Apple Remote Desktop Administrator’s Guide Version 2.
Apple Computer, Inc. © 2005 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 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.
Preface 5 5 5 7 Contents About This Book What Is Apple Remote Desktop? Using This Guide Where to Find More Information About Apple Remote Desktop Chapter 1 9 9 18 23 Using Apple Remote Desktop Administering Computers Supporting Users Finding More Information Chapter 2 25 25 26 28 32 36 38 44 44 48 49 50 Setting Up System Requirements for Apple Remote Desktop Setting Up an Apple Remote Desktop Administrator Computer Setting Up Client Computers With Mac OS X 10.
Chapter 4 93 94 97 100 102 Interacting With Users Controlling Observing Sending Messages Sharing Screens Appendix A 105 105 106 106 107 114 Reference Computer Scanner Icons ARD Status Icons TCP and UDP Port Reference Report Field Definitions Reference PostgreSQL Schema Sample Contents
Preface About This Book What Is Apple Remote Desktop? Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) 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 live online help to end users, and assemble detailed software and hardware reports for an entire Mac network.
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. Notation Conventions m This guide and Remote Desktop Help contain step-by-step procedures to help you use ARD’s commands effectively.
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 ARD Read Me file and on the Apple Remote Desktop website: http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop • You can find the most recent edition of the Administrator’s Guide at: http://www.apple.
1 Using Apple Remote Desktop 1 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 ARD’s administration and user interaction capabilities and tells you where to find complete instructions for using them.
You can administer client computers individually, but most ARD 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 ARD computer lists.
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 Mac OS X Server Deploy drag-and-drop application folders Deploy install packages (.pkg or .
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.
Client computers that boot from a NetBoot image get fresh system environments 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.
Taking Inventory ARD 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 ARD at regular intervals and stored in its built-in SQL (Structured Query Language) database for use on an as-needed basis.
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. Software Version Report Use the Software Version report to make sure that all users have the latest application versions appropriate for their systems.
Use this report to help identify reasons for network communication problems that could affect ARD. 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.
Housekeeping ARD provides several ways to remotely control client computers for housekeeping activities, which you can conduct using one or more ARD windows. Administrator computer Restart/ shutdown/sleep Mac OS X Server Empty Trash Remote screen control Set startup partition Execute UNIX shell script NetBoot images Send text notification Xserve cluster node Marketing department Engineering department Managing Power Settings Use ARD to manage the power settings of client computers.
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 that computers don’t use the network for a few hours. You can display a custom picture and/or text messages on screens while they’re locked to let users know when they’re available again. Reclaiming Disk Space Periodically empty the Trash on client computers to conserve disk space.
Providing Help Desk Support When a user is having trouble, ARD 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 Requesting Help A user can discreetly notify you of the problem by sending a request for help using an ARD text message.
Screen Controlling Use ARD to control the user’s screen in order to diagnose and hopefully fix the problem. You may have unlimited control, or a user can grant you temporary guest access so you can control his or her computer only during troubleshooting. There are several 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.
Interacting With Students ARD helps instructors teach more efficiently by letting them interact with student computers individually or as a group. Administrator computer Broadcast text messages Observe and share one or multiple screens Control screen Lock screens Log out students Distribute items electronically Open applications or files One-to-one help desk support Classroom Using Text Messages Send ARD text messages to communicate with students.
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 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.
Finding More Information You’ll find detailed instructions for performing the tasks highlighted in this chapter— and more—throughout this manual.
2 Setting Up 2 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.
Network Requirements • Ethernet (recommended), AirPort, FireWire, or other network connection See “Setting Up the Network” on page 48 for more information. Setting Up an Apple Remote Desktop Administrator Computer If you already have Apple Remote Desktop version 1.2 and existing ARD computer lists on a different computer from the one on which you’ll install ARD 2, you first need to transfer the existing ARD computer lists to the new computer.
11 Copy the newly created keychain from the source computer (~/Library/Keychains/ ) to the same location on the target computer. You can copy the keychain over a network, or use a removable storage drive. 12 On the target computer, open Keychain Access in the Finder. 13 Choose File > Add Keychain. 14 Select the keychain that was copied from the source computer, and click Open. 15 If necessary, click Show Keychains to show the keychains.
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.
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.
