Setting up Gorilla for Application Management
Note
One of the great things about an automated management setup like this is the ability to actively manage the applications that show up on users’ desktops. To handle applications on macOS, we use Munki. To handle applications for Windows, we use Gorilla. Our initial goal is to push a couple of required Apps out to our users.
The two apps will handle both managed installations and managed uninstallations. Also, Munki for macOS provides a ready-made application can display to users and offer them unmanaged apps. For Windows users, we will publish unmanaged apps via the private Microsoft Store.
Create a CDN
To get started, follow this document to set up an Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN). After setting up, you will have an empty CDN. Use this empty CDN to host all the App content we want to deploy for both our Macs and Windows devices. We will need to set up slightly different directory and file structures for each OS type.
Create Containers in your Storage Account
Now, create two containers in your storage account to hold the content for our users. For macOS devices, all content we want them to have - either ‘managed’ (we push it to them) or ‘unmanaged’ (users can download if they wish) goes here. For Windows users, only the managed content goes in the corresponding bucket and we will use the App Store to make things we license available to them.
- Go to your storage account
- Navigate to Blob Storage > Containers
- Create 2 containers with one labeled “Munki” and the other labeled “Gorilla”
- Set their access level to ‘Container’
The next step is to create the basic directory structure in each container that the app clients expect to see. In the Gorilla container, create folders to match this structure. We are going to build the files that go in the folders just below. Just build the top level folders for both clients, the child folders are indicated in the example below to give you a reference of how the file structure will look over time as apps are added.
[Gorilla web root]
├── manifests
│ ├── *.yaml
├── catalogs
│ ├── *.yaml
└── packages
├── Firefox
├── Chrome
├── *.nupkg
├── *.msi
├── *.exe
└── *.ps1
Now for your Munki container, build out a folder structure that looks like this:
[Munki web root]
├── catalogs
│ ├── *.yaml
├── manifests
│ ├── *.yaml
├── icons
│ ├── *.ico
├── pkgsinfo
│ ├── *.*
└── pkgs
├── *.pkg
macOS (Munki) Catalog and Manifest
Spend some time thinking about and planning what you ultimately want to put into your manifests and catalogs that your users can access. For simplicity, we will demonstrate installing Firefox and VS Code on clients to give you an idea of how to deploy for each OS type.
Install Munki
We are going to take a different approach with Munki because the configuration files are in XML and editing them directly can be fraught with peril so we are going to rely on using command line tools for the most part.
Get started by reviewing the Munki documentation.
Next, download Munki to your macOS and install it.
Set up a local File Share on your Mac
We are going to set up a local file share on your Mac. We will use the tools below to populate it with the settings and configuration we need. Follow this doc to set up a local repo, we will use Server Explorer to sync it to Azure - go to “Building a “server” repository”
For guidance, follow the Munki setup demonstration.
Configure Munki
Run this command to configure Munki. The repo path must match the one you created just above. Note that the path must have 3 slashes in it file:///
munkiimport --configure
Now you can import pkg files. When you import the first package, the catalog gets built for you automatically.
munkiimport - firefox
munkiimport - VSCode
Next, run the following autopkg commands to get all the Munki tools pulled in for the nodes (laptops) to use.`
autopkg repo-add recipes
autopkg run -k MUNKI_REPO=/Users/Shared/munki_repo munkitools4.munki
After that, run makecatalogs to pull the Munki updates in.
makecatalogs
Finally, run manifestutil to create the manifest and pull your apps under managed installs. If you run into issues with the tool, you can flip over to the MunkiAdmin GUI. The MunkiAdmin GUI makes it much easier to see what is going on with the configuration files.
/usr/local/munki/manifestutil
Entering interactive mode... (type "help" for commands)
> new-manifest site_default
> add-catalog my_catalog --manifest site_default
Added testing to catalogs of manifest site_default.
> add-pkg Firefox --manifest site_default
Added Firefox to section managed_installs of manifest site_default.
> add-pkg VSCode --manifest site_default
Added VSCode to section managed_installs of manifest site_default.
> add-pkg munkitools_admin --manifest site_default
Added munkitools_admin to section managed_installs of manifest site_default.
...
> exit
Now you can use Storage Explorer to move the entire thing into your Azure Blob Storage.
Example Munki Catalog
Below is a section of a Munki catalog. You CAN edit the details if needed, but using the tools above is strongly encouraged to reduce the probability of introducing an error.
