Discover the importance of backing up your Jamf Pro instance and learn about tools and methods for efficient data backup in this enlightening JNUC session.
Back to the Future: Backing Up All (most) of The Objects in Jamf Pro | JNUC 2023
Tom Rice from SHI International Corp. delivered a crucial session at JNUC on the importance of backing up Jamf Pro instances and associated objects. He emphasized that despite meticulous planning and data management, unforeseen events can significantly impact data. Thus, backing up Jamf Pro, a central management solution for device fleets, is vital to maintain effective management capabilities.
Rice advocated for automated, repeatable, and platform-independent workflows to facilitate backups and restoration in Jamf Pro. He stressed simplicity in the backup process to avoid complexities like manual procedures, diverse toolsets, dependencies, and platform-specific tools. Rice outlined SHI's methodology for successful backups and restorations in Jamf Pro, focusing on the automation of these processes.
The session also covered potential challenges in backup plans. For instance, with the upcoming Jamf Cloud Distribution Service (JCDS) 2.0, only package metadata, not the packages themselves, can currently be backed up. Additionally, Rice pointed out that not all objects in Jamf Pro have API endpoints, and some do not backup all their components, like accounts and passwords. He also discussed the risks of storing secrets within automation scripts, the importance of knowing the URLs of Jamf instances for backup, credentials for accessing these instances, and selecting an appropriate destination for storing backed-up data.