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 @: For other scp options, see its man page.
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.
To uninstall client software from Jaguar: 1 Open Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities). 2 With root privileges (sudo or su -l root), type the following commands: $ rm -rf /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu\ Extras/RemoteDesktop.menu $ rm -rf /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ $ rm -rf /System/Library/PreferencePanes/ARDPref.prefPane $ rm -rf /System/Library/StartupItems/RemoteDesktopAgent/ $ rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ARDAgent.plist $ rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteManagement.
To manually update the client software: 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.
Upgrading Existing Client Software on Mac OS X 10.3 Using ssh You may not be able to use Apple Remote Desktop’s administration software to upgrade existing Panther clients to ARD 2. 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.
To set administration privileges on each computer: 1 On the client computer, open System Preferences and click Sharing. 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 the checkbox of each user account that you want enabled for ARD administration.
Creating a Custom Client Installer To install the Apple Remote Desktop client software on computers, you use the ARD administrator application, Remote Desktop, to create a custom client installer. The custom client installer not only installs the ARD system software, but can create users on the client computer with their ARD privileges already assigned. You’ll use an assistant to create a custom client installer.
11 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 14. 12 Click Add to designate a user to receive ARD access privileges. 13 Provide the user’s short name and set 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 you’re ready to go on.
Understanding Access Types There are several different ways to access Apple Remote Desktop clients. Some depend on ARD settings, and others depend on other client settings, or third-party administration tools. The following sections explain the various access types, their configuration, and their uses. ARD Administrator Access Access privileges allow an Apple Remote Desktop administrator to add computers to a list and then interact with them.
Select To allow administrators to Copy items 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. Control 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.
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.
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.
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.
Virtual Network Computing (VNC) Access You can use Apple Remote Desktop to access a VNC server and view and interact with the server’s screen. VNC access is determined by the VNC server software. To access a VNC server, it is only necessary to know the IP address or fully qualified domain name and the password designated in the VNC server software. This password does not necessarily correspond with any other password on the system, and is determined by the VNC configuration.
OpenWBEM Access ARD clients can respond to WBEM (Web-Based Enterprise Management) tools that request data from client computers. WBEM is an emerging network protocol standard for desktop computer management. WBEM relies on HTTP and XML to offer a webbased approach for exchanging CIM (Common Information Model) data. For further information about WBEM, see http://www.dmtf.org. ARD uses OpenWBEM as a basis for its WBEM implementation. To allow WBEM access: 1 Select a computer list.
Understanding the Remote Desktop Interface Remote Desktop Main Window The main window of Remote Desktop has a toolbar, a group of lists on the left, and the task history area at the bottom. Master List ARD computer lists Scanner Saved tasks Task history area Master List The Master 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.
Saved Tasks List This is a special list maintained by ARD. It shows any tasks you have saved or have scheduled to be performed later. Task History Area The task history area shows a list of recent tasks. You can inspect each task by doubleclicking it. Task Dialogs When you double-click a task, a dialog appears to let you set task parameters or confirm the task.
Customizing the Remote Desktop Toolbar The Remote Desktop application has a fully customizable toolbar, which provides a quick way to perform tasks. To perform a task, just click the appropriate icon in the toolbar. To show or hide the toolbar, click the toolbar button in the upper-right corner of the application window. You can add, remove, or rearrange the task icons in the toolbar to suit your needs. To customize the application toolbar: 1 Choose Window > Customize Toolbar.
• What warnings may appear when quitting the application • A new master password • A new serial number 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 scree
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.
• Consider using switches instead of hubs. • If you are going through routers, ensure that you have a high Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) setting (typically 1200 or higher), and make sure that you don't have the router fragmenting packets. Maintaining Security Remote Desktop can be a powerful tool for teaching, demonstrating, and performing maintenance tasks.
Physical Access Security • If you have stored the Remote Desktop password in your keychain, make sure the keychain is secured, and the application isn’t running while you are away from the Remote Desktop window. • If you want to leave the Remote Desktop application open, but need to be away from the computer, use a password-protected screen saver and select a hot corner so you can instantly activate the screen saver.