<plist version="1.0">
<array>
<dict>
<key>autoremove</key>
<false/>
<key>catalogs</key>
<array>
<string>mycatalog</string>
</array>
<key>display_name</key>
<string>VSCode</string>
<key>installed_size</key>
<integer>1285143</integer>
<key>installer_item_hash</key>
<string>
b9a5b90ff2b0bb733a9b719fe2afea5d5dc02875dc96b969a9fcf8b9de9214a6
</string>
<key>installer_item_location</key>
<string>VSCode.pkg</string>
<key>installer_item_size</key>
<integer>513821</integer>
<key>minimum_os_version</key>
<string>10.5.0</string>
<key>name</key>
<string>VSCode</string>
<key>receipts</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>installed_size</key>
<integer>1285143</integer>
<key>packageid</key>
<string>com.microsoft.visual-studio</string>
<key>version</key>
<string>8.5.2</string>
</dict>
</array>
<key>unattended_install</key>
<true/>
<key>uninstall_method</key>
<string>removepackages</string>
<key>uninstallable</key>
<true/>
<key>version</key>
<string>1.45.1</string>
</dict>
Example Munki Manifest
Notice that the format for the Munki manifest is similar to what Gorilla uses:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>catalogs</key>
<array>
<string>my_catalog</string>
</array>
<key>included_manifests</key>
<array>
</array>
<key>managed_installs</key>
<array>
<string>munkitools_app</string>
<string>munkitools_app_usage</string>
<string>munkitools_core</string>
<string>munkitools_launchd</string>
<string>Firefox</string>
<string>VSCode</string>
</array>
<key>managed_uninstalls</key>
<array>
</array>
<key>managed_updates</key>
<array>
</array>
<key>optional_installs</key>
<array>
</array>
</dict>
</plist>
You can also use AWS for your CDN.
Once you have your catalog and manifest ready, you can test this out from a macOS node by running the following commands from a terminal window. Run the first command from your macOS client to verify that the correct configuration got to that node and then run the second command to actually install the managed applications
sudo /usr/local/munki/managedsoftwareupdate --show-config
sudo /usr/local/munki/managedsoftwareupdate
Windows (Gorilla) Catalog and Manifest
Spend some time thinking about and planning what you ultimately want to put into your manifests and catalogs that your users can access. For simplicity, we will demonstrate installing Firefox and VS Code on clients to give you an idea of how to deploy for each OS type.
How Gorilla Operates
Save the config.yaml file to the /files directory of your Chef Desktop cookbook. Configuring the app resource in the Windows recipe file deploys the config.yaml setting to your Windows 10 desktops. The next time Gorilla checks in with your CDN, it pull down the manifest, parses the applications and catalog listings for loading, and finally loads the applications by first loading the catalog(s) and then attempting to load the apps from the catalog(s). To see this in action, use gorilla -d from the command line to get the debug output.
Sample Gorilla catalog.yaml
---
Chocolatey:
display_name: Chocolatey
check:
file:
- path: C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\choco.exe
version: 0.10.15
installer:
hash: 0C1282378641E03564844D04881209AA946D7D2475049BE32B3151BD68F2758F
location: packages/chocolatey/chocolatey_installer-1.0.ps1
type: ps1
version: 1.0
ChocolateyCoreExtension:
dependencies:
- Chocolatey
display_name: Chocolatey Core Extension
check:
file:
- path: C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\extensions\chocolatey-core\chocolatey-core.psm1
hash: 376E6EDA567DDDD6AA70CFC9EC5380CE0EB1383BE83C2FBDC87F6FC79252E4E8
installer:
hash: 5ECEF3B776508CEBC4B52E9AC7F04D213C2045A6765F12E17545A5FBE2F41928
location: packages/chocolatey/extensions/core/chocolatey-core.extension.1.3.5.1.nupkg
type: nupkg
version: 1.3.5.1
FireFox:
display_name: Firefox
check:
file:
- path: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
version: 75.0
installer:
hash: FF029F6E59D9D92D3AC5F8E837C973B641B3400980624D3A830DCFE55D4C71FC
location: packages/firefox/Firefox Setup 75.0.exe
arguments:
- /S
- /INI=c:\gorilla\cache\install.ini
type: exe
version: 75.0
VSCode:
display_name: VSCode
check:
file:
- path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe
version: 1.45.1
installer:
location: packages/vscode/VSCodeSetup-x64-1.45.1.exe
hash: E9E107CF53F8F06688C881E4616BD9A8553D012A657389399827E0EC2155633C
arguments:
- /VERYSILENT
- /MERGETASKS=!runcode
type: exe
uninstaller:
location: packages/vscode/VSCodeSetup-x64-1.45.1.exe
hash: E9E107CF53F8F06688C881E4616BD9A8553D012A657389399827E0EC2155633C
type: exe
version: 1.45.1
Sample Gorilla Manifest.yaml
---
name: my_manifest
managed_installs:
- Chocolatey
- ChocolateyCoreExtension
- VSCode
- Firefox
managed_uninstalls:
managed_updates:
included_manifests:
catalogs:
- my_catalog
Sample Gorilla config.yaml file
---
url: https://<your_cdn_name>.blob.core.windows.net/gorilla/
manifest: my_manifest
catalogs:
- my_catalog
app_data_path: C:/gorilla/cache
Configuring Apps in a Private Store for Windows
We talked about a second way to get apps to your users in Windows. That method involves you licensing apps and then letting your users have them through your Private Microsoft Store. Follow the directions here to make that work for you.
Set up a Private Store in Azure
Final Checklist
You are almost ready to start the process. Please ensure that you have completed the following steps:
- You have set up Apple Business Manager
- You have imported the serial number for at least one of your macOS devices
- You have configured your MDM in Apple Business Manager to accept your devices
- You have set up and configured the MDM to accept devices from Apple Business Manager
- You have all your certificates in place
- You have built and uploaded the InstallApplications package and imported it into the MDM
- If you are going to use Munki, confirm if the S3 bucket is correctly configured for it.
If all goes according to plan, then you should be ready to reset/restart your first node, have it pull down all the packages and/or scripts, load Chef Infra Client, and do the first client run.
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