modern scripting languages why settle for writing bash scripts?

This workshop will give you a grounding in Python, shows you the interactive IPython and the benefits of a modern language, including improved language flexibility, debugging and third party libraries. It will cover topics such as gathering system information, reading and writing plist preference files, searching an Active Directory server and gathering reports from a Casper JAMF Software Server.

Tony is currently an integration engineer at CompNow where he is responsible for the design, installation and support of a disparate range of systems, mostly Macs and iPads. With over thirty years in the industry he has had a myriad of roles including C programmer, Unix system administrator, IT Manager, support specialist and Associate Editor of Australian Macworld.