Lesson 23: Policies and Jamf Self Service

Jamf 100 Course
Solution
Application
Content Type
Training Content
Utilities & Services
ft:locale
en-US

Goal

Deploy policies to Jamf Self Service for macOS.

Video

Key points

  • Self Service is a powerful tool that allows users access to Jamf Pro assets.

    • The Self Service app is automatically installed on all computers during enrollment.

  • Policies can be made available in Self Service.

  • Jamf Pro allows distribution of many policy payloads via Self Service, including:

    • The Packages payload, which distributes software and files as a PKG or DMG.

    • The Printers payload, which allows mapping and unmapping of printers.

    • The Software Updates payload, which provides software updates for users' computers.

    • The Scripts payload, which allows users to run custom scripts.

    • The Restart Options payload, which restarts a computer after a policy runs.

    • The Files and Processes payload, which provides the option to execute commands.

  • Because users will determine when to run a policy made available in Self Service, it is not necessary to set a trigger.

  • The execution frequency for policies made available in Self Service will determine options for user interaction:

    • "Once per computer" means that when the policy has been run by a user once, it disappears from Self Service.

      • Flushing policy logs will make the policy available again in Self Service.

    • "Ongoing" allows users to run the policy from Self Service as many times as needed.

  • The following options can be configured for policies made available in Self Service:

    • Custom button names

    • A description

    • Notifications

      • Enabling notifications requires a push certificate, valid proxy server token, and Enable push notifications selected in the Settings menu in Jamf Pro.

    • Custom icons

      • Jamf recommends that custom icons be in GIF or PNG format and 512x512px in size.

    • Categories

  • The User Interaction tab provides options to add a start or complete message for any policy.

Review

To view answers, click arrow next to each question.

  1. Is it necessary to set a trigger for a policy in Self Service?
    No, since the user running the policy from the Self Service app serves as the trigger for the policy.
  2. What would cause a Self Service policy to disappear from Self Service after it has been run? How could it be restored?
    A policy with the execution frequency of "Once per computer" will disappear from Self Service after running. The policy log can be flushed in Jamf Pro to make the policy visible in Self Service again.
  3. Is an image in the JPG format with a 1024x1024 pixel size appropriate for a Self Service policy custom icon?
    No, custom icons should be created in GIF or PNG formats with a size of 512x512px.

Practice

  1. Create a new policy that contains a Maintenance payload configured to update inventory.

    1. In the General payload, configure using the following settings:

      1. Display Name: Submit Inventory

      2. Execution Frequency: Ongoing

    2. In the Maintenance payload, select the Update Inventory checkbox.

    3. On the Self Service tab, select the Make the policy available in Self Service checkbox.

      1. Add a message informing the user that their computer will restart.

      2. Upload a custom icon.

    4. On the Scope tab, scope the policy to a test computer.

    5. Click Save to save the policy.

    6. Open Self Service on the test computer and run the policy.

Resources

Jamf Pro Documentation