SimianAtAGlance
(TODO: Add table of contents.)
Admins can see what catalogs and manifest packages are in with a glance, quickly view pkginfo plists, download package DMGs, etc.
To upload a new package, use HTML forms to upload a pkginfo directly copied/pasted from makepkginfo, and a DMG associated with the pkginfo.
Then common HTML form controls to change the details of the meta-data; set install_types, unattended_install mode, display_name, description, and more. Below you’ll see Photoshop is not in any base manifest, as we’ll only want to deploy it to specific users or hosts.
Optionally, edit the raw XML plist, if you wish to edit values that are not exposed in the HTML form above
Optionally, use Manifest Modifications to push the package to a set of Users, Hosts, Sites, OS Versions, or Tags (see below for more).
All Package changes are logged, and pkginfo plist diffs make it very easy to see what changed.
Admins can get an in-depth view of a single host in their fleet, containing plenty of relevant metadata about the machine, the Munki client, etc.
The host report also includes Client Logs, which allows admins to request clients upload several log files, as well as Managed Software Update GUI interaction logs.
Admins can see the number of 30, 14, 7, and 1 day active clients, as well as the Munki and Apple Update patch compliance within each of these buckets. This report is available for all clients managed by Simian, as well as any search result set; that is, admins can see patch compliance for any search of a given OS Version, Site, User, etc.
The Apple Updates UI allows admins to select which groups of computers various Apple Updates are made available to. Updates will auto-promote from unstable to testing a few days after Apple releases them, then testing to stable 7 days after testing (or the following Wednesday).
Admins can instruct Munki to install particular updates in the background, similar to unattended_install, or forcefully install and reboot the computer, similar to force_install_after_date.
Furthermore, all Apple Update changes, include auto-promotions, are displayed in a log.
View all incoming Munki or Apple Update installs, optionally filtered by package or host.
Admins can assign arbitrary string "tags" to hosts, which can be used to track various types of clients. Manifest Modifications also allows for pushing (or removing) a particular package to all hosts with a given Tag.
