Push files using Meraki?

[Toine]

Hello,

I have been looking everywhere for this.  I found the backpack option for Apple iOS and Android, but I would like to know if there is a way to push files to all my devices(only mac os).  For exemple, if I need to push a font to all my users quickly.

Does Meraki offer this option?

[CarlosAlmeida]

Hi,

as far as I know Backpack option is limited to iOS and Android.

You may try the command line:
https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Other_Topics/Using_the_Command_Line_Live_Tool

[Toine]

Thanks for the reply, but the command line tool won't really work. I mean, I would have to copy the files online first? I don't even think it would work.

[CarlosAlmeida]

Yep,
would be possible this way:
1- sahre de file online and with a public link
2- go to command line, select all macOs
3-open http://www.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O45oMIgKeeQ

[CarlosAlmeida]

This is theorical,
I don't have any macOs here to validate
Hope it works !!!

[PhilipDAth]

I don't use MacOS; but when I want to do this I put the files into an Amazon S3 bucket (or you can put it on any publicly accessible URL anywhere) and then run a command to download that file (I typically do this for software distribution as well).

Do you use Office 365, Google for Business, DropBox, or any other service with a file replication service?  That would be a nice way of handling it.

[Toine]

Ok thanks, it pretty much answers my questions... little disappointed I have to go through this loop.  The problem is that I would like to deploy/copy files or fonts to hundreds of computers at the same time.  I guess the good old ARD might have to do the trick for the local machines at least.

[PhilipDAth]

You just gave me an idea.

Something I have used in the past was a self extracting zip file (an executable).  Potentially you could do the same, and then deploy this as an application, which when run, will create all the files for you.

[Toine]

Seems a bit of a hassle to go all through this pain just to deploy a few fonts on each computer.  

Besides, I just tested a few simple command lines on Meraki to computers and it doesn't even work. horrible  

[T1]

Console commands work but you need to run them from System Manager > Command Line page, not from device details page. There is a way to run scripts on remote machines by wrapping them as an app, Meraki documentation has a comprehensive guide how to do it. I haven't touched Mac side of it, but powershell scripts on Windows machines work like a charm.

[BlakeRichardson]

You could create a package installer that installs the font and have this shared to your Macs by uploading it as a custom App in systems manager. 

[Toine]

I'm not even sure how to do that. Doesn't seem like a very efficient way to do that.  Thanks for your help

[BlakeRichardson]

@Toine Do you have Apple Remote Desktop? 

[Toine]

I do have apple remote desktop, but the problem is that I have half of my computers that are outside the network.  ARD is only in the network range.  

Also not all the computers have the 'remote management' activated.  I'm working on that tho.

[sshort]

For fonts specifically, another option is a uploading a custom configuration profile with a font payload, that's how my org distributes fonts. You will need Apple's Server app, and the Profile Manager section allows you to create custom profiles from additional templates that Meraki may not provide.

[lma]

I'm also trying to install fonts. I was thinking of this wrapping as an app thing, but don't really know how to do it. The Meraki documentation does link to Apple dev documentation but that page is outdated, and I can't seem to find any up-to-date information on how to achieve this.

This is indeed frustrating!

[sshort]

@lma aside from Apple's server app, there's an excellent tool called ProfileCreator that recently added the ability to create font payloads. Just drag-and-drop your desired fonts into the app, then upload the custom mobileconfig to your Meraki dashboard.

[lma]

@sshort This seems like a splendid tool, thank you! I still haven't figured out why it doesn't work, but it could just be I did something wrong or that it's just not yet fully functional, being in beta, but this is def something to keep an eye on.

Edit: it actually worked very nicely. The fonts aren't copied to the default font directories though (/Library/Fonts or ~/Library/Fonts), and oddly enough I can't find the files with find at all, which is why I at first thought it's not working. However the Font Book and other apps find them so it's all good now.

Most excellent, and very easy!

[David-B]

I wasn't able to get ProfileCreator to work as it wouldn't load a Google font file. This appears to be a known bug for ProfileCreator (https://github.com/ProfileCreator/ProfileCreator/issues/189) And ProfileCreator isn't being actively updated.

I was able to follow the steps outlines in this Meraki documentation (https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Profiles_and_Settings/Using_Custom_Apple_Profiles_with_Systems_M...) to create a profile, upload, and deploy the fonts I needed to Macs. Basically use Apple Configurator 2 from the App store to create a profile to upload to Systems Manager.