Deploying and packaging for MacOS devices

[lawrencechow]

Hi all,

Currently still very new to Workspace one management but have hit an issue managing our MacOS fleet that are using Workspace one

So we have no issues enrolling Macbooks to Workspace one where our set applications are pushed out on enrollment

The issue I'm having is for applications for redeployment - say if I remove the Chrome app from my Macbook and attempt to re install the app via the console, it fails

Within the troubleshooting tab there's not much to go off by with just

First Issue

I will attempt to reinstall but just get failed

Under the troubleshooting section I only see this

Second Issue

I also attempted to package a newer version of Chrome for testing - applied it to a smart group (with my Mac added to that) with no luck as well

I don't have a screenshot for this with details but per the troubleshooting tab I believe the error message was similar

What I need to know is, does the below need to be populated for re-deployment? If so, can someone direct me as to where someone may have packaged Chrome or how to generate these commands?

[BenByCegeka]

Hey.

if I see it right, you distribute your application via "Provisioning" and in my opinion this is the hard way in Workspace One and should only be used for special cases (Enrollment / Unenrollment).

Have a look at "Software Distribution for macOS applications" (https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workspace-ONE-UEM/1909/Software_Distribution/GUID-AWT-SOFT-DIST.ht...) and there the section "Generate Metadata Using VMware AirWatch Admin Assistant Tool".

With this tool you can use the "App Catalog" and also make it available to your users.

If you can't install an app you have to check the logs in MacOS. The Workspace One Console is not helpful.

Good luck

Benjamin

[rterakedis]

lawrencechow​ - You're on the right path to deploying apps for macOS!  You're probably running into some unexpected behavior with the way the Pkginfo Plist (the *.plist) file is created after parsing the Google Chrome installer package.  

A few thoughts (for anyone new to the conversation): 

• There's a walkthough I created a while back that talks about deploying software:   Deploying a Third-Party macOS App: VMware Workspace ONE Operational Tutorial | VMware
• With regards to Internal Apps, you do not need to populate the scripts tab in order for an install to run -- these are all optional but not required.
• The way an app installs closely mirrors the munki documentation:   How Munki Decides What Needs To Be Installed · munki/munki Wiki · GitHub

Can you share the content of the plist you uploaded to Workspace ONE (as it was generated by the Workspace ONE Admin Assistant App)?   If it's looking for receipts, you may need to change the "Receipts" array to an "Installs" array such as this (replacing versions with the appropriate details):

<key>installs</key>

  <array>

       <dict>

            <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>

            <string>com.google.Chrome</string>

            <key>CFBundleName</key>

            <string>Chrome</string>

            <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key>

            <string>71.0.3578.98</string>

            <key>CFBundleVersion</key>

            <string>3578.98</string>

            <key>minosversion</key>

            <string>10.10.0</string>

            <key>path</key>

            <string>/Applications/Google Chrome.app</string>

            <key>type</key>

            <string>application</string>

            <key>version_comparison_key</key>

            <string>CFBundleShortVersionString</string>

       </dict>

  </array>

[lawrencechow]

Yes - sorry when our devices are enrolled we have set applications to be pushed out, MS suite etc. From memory our Windows machines don't have these issues where if you re-push an app it does reinstall. With the Mac's, it just doesn't seem to work when you need to re-push an app which tells me possibly something needs to be tweaked to get it working

Per the packaging I did use the Assistant tool but I don't want to use the App Catalog - as admins we need to make updates on the fly or push apps on the fly

I'll have a look at that article

Thanks

[lawrencechow]

Hi rterakedis,

Thanks for the prompt reply!

I had a quick read of the guide and pretty much figured out how to package Chrome with that method.

What's interesting is that today, I tested the scenario again. Removed Chrome from the local client, re-pushed it out from the apps list from that device and it deployed this time! Odd..

What I'm trying to achieve now is the best approach to update an Application. Currently has Chrome 71.x version installed. I've just packaged 81.x, pushed it to a smart group, added my device to that group and I believe it's pending

I guess I'm coming from an SCCM testing approach and I'm wondering if it's just a matter of a "deployment" cycle to tick over?

Should I be doing it another way?

TIA !

[rterakedis]

lawrencechow​ -- Happy to help!

With regards to the deployment being queued, there could be a couple of things at play:

• Internal App deployment on macOS requires the Workspace ONE intelligent hub.
• Immediate deployment requires connectivity between the Intelligent Hub and AWCM.   Since the Hub is not an App Store app, we leverage AWCM to do notifications directly to the hub (similar to how APNS notifies the mdmclient process in macOS).   Basically, with AWCM we can tell the hub to check-in and get application installs immediately, otherwise you'll default to the "fallback" interval where the hub checks in (8 hours by default I believe).

Hope that helps!

Rob