Do you need to add new components to a standard configuration for one, several, or all customers?
The RMM Suite Onboard Automation (OBA) tool will help you get this done through a single config file update.
Using a Standard Configuration
This concept starts by defining a set of configuration settings and software that needs to be deployed within your support stack. This should include settings and software that you deploy to most or all customers, then settings and software deployed to specific customers. The latter is usually LOB applications, as the RMM Suite install scripts can leverage Cloud Script Variables (CSVs) to both control the deployment globally while delivering customer-specific content.
As your product stack changes - either by adding or replacing products - your Standard Configuration changes. This has been a difficult process for many as configurations may need to change and software uninstalled before installing a new set of products. This is where the RMM Suite OBA tool can help.
Deploying the Standard Configuration
The OBA tool runs when an agent first checks in to deploy software and configure the endpoint to meet the Standard Configuration requirements. See this blog post for full information on using the OBA Tool and the Standard Configuration.
Dealing with Change
Change is inevitable, but it should not be difficult! A typical change to a Standard Configuration is using a different product, such as Antivirus software. Let's assume your Standard Configuration utilized Iron-Man AV, but now you are switching to the more powerful Titanium-Man AV product. You need to remove the old product and then install the new one. This requires just 2 scripts and 3 changes to your OBA config file:
Script: Uninstall Iron-Man AV - Create an RMM script to uninstall the Iron-Man AV product, suppressing any reboots.
Script: Install Titanium-Man AV - Create an RMM script to install the new Titanium-Man AV product, suppressing any reboots
Change the OBA configuration file:
- Disable or Remove the definition that installed the IronMan AV product
- Add a definition to run the Uninstall Iron-Man AV script
- Add a definition to run the Install Titanium-Man AV script
Once these changes are in your OBA configuration file, the next daily cycle will discover that these two tasks have never been run and will run them on all endpoints (based on the Task Category where these are defined, of course). The next time the endpoint is online and runs the Daily Tasks, these changes to your Standard Configuration will be processed and the endpoint will be compliant with your new standards.
Summary
Despite the "Onboarding Automation" name, the capabilities of the OBA tool extend to helping you maintain a "Standard Configuration" without complex scripting or other RMM automation tools. The OBA tool also works hand in hand with the Daily Maintenance tool that can be used to deploy and update components on the endpoint, especially when using Customer Class of Service (CCOS) tags. Daily Maintenance could be used to deploy and maintain either Iron-Man AV or Titanium-Man AV based on the CCOS tag being "Iron" or "titanium" (or any other level-identification term).