Radmind Manual for Mac OS X
From radmind
A special thanks goes to Ofir Gal for writing this document and his continued support of the Radmind project.
The basic idea
Radmind (remote administration daemon) is a client management system that allows you to create a specific setup on a single Mac OS X system and then be able to implement the same setup on multiple clients. Most importantly, Radmind enables you to install updates and new apps on a single Mac and then force the other Macs to inherit the same configuration. It can be set to automatically bring back systems to a pristine state every night in a college lab or as a way to distribute new system updates on demand.
Radmind supports multiple configurations so one Radmind server can handle several departments in your organization, each with its own setup and applications.
At its core, Radmind operates as a tripwire; it is able to detect differences between the server and the client to any managed file system object, e.g. files, directories, links, etc. However, Radmind goes further than just integrity checking: once a difference is detected, Radmind can optionally take action.
This is ideal for small to large businesses as well as schools and universities. Radmind not only lets you upgrade and keep all systems the same, it also lets you downgrade if you need to. Radmind is generally useful if you have three or more Macs that need to run similar or identical configurations.
You can use Radmind to combat any application or system corruption and even deliberate mis- configuration by simply running the Radmind update session. When used with checksums, Radmind also verifies the integrity of files and any damaged ones are replaced.
Radmind even works in super user mode (Command+S at startup) allowing a system administrator to repair a system that won't start properly.
Radmind can be used in conjunction with Apple Software Restore ( ASR ), NetBoot, NetInstall and Carbon Copy Cloner.
Radmind is a very powerful tool that can also delete important files. It is therefore recommended that you read this document through and only then attempt to use Radmind. It is also a good idea to experiment on test systems before deploying the setup in the real world (if such a thing exists). OS X, unlike its predecessors, installs a large number of files, and you'll want to choose which to manage in the process of your testing.
Radmind does not require a special "master" client for generating updates for other clients; any Radmind client can become the master by simply updating it with Radmind.
Radmind can be set to skip user data and other files - that is leave user documents untouched while updating the rest of the system.
Radmind can be started manually, or automated to run at startup, login, logout or at timed intervals. But before you get ahead of yourself, let's start with the basics...
