Ports required for Apple Push Notification Service

We encountered a problem where Macs managed by Casper were unable to communicate with the JSS for Mobile Device Management (MDM).  The solution was to allow the following ports access to Apple's 17.0.0.0/8 range (complete owned by Apple):

• TCP port 5223 (used by devices to communicate to the APNs servers) 
• TCP port 2195 (used to send notifications to the APNs)
• TCP port 2196 (used by the APNs feedback service)
• TCP Port 443 (used as a fallback on Wi-fi only, when devices are unable to communicate to APNs on port 5223)

Here is a link to Apple's support page on the topic.

Device Signature Error when attempting to install packages through Casper

When attempting to install printers (and other packages) some Macs (10.9.x) would report an error "Device Signature Error-A valid device signature is required to perform the action."  The helpful folks at JAMF Nation provided the following fix:

In ARD push out the following commands:

launchctl stop com.apple.apsd
rm /Library/Keychains/apsd.keychain
launchctl start com.apple.apsd

After the commands have been applied, Recon the machine again.  You should now be able to install packages.

Casper package installs fail: Cannont mount distribtuion point

There is an issue deploying packages via Self Service and policies to bound Mac clients (with the user logged in) when the distribution point is on a Windows server and the deployment method is set to "force distribution point to use AFP/SMB".  Under these conditions, package installs can fail with an error of "Cannot mount distribution point."

The root cause of the problem is down to the fact that the bound Mac is attempting to mount the distribution point with the user's AD credentials and not the "casperinstall" account that has permission to the share.

The easiest work-around is to first enable IIS on the Windows server then on the JSS go to /Settings/Servers/Distribution Point/HTTP and put a tick in "HTTP Downloads are enabled for this Distribution Point".

In your policies make sure to remove the tick from "Force Distribution Points to use AFP/SMB instead of HTTP".

The advantage of HTTP package distribution is that it allows interrupted downloads to restart.  The disadvantage is that it is slower than AFP/SMB.

Anyone using a bound Apple server as a Distribution Point should also make sure that web services are turned on before attempting to use HTTP package installs.

Recon failed during the submit process. Could not recognize the JSS response

After upgrading to JSS 8.6 a site noticed that none of the Jamf binaries on the clients were being updated.

When we attempted to Recon the Macs again the process would fail with a message "Error enrolling computer.  Could not recognize the JSS response."

 
We would receive the same error no matter what method we used to get the computer into inventory: local Recon, Quick-Add Package, command line enrolment, etc.

From the screen-shot it would seem that the problem had to do with the client or server's certificate.  However, after renewing the JSS' certificate, double-checking that it was valid and that existing clients could communicate with the JSS we were at a loss to explain why Recon was failing.

The answer was both simple and completely crazy.  It seems that if there is a non-standard character in the "Display message to User:" field in Restricted Software it causes Recon to fail with the above mentioned error.

The text of the original message:  Este software no está permitido en la red corporativo

After changing "está"  to "esta" we were able to Recon computers normally.

How bizarre is that?

A big thanks to Derek at Jamf support for figuring out the problem.  We would have spent years hunting for a fix on our own.

Casper Admin Can Not Mount a Distribution Point

Problem:  When attempting to Launch Casper Admin the distribution point will fail to mount and an error is displayed saying "The master Distribution Point (server name) could not be mounted".  It then gives you some tips to resolve the issue.

Solutions:  Follow the tips and check that the correct permissions and passwords are set on the Distribution Point's file share.

One good way to check if the permissions are set correctly is to connect to the server share from another Mac using the "casperadmin" and "casperinstall" accounts.  If you can mount the Distribution Point then the permissions should be OK.

With the Distribution Point mounted launch Casper Admin.  If it opens without an error then your problems are very likely not related to permissions but rather a corrupt or missing symbolic link to the CasperShare folder.

In /Library/WebServer/Documents there is a folder called CasperShare that is a symbolic link to the "real" CasperShare.   If you suspect that the link is corrupt the easiest thing to do is simply delete the symbolic link and create a new one. 

Note: in Casper versions prior to 8.31 you could use the JSS Setup Utility to recreate the symbolic link.  Unfortunately since version 8.31 the JSS Setup Utility has been removed and you have to do the process manually.

To recreate a symbolic link to the CasperShare do the following:

• Open Terminal
• Type "cd/"
•  Type "sudo ln -s /Shared\ Items/CasperShare/ CasperShare" this will create a symbolic link to the CasperShare and put it in the root of the drive
•  Move the CasperShare symbolic link to /Library/WebServer/Documents and replace any existing CasperShare link
• If you do an "Apple-I" to get information on the Symbolic Link you will see that next to "Original" it has the path to the CasperShare

 

After you have recreated the symbolic link launch Casper Admin to test connection to the share.

Remember, you can not launch Casper Admin from the server that hosts the primary Distribution Point.

For a good overview of symbolic links see this article.

Where are JSS database backups located?

sudo /private/var/backups/jss/

How to build a Casper netboot set using Apple's System Image Utility

Information directly from the Jamf site:

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/article.html?id=64

The instructions tell you how to create a netboot set that will automatically launch the Casper Imaging Utility.  However if you want to use your netboot set in different environments then you should not auto-launch Casper Imaging.  Rather, just put the icon in the Dock and enter the JSS info when prompted.  It's one more step but worth it if you need to share your netboot set with other sites.

Tomcat problems on a JSS

It is important that Apple's Tomcat does not conflict with Jamf's on your JSS.  If both instances of Tomcat are trying to run at the same time you can experience an inability to access the JSS along with over all poor server performance.

To disable Apple's Tomcat follow these steps:

On your JSS, launch Server Admin
Click on "Web"
Click on the "Settings" icon
Click on the "General" tab
Remove the tick from "Enable Tomcat"