Radmind Explained
Radmind is a suite of Unix command-line tools and an application server designed to remotely administer the file systems of multiple client machines.[1] [2]
For Mac OS X, there is a graphical user interface called Radmind Assistant, as well as a GUI for the Radmind server called Radmind Server Manager.[3]
Radmind was the 2003 Apple Design Awards runner-up for Best Mac OS X Server Solution.[4]
Radmind is developed by the Research Systems Unix Group at the University of Michigan.
How Radmind Works
Radmind operates as a tripwire, detecting changes in a client's filesystem (and, in the case of Microsoft Windows, the registry) and reversing the changes.[5] [6] [7] Radmind stores filesystem specifications in text files called transcripts, signified with a .T extension. Transcripts are referenced from command files, signified with a .K extension, which specify which transcripts (and with what precedence) should be applied to a client machine's filesystem.
Suite of tools
The radmind suite of tools comprises
- ktcheck, which updates the locally stored command files and transcripts to match those on the server.
- fsdiff, which checks the client filesystem against the transcripts on the local system without using network bandwidth.
- lapply, which updates the client filesystem to match the transcripts, downloading files as needed.
- lcreate, which uploads new transcripts to the server.
- lcksum, which verifies uploaded transcripts.
- lfdiff, which compares local files with copies on Radmind server.
- lmerge, which combines transcripts on the server.
- ra.sh , which automates the update process using ktcheck, fsdiff, and lapply.
- twhich, which returns which transcript(s) a file is referenced in.
- applefile, which allows Radmind to work with AppleSingle files.
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Kevin M. White. Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Deployment v10.5. 16 April 2010. Pearson Education. 978-0-13-208942-5. 472.
- Book: Schoun Regan. David Pugh. Apple Training Series: Mac OS X 10.4 System Administration Reference. 5 June 2006. Pearson Education. 978-0-13-279791-7. 426.
- Book: Michael Bartosh. Ryan Faas. Essential Mