Re: Managing Macs in a Windows Environments

A word of caution here ARD != Group Policies. The nearest Apple equivalent is the Workgroup Manager which you receive as part of an Apple Server. If you have a large mac implementation (i.e. between 50-150 depending on your IT department and infrastructure) I would recommend considering investing in an Apple Server and connecting it to your Windows AD system and storage servers. It will likely save you time and money in the long run and is effectively a GP equivalent.

In lieu of that Casper is likely your best option as mentioned by others. It is a stop gap measure that allow those who cannot invest in or support a significant Mac infrastructure to include macs as a sub-set of a windows infrastructure. There is a tipping point where Casper is no longer better than investing in a Mac server but that is both a hardware and staff cost equation.

You can cobble together an alternate solution with ARD, Carbon Copy Cloner, plist modifications and a host of other free utilities for under $500 but it is not recommended and requires a significant amount of time from an experienced mac pro.

You may find some better answers through communities at:

http://www.macenterprise.org

and

http://www.afp548.com/

Or by talking to your apple rep about professional services.

_J

____________________________
Jason at jasonpj@yahoo.com

________________________________
From: Rick Castorani <rcastorani@aimpa.org>
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 1:34:39 PM
Subject: Managing Macs in a Windows Environment

We are just beginning a one to one program with our high schoolers using the
13" aluminum macbook. We are all very excited and can not wait to get these
in the hands of the students. I, on the other hand, come from a windows
networking world where everything from default printers to mapped drives to
advanced permissions is easily controlled by group policy and logon scripts.
I am starting off with apple remote desktop but I feel that I am missing
something. Those of you who are, or have been, in my situation, what do you
use to manage your macs??

Thank you so much in advance! Hope your school years have started out well!

Rick Castorani
Technology Coordinator
Academy in Manayunk

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