Here is a fairly general question, but it may help me get started:
Some background:
We have a number of properties that detect and report on software applications installed on an endpoint. We typically look in the registry (the uninstall hive) for DisplayNames and Versions, etc. Up untill now, we have been reporting only on Windows operating systems.
The Question:
How does one go about getting the same or similar data from an endpoint running a Mac OS?
I’m fairly Mac iliterate at this point (sounds like that is going to change though), so if the question seems simplistic, please forgive my ignorance.
If you want to use a built-in feature of BigFix you should check out the “Application Information (Mac OS X)” analysis in the BES Inventory and License site.
Mac OS X doesn’t have a data structure, like the registry, that stores application version information. So, that means that when you gather this data (as the analysis above does) you must simply enumerate all the applications from a file system search. Usually you target “the usual suspect areas” such as /Applications.
You might also have your BigFix sales person tell you about our Software Asset Management product if you need even greater application and license detail.