Introducing the Casper Suite Resource Kit

In this month's edition of JAMF Nation, we are proud to introduce the Casper Suite Resource Kit. Our team of Product Specialists have been hard at work putting together this collection of useful tools and scripts that extend much of the functionality provided in the Casper Suite. Check out this invaluable collection of resources!

What's in the Casper Suite Resource Kit?

• Directory Services
• Scripts to Bind and Un-Bind from Open and Active Directory
• Configure directory-based group administration so groups that can administer PC's will have the same level of access on the Mac
• Change LDAP connection timeout so you're not left hanging while logging in outside the network

• Hardware Management
• Disable a wide variety of hardware devices including USB, Firewire, Bluetooth - even the iSight camera
• Turn off the Airport when it's not needed - ensuring that your users are always connected with the fast and secure ethernet connections

• Imaging
  Extend the automation provided by the Casper Suite by using these scripts and applications:
• Boot Camp Imaging Scripts allow you to image both Windows and Mac partitions using the same process that we've all become familiar with
• Casper Multicast Framework - Imaging multiple machines simultaneously
• Casper NetInstall Creator will create a NetInstall image so you can take advantage of a higher level of automation provided by Casper and the NetBoot service that can be run on any Mac OS X Server

• Inventory & Reporting
• JSS Report Downloader allows you to schedule report downloads so that you can automatically receive reports on a timely basis
• Additional Custom Reports include new ways to view a machine's airport MAC Address as well as a new way to view available software updates

• Remote Management
• Add a new policy trigger of "System Change" so that a machine will contact the JSS for policies on events such as changing networks, waking from sleep, etc.
• The display message script allows administrators to have more interaction with end users during policy execution

• Security & Antivirus
• Enable FileVault - The included script will guide your users through the process of enabling FileVault on their machines to ensure that their data is kept secure
• Enable Firewall - ensuring that the firewall is turned on for all clients connected to the network

• System Preferences
  Provide a higher level of automation in your imaging process by scripting changes to System Preferences:
• Configure network settings such as proxy servers, DNS servers, and search domains
• Enable or Disable personal file sharing so users can either start or stop sharing their files with others on the network
• Change login window options
• Manage screensaver and power management settings so you can give something back to Mother Earth

• User Management
• Disable features such as iTunes music sharing and dashboard widgets
• Use the Entourage setup script along with Casper's policy framework to ensure that a user's email account is configured automatically and reliably the first time they login

What support options are available for the Casper Suite Resource Kit?

• Documentation
• All of the scripts and tools include notes or documentation on the usage of the tool.
• This documentation can also be found in the JAMF Software Knowledge Base.

• Resource Kit Mailing list
• The Resource Kit Mailing list is an easy way to communicate with other users of the Resource Kit within the Casper community about any questions you may have in implementing the tools provided in the resource kit.

Please note that Resource Kit support requests managed by an SLA that is separate from the Casper Suite and is available for your viewing at:
http://www.jamfsoftware.com/jamf_nation/resourcekit_sla.php

One of the tools included in the Resource Kit is the JSS Report Downloader. The JSS Report Downloader can be used to configure automatic scheduled downloads of any saved search that you have created in your JSS, thus providing you with snapshots of your ever-changing environment. The JSS Report Downloader can be found within the Resource Kit disk image at Inventory & Reporting > JSS Report Downloader 1.0.

Many of our regular JAMF Nation readers are not yet users and are keen to learn about our solutions, or to discover how to best support Macs in their organization. While we have a number of resources online such as our PDF Library, Media Library, Knowledge Base, and Mailing List, we know that nothing beats a live demo. However, making time for a full overview can be difficult. We understand the challenge of coordinating all the individuals for a first glimpse of a product so we've scheduled a weekly live demonstration every Monday at 2pm CDT (-6 GMT).

To register for any of these events visit our Events calendar and select the date you'd like to participate and register. Thanks for your interest and we look forward to the opportunity to share our solutions with you.

Join our Support Mailing List! The lists often contain discussions regarding problems encountered by other Casper administrators and their resolutions. This free service is available to customers and non-customers via subscription and includes both the Casper Suite and Composer mailing lists.

Join our Support Mailing List! The lists often contain discussions regarding problems encountered by other Casper administrators and their resolutions. This free service is available to customers and non-customers via subscription and includes both the Casper Suite and Composer mailing lists.