Apple Remote Desktop

Overview

Apple Remote Desktop 3, the award-winning desktop management system for Mac OS X has more than 50 new features that deliver improvements in software distribution, asset management, and remote assistance. Apple Remote Desktop 3 offers a wide range of high performance features, including lightning-fast Spotlight searches across multiple systems; more than 40 Automator actions for easy automation of repetitive tasks; a Dashboard widget that provides quick and convenient observation of remote systems; and AutoInstall for automatically updating software on mobile systems once they return to the network.

Features Set

Asset management and reporting

Easily compile reports on application usage, user history, and software and hardware inventory.

Perform lightning-fast searches on networks of Mac computers with Remote Spotlight search.
Gather more than 200 hardware attributes about networked Mac OS X systems.
See reports on user logins and application use.
Using Task Server, assemble inventory reports even from mobile systems not connected to the network.*

Remote administration

Simplify system configuration and management by automating time-consuming administrative tasks.

Perform over a dozen commands securely on remote Mac OS X systems, such as locking screens, sleep, wake, restart, and shutdown.
Execute UNIX shell scripts or commands on your client systems.
Set the startup disk of your remote computers to start from a NetBoot or NetInstall image.

Remote assistance

Provide complete technical assistance to all the computers on your network without ever leaving your desk.

Control your Mac computers or any Virtual Network Computing-enabled computers including Windows, Linux, or UNIX systems.
Transfer files between Mac computers via Remote Drag and Drop, or copy and paste information between any two computers.
View the new System Status Indicators for color-coded details on available disk space, memory, and CPU utilization.
Prevent end users from viewing the screen while you control their systems to accomplish system management tasks with Curtain Mode.
Use the Remote Desktop widget for instantaneous, at-a-glance views of remote computers.

Automation

Automate routine management tasks using Automator in Mac OS X.

Get started immediately with over 40 actions.
Chain actions together to create powerful system administration workflows.
Combine actions with other application actions to create end-to-end solutions.
Save workflows as plug-ins to provide simple, customized interfaces to Apple Remote Desktop features

Product Installation

Easy, Step-by-Step install wizard

Installing software or updates to computers on your network has never been this easy.

Easily install one or more Apple-format packages on your computers.
Configure Task Server* to perform package installation; even if target computers are offline, Task Server will copy and install packages once they become available on the network.
Enjoy up to 11x faster copy performance compared to earlier versions of Apple Remote Desktop.
Choose whether to encrypt network data when copying packages and files.
Specify how much network bandwidth should be consumed by copy operations.

System Requreminets

Mac OS X v10.4.11 or v10.5.7 or later
Ethernet (recommended), AirPort (802.11b/g/n), or IP over FireWire network connection

Summary

(Apple)

Asset management and reporting

Remote administration

Remote assistance

Automation

Top new features in Apple Remote Desktop 3

Apple Software