Sept 2025 – MacAdmins Meeting

15 Sep Sept 2025 – MacAdmins Meeting

September 17th, 2025 – University of Utah, MacAdmins Meeting

The University of Utah MacAdmins Meeting is held virtually monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 11 AM Mountain Time. Presentations cover Apple technology and integration in a heterogeneous university enterprise environment. This month’s meeting will be held on Wed, September 17th, 2025, at 11 AM MT, and we will provide live broadcasts and archives that will be made available 2-3 days after the meeting.  

From Clones to Clarity: Mastering macOS Virtualization – Rob Potvin, jamf 

Ever wished you had a clone of a Mac to test your Jamf Pro workflows without the risk of, you know, actual explosions? Enter the magical realm of Mac virtualisation, your new best friend for sanitised app testing and workflow optimisation. Sure, there’s a jungle of tools out there leveraging Apple’s virtualisation framework, both free and paid. I’m here to be your sherpa, guiding you through the good, the bad, and the “wait, that’s supported?” of virtual Mac management, all so you can get to better workflow testing.

In this session, we explore modern macOS virtualization on Apple Silicon, focusing on the powerful Tart framework and its ecosystem. Using a bakery-themed metaphor, we’ll demonstrate how Mac administrators can dramatically streamline virtual machine workflows, transforming traditionally slow and manual VM setups into fast, automated processes. Attendees will learn the evolution of Apple’s virtualization framework—from early Monterey support to the advanced capabilities of Sonoma and Sequoia—highlighting key features like display refit, shared folders, keyboard integration, Rosetta support for Intel binaries, and nested virtualization.

We will dive into practical tools like Virtual Buddy, Viable, UTM, Orca, and Tart, comparing their approaches to VM creation and management. Special attention will be given to Tart, which enables rapid VM deployment via IPSW images or OCI registries, supports cloning with minimal disk impact, and allows for automated setup and enrollment with randomized serials and MAC addresses. Using Tart alongside Packer, attendees will see how to build custom, disposable macOS VMs with preconfigured settings, scripts, and enrollment profiles, reducing manual configuration and testing time.

The session also covers strategies for sharing and distributing VM images, leveraging private OCI registries, and implementing smart group workflows in MDM environments. Attendees will gain practical insights into optimizing testing workflows, including how to handle limitations such as the absence of FaceTime, hardware mapping, and limited iCloud functionality. Real-world use cases, including self-service onboarding, policy testing, and remote VNC access, illustrate how Tart enables faster, repeatable, and more efficient virtualization workflows for Mac administrators.

About Rob Potvin

Long-time Jamf nerd, former Jamf trainer, now in the trenches as an all-around Apple tech enthusiast. I’m a customer advocate who loves making complex stuff simple-and fun! When I’m not geeking out over MDM / DDM and security, you’ll find me at the gym, 3D printing, or exploring the world with my two kids. Let’s talk tech, creativity, and all things Apple!

• Video – To view the archived presentation video, click here.
• Slides – To view the archived presentation slides, click here.

Transforming macOS Beta Testing – Adam Anklewicz & Rebecca Latimer, Thumbtack

Discover how Thumbtack’s Beta Thumbs program transforms macOS beta testing by blending structured IT workflows with community-driven feedback.

This presentation demonstrates how IT administrators can prepare their environment for upcoming changes even before they are publicly released through Managed Apple Accounts, Munki integration, and MDM labels and groups to coordinate staged rollouts across departments. Attendees will learn how to replace legacy tools like seedutil with modern enrollment processes, enable self-service access through Munki, and implement disaster recovery plans that keep production environments safe. Beta Buddies highlights practical strategies, including randomized rollout staggering, dedicated test hardware, and feedback loops that engage employees while minimizing disruption. Whether preparing for major OS updates or new app releases, this session provides a blueprint for building scalable and resilient beta testing programs within enterprise Mac environments.

About Adam Anklewicz and Rebecca Latimer

Adam Anklewicz and Rebecca Latimer are the two members of the IT Endpoint Engineering team at Thumbtack, where they manage thousands of endpoints in a fully remote workforce that spans the globe. Their work focuses on automation, migrating workflows to GitOps wherever possible, leveraging AI to streamline tasks and documentation, and sneaking in Star Trek references whenever they can.

Adam has been working with Macs professionally since 1998. He lives and works in Whitestone, Ontario, on a beautiful lake with his wife and cat. Adam also organizes the Toronto Mac Admins meetups and is an active contributor to the broader Mac Admins community.

Rebecca is an officer of the Mac Admins Foundation and an admin on the Mac Admins Slack. She lives in a small town in northern Minnesota with her family. Dedicated to helping the Mac Admins community through mentorship, shared knowledge, and empowering those new to the IT world, Rebecca also brings her passion for Halloween into every aspect of her life.  

• Video – To view the archived presentation video, click here.
• Slides – To view the archived presentation slides, click here.

Open Discussion

Questions, comments, problems, and fixes.

Directions

This meeting will not be held in person but virtually via Zoom video communications architecture.