How to use SCCM and Jamf for Remote Workers

As remote work and “work from home” go mainstream, endpoint management solutions that keep critical infrastructure up to date and secure like Microsoft’s Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM) and Jamf must adapt to a new operational model.  This post explores using Resilio Connect alongside SCCM and Jamf to overcome performance limitations when patching or software updates are imposed by remote work settings.

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and JAMF for Windows and Mac users

Two popular endpoint management solutions for desktop infrastructure are Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (or System Center Configuration Manager, SCCM), for configuring Windows environments and Jamf Distribution Server (JDS) for configuring Mac environments.  Both patching solutions were engineered for large scale, in-office LAN environments and perform very well  when connectivity and bandwidth to endpoints is good.   Additionally, given relatively low update frequency, endpoints need only be on the network periodically for Configuration Manager and JDS to work effectively.  Taking a laptop home or on the road, even for weeks at a time, was never an issue before as long as the laptop periodically re-connected to the office LAN and can access the software update.

Software Updates for Extended Remote Work

However, the concept of remote work is no longer a weeks long business trip or the occasional Friday from home for the end user, meaning that endpoints are spending zero time connected to the local office network or subnet.  Efforts to make remote SCCM and JDS operate over the Virtual Private Network (VPN) and with the firewall readily expose the limitations of these systems with remote connectivity. For example, downloading large updates and packages to these endpoints stall, time out and never complete.  In addition to VPNs, SCCM can also be deployed via the Cloud Management Gateway (CMG) and Cloud distribution point. As this goes on, many endpoints are becoming dangerously out of date, exposing the enterprise to security and other risks.   Systems administrators and systems engineers are now troubleshooting and need a solution that allows existing endpoint management to operate effectively for remote work environments.

Remote Work Solutions for Teams

Using Resilio Connect, working from home and on the road is now as fast, easy, and secure as working in the office. Your files and folders are always available when and where you need them: at home, in the office, or any remote location.

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Resilio Connect to Compliment JAMF and Microsoft SCCM over VPN

Resilio has long been the go-to solution for endpoint management across remote environments such as retail, logistics and transportation as well remote workers.  Designed at the protocol level to accommodate high latency networks such as VPN connections and very large scale, the solution is the perfect compliment to existing endpoint management technologies that must adapt to the unreliable connectivity of remote work using VPN clients. 

Using Resilio decouples the heavy lifting of package delivery for operating system updates from the process of coordinating OS update installation, leveraging Configuration Manager and JDS to configure the automation of the operating system installation while taking advantage of Resilio’s reliability to handle the delivery of the operating system patch itself.  Resilio is cross platform and can update Microsoft Windows (i.e. Windows 10) , mac and linux as well as other common operating systems and includes built-in powershell capabilities for additional automation and ease of integration for information technology professionals.

Learn more about Resilio Connect and how it’s the perfect compliment to existing endpoint management technologies that must adapt to the unreliable connectivity of remote work. Or, schedule a demo or start a free trial to see for yourself.