To enable User Mode: 1 Make sure you are logged in as an administrator user. 2 Open Remote Desktop. 3 Choose Remote Desktop > Preferences. 4 Click the Restricted Access button. 5 Enable or disable features, as desired. 6 Close the Preference’s window. Authentication and Data Transport Encryption Authentication to Apple Remote Desktop clients uses an authentication method which is based on a Diffie-Hellman Key agreement protocol that creates a shared 128-bit key.
3 Administering Computers 3 Apple Remote Desktop allows you powerful administrative control. You can manually or automatically get detailed information about every computer, install software, and maintain systems from a single administrator computer. This chapter describes the main aspects of ARD’s administration capabilities and gives complete instructions for using them.
Finding and Adding Clients to ARD Computer Lists Before you can audit, control, or maintain any client, you need to add it to an Apple Remote Desktop computer list. To find computers that aren’t on the local subnet, your local network’s routers and firewalls must be properly configured to pass TCP and UDP packets on ports 3283 and 5900.
5 Authenticate by providing a login name and password for an ARD administrator. The computer is now in your Master List. Finding Clients by Searching a Network Range To locate computers by network range, you provide a beginning and ending IP address to scan, and Apple Remote Desktop queries each IP address between them in sequence, asking if the computer is a client computer. This method is best when searching for clients outside the local subnet, but on the local area network.
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.
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.
Using the Task History Area The task history area is in the bottom half of the Remote Desktop window (see “Task History Area” on page 46). Every time you execute a task (generating a report, copying a file, restarting a computer), the task name, result, and time you execute it is listed in the task history area. You can resize the task history area, or even close it off entirely. You can select a task in the task history area to see information about it.
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.
Installing by Using the Copy Items Command Many applications can be installed simply by copying the application or its folder to the client computer. Consult the application’s documentation to verify that you can simply copy the application to the hard disk to install it. To install software by copying: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Manage > Copy Items. 4 Add software to the copy list. For more information, see “Copying Files” on page 63.
9 Choose Interact > Control. 10 Control the screen of the selected computer and complete the installation process interactively. Using ARD With Mac OS X Server’s NetBoot and Network Install You can’t install Mac OS X on a client using only Apple Remote Desktop. However, when used in conjunction with Mac OS X Server’s NetBoot and Network Install features, ARD can provide valuable, time-saving assistance.
5 Use ARD to set the startup disk of your client computers to the Network Install image. 6 Once the clients have started up from the local hard disk again, use ARD to configure and customize the client computers as desired. Upgrading Software Upgrading software is similar to installing software. However, the method of upgrading software depends on the original method of installation. As a general rule, upgrades should not be done while users have their applications open.
Copying Files Apple Remote Desktop makes it easy to update items (other than the system software) on one or more client computers. Copying files works fastest with a smaller number of files. For example, ten files that are 10 KB each will generally take longer than one file that is 100 KB. Consider copying a single file archive (like a .zip or .sit file) to remote computers for faster copying. Remember that Mac OS X applications are bundles of many smaller files.
To copy items to clients: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Manage > Copy Items. 4 Add software to the copy list. Click the Add button to browse local hard disks for items to copy, or drag software to the window. If you want to remove an item from the copy list, select the item then click Remove. Repeat this step, until all the software you want to copy is in the list. 5 Select a copy destination.
3 Switch to the Finder. 4 Locate the item you want to copy in the Finder. 5 Drag the item you want to copy from the Finder to the selected clients in the Remote Desktop window. 6 If you want the copied items to open after being copied, select Open After Copying. If you select this option, files will open in the application that created them. 7 Choose what to do if an item exists. 8 Click Copy. Restoring Items From a Master Copy Your client computers can restore non-system software from a master copy.
9 If you want to schedule this event for another time, or set it to repeat, click the Schedule button. See “Scheduled Tasks” on page 86 for more information about scheduling events. 10 Click Copy. 11 If a message asks if you want to replace some items, click Replace. Creating Reports Apple Remote Desktop allows you to query client computers for many kinds of information, from installed software to network speed and reliability. Creating reports gives you valuable information about the client computers.
With a saved data search, the application queries ARD’s internal database of collected system information (such as hardware information and system settings), file information (including installed applications and versions, and software names), or both. You determine how often the data is collected, and what type of data is stored. See “Setting the Data Reporting Policy” on page 84.
The search parameters for Apple Remote Desktop are slightly different from those used by the Finder’s Find command. For example, ARD does not search by visibility or label.The report display can be customized as well. See “Changing Report Layout” on page 75 for more information. To search for software items: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Report > File Search. 4 Choose the desired search parameter from the pop-up menu and enter a search term.
5 To search using new data, select Collect New Data For Report; to search using saved data only, deselect Collect New Data For Report. If you want to search using new data only if the saved data is too old, select If Current Data Older Than, and enter the desired amount of time. 6 Click Generate Report. The newly generated report window appears.
Auditing Hardware You can get a report about the hardware of any client computer. Hardware information can be accessed using a number of different reports. Although some basic hardware information can be found in the System Overview report, several more focused hardware reports provide more detailed information. Storage The Storage report collects information about the client computer’s internal hard disks.
To generate a FireWire Devices report: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Report > FireWire Devices. 4 Select the FireWire information desired. 5 To search using new data, select Collect New Data For Report; to search using saved data only, deselect Collect New Data For Report. If you want to search using new data only if the saved data is too old, select If Current Data Older Than, and enter the desired amount of time. 6 Click Get Report.
Network Interfaces The Network Interfaces report gets information for all network interfaces, including inactive interfaces. It also gets detailed network, output, and Ethernet statistics from client computers. The Network Interfaces report can be used to find network errors, or faulty network equipment, troubleshoot network performance, and query the network settings of the client computers.
Basic information about system memory can also be found in the System Overview report, in the Computer options. To generate a Memory report: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Report > Memory. 4 Select the module information desired. 5 To search using new data, select Collect New Data For Report; to search using saved data only, deselect Collect New Data For Report.
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.
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.
Report column If checked, will show... Group The item’s group’s name Permissions The item’s UNIX permissions (for example, -rw-r--r--) Locked 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.
Using Report Windows to Work With Computers After you’ve 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. • Create new computer lists. Select computers in the report window and click the New List button. • Generate other reports.
6 Click Delete in the report window. Alternatively, drag the items to the Trash on your desktop. 7 Click OK. Emptying the Trash Apple Remote Desktop allows you to empty the Trash on clients to free up disk space. To find out how much free disk space is on a computer, create a System Overview or Storage report using the Report menu. If a report shows files that shouldn't be on the computer, you can delete those files directly from the report window. See “Deleting Items” on page 77.
The list that appears shows the client’s local hard disk, a custom NetBoot server item, and a listing of all available NetBoot and Network Install servers available on the local network subnet. 4 Choose the client’s local hard disk or a NetBoot server volume. 5 If you want to choose a custom NetBoot server volume, enter the server IP address or fully qualified domain name, and the NetBoot volume name. 6 If desired, select Restart When Done.
Opening Files and Folders Apple Remote Desktop can open existing items (files, folders, and applications) on client computers. The item to open must be on the administrator computer, in addition to being on the client computers, and must have the same name, type, size, permissions, and file creation date as the item on the administrator computer.
4 Select the application or click Browse to find the desired application on the administrator computer. Alternatively, drag the item from the administrator computer’s Finder to the Open Application dialog. The Open Application dialog shows the icon and name of the application to open. 5 Click Open. Putting a Computer to Sleep Apple Remote Desktop can put client computers to sleep.
Locking a Computer Screen Apple Remote Desktop can lock a computer screen. When you lock a computer screen, no one can see the desktop or use the mouse and keyboard on that computer. By default, ARD displays a picture of a padlock on locked screens, but you can display a custom picture. You can continue to work with computers using Remote Desktop after you’ve locked their screens. However, the screen becomes unlocked if you use the Observe, Control, or Share commands.
3 Choose Interact > Unlock Screen. 4 Click Unlock Screen. Logging Out the Current User Apple Remote Desktop can log out the current user on a client computer. Other users, besides the current active user, who are logged in using Fast User Switching are not logged out using this command. Using this command returns the client computer to the login window. To log out a user: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Manage > Logout Current User.
Shutting Down a Computer Apple Remote Desktop can shut down a client computer. This has the same result as choosing the Shut Down command from the client computer’s Apple menu. Note: If you shut down an ARD client, you cannot start it up using ARD. This command is especially useful when used with Energy Saver preferences. You can set your client computers to start up every morning at a designated time, and use ARD to shut them down at night. The next morning, they will start up and be ready to administer.
The collection policy includes two kinds of information: system information and file system information.
Setting the Report Data Collection Location To speed up reporting, Apple Remote Desktop uses a database of client system and file information. You can automate the collection of this data for reports, and determine where the database will reside. By default, the database is stored on the administrator’s own computer. Use these instructions to change the data collection location.
When you schedule an automated task, information about the scheduled task is saved on the administrator computer. At the appointed time, the client software on that computer activates and initiates the task. Remote Desktop must be open to perform a scheduled task. Button Definition Any task with a Schedule button active can be scheduled. For tasks that have already been scheduled and have pending events, the Schedule button is slightly different.
Editing Scheduled Tasks Once saved, a task can be changed, and all future executions of the task will reflect changes. You may want to edit which computers are affected by the task, or any other task parameter. To edit a task schedule: 1 Select the Saved Tasks list. 2 Double-click a scheduled task in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Click the Schedule Task button. 4 Edit the task, or task schedule, as needed. 5 Click OK. Deleting Scheduled Tasks Unneeded tasks can be deleted.
networksetup The command-line tool networksetup is used to configure a client’s 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 tool’s help prompt, by entering the following as one line in Terminal: /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.
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.
To execute an AppleScript using the Send UNIX Command: This method uses the osascript command. For detailed information on osascript, see the osascript man page. 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Use the Copy Items command to copy your script to the client computers. 4 After copying the script, choose Manage > Send UNIX Command.
4 Interacting With Users 4 Apple Remote Desktop is a powerful tool for interacting with computer users across a network. You can interact by controlling or observing remote screens, text messaging with remote users, or sharing your screen with others. This chapter describes the main aspects of ARD’s user interaction capabilities and gives complete instructions for using them.
Controlling Apple Remote Desktop allows you to control remote computers as if you were sitting in front of them. You can only control the keyboard and mouse of any one computer at a time. There are two kinds of remote computers that ARD can control: ARD clients and Virtual Network Computing (VNC) servers. Fit to Window Share Control Screen Shot Control Window Options When controlling a client, you can see the client window at full size, or scaled to fit the control window.
Controlling ARD Clients Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) client computers can be controlled by any administrator computer that has the “Control” permission set. See “ARD Administrator Access” on page 38 for more information about ARD permissions. While controlling an ARD client computer, some keyboard shortcut commands are not sent to the remote computer, but affect the administrator computer.
Controlling VNC Servers Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is remote control software. It allows a user at one computer (using a “viewer”) to view the desktop and control the keyboard and mouse of another computer (using a VNC “server”) connected via the network. For the purposes of these instructions, VNC-enabled computers are referred to as “VNC clients.” VNC servers and viewers are available for a variety of computing platforms.
To configure a client to accept VNC connections: 1 On the client computer, open System Preferences. 2 Open Remote Desktop preferences. On a Mac OS X 10.2 client, click Remote Desktop On a Mac OS X 10.3 client, click Sharing, select Apple Remote Desktop, then click Access Privileges. 3 Select “VNC viewers may control screen with the password.” 4 Enter a VNC password. 5 Click OK. Warning: Do not use the same password as any user or ARD administrator. The password may not be secure.
ARD allows you to observe multiple clients on the same screen, rotating through the list of observed computers. This allows you to monitor many screens without having to select each one individually. Fit to Window Forward and Back buttons When observing a single client, you can see the client window at full size, or scaled to fit the observe window. To switch between actual size and fitting to the window, click the Fit to Window button, just as you would in a control window.
• Adjust the screen color depth from black and white to millions of colors. Shortcuts in the Multiple Screen Observe Window You can access several Apple Remote Desktop commands using icons in the observe window. You can access the Copy Items command and the Text Chat command using the buttons in the observe window toolbar. You can also perform ARD tasks on any computer by selecting its screen and choosing a task from the Remote Desktop menus.
The screens will rotate through the entire list of selected computers, a few at a time, switching every 30 seconds. The following keystrokes allow you to alter that cycle: Keystroke Result Right Arrow Show the next group of screens now Left Arrow Show the previous group of screens now Space bar Stop and start rotating through screens To observe multiple computers: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Interact > Observe.
To begin an interactive chat: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Interact > Chat. 4 Enter your message, one line at a time. 5 Press the Return key after each line to send the message. Requesting Administrator Attention At times, ARD client computer users need to get the attention of the ARD administrator. If an ARD administrator is currently monitoring the client computer, the client user can send an attention request.
Viewing Attention Requests After a client user sends an attention request, the ARD administrator can read the attention request text. To view attention requests: 1 Choose Window > Messages From Users. 2 Double-click the listed request to view the request’s message. Sharing Screens Apple Remote Desktop allows you to show your screen (or the screen of a client computer in your list) to any or all ARD client computers in the same computer list.
Sharing a Screen With Multiple Clients You can share a client’s screen, or the administrator’s screen, with any number of clients. The client screens all display what is on the sending screen, but cannot control it in any way. To share a computer’s screen with multiple clients: 1 Select a computer list. 2 Select one or more computers in the Remote Desktop window. 3 Choose Interact > Share Screen. 4 Select the screen to be shared.
A Reference Appendix A Computer Scanner Icons The following icons appear next to the names of computers in a scanner search results list. The icons show the status of each computer.
ARD Status Icons The ARD status icon appears in the menu bar of each ARD client. The status icon has several states, depending on the status of the client computer. Icon What it means Not Active ARD has been installed but is not currently running on the client computer. Ready ARD is installed and running on the client. Administered ARD is installed and running on the client computer, and the administrator is currently performing an ARD task on the client.
Report Field Definitions Reference The following sections describe the available fields in each of the ARD reports. For information on generating reports, see “Creating Reports” on page 66.
List Category Field Name Notes or Example VM Size Total RAM Slots Devices ATA Device Count Firewire Device Count Keyboard Connected Mouse Connected Optical Drive Type SCSI Device Count USB Device Count Display 2nd Monitor Depth bits 2nd Monitor Type 2nd Monitor Size pixels vertical 2nd Monitor Size pixels horizontal Monitor Depth bits Monitor Flags Modem Monitor Size pixels vertical Monitor Size pixels horizontal Modem Country Modem Driver Info Modem Firmware Version Modem Installed Yes
List Category Printing Field Name Notes or Example Sleep Hard Disk Yes/No Sleep Computer Yes/No Wake for Ethernet Access Yes/No Printer Name Printer Sharing Yes/No Printer Type Printer Version Remote Desktop Computer Info #1 Computer Info #2 Computer Info #3 Computer Info #4 Sharing Software Computer Name Sharing name FTP Access Yes/No Remote AppleEvents Yes/No Remote Login Yes/No UNIX Hostname foo.example.
List Category Name Notes or Example Volume Options Creation date UNIX GMT format Disk Name Macintosh HD File Count Folder Count Free Space in KB, MB, or GB Startup Disk Total Disk Space File System Options UNIX Mount Point /dev/disk0s10 Disk Format HFS, HFS+, UFS Case Sensitive Yes/No Preserves Case Yes/No Write Access Modification date UNIX GMT format Permissions Owner Permission Modes Backup Options Permissions Yes/No Journaling Capable Yes/No Journaled Yes/No Last Backup dat
Name Notes or Example ROM Revision Displays only Card Revision Card Memory Displays only FireWire Devices Report Name Notes or Example Device Speed 200, 400, 800 Software Version Manufacturer Model Firmware Revision USB Devices Report Name Notes or Example Product Name Product ID Vendor ID Vendor Name Device Speed 1.
List Category Name Notes or Example 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 Frame Check S
List Category Name Notes or Example Ethernet Receiver Watchdog Timeouts Ethernet Receiver Frame 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 Jabbers Ethernet Transmitter PHY Errors Physical Errors Ethernet Transmitter Timeouts Ethernet Transmitter Interrupts Ethernet Transmitter Resets Ethernet Transmitter Res
PostgreSQL Schema Sample Sample list of main database schema /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/rmdb.bundle/bin/psql -U ard -c "\\d propertynamemap" ard Table "public.propertynamemap" Column | Type | Modifiers ---------------+------------------------+----------objectname | character varying(128) | not null propertyname | character varying(128) | not null propertymapid | integer | Sample list of system information table /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/rmdb.
Sample list of table from one computer /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/rmdb.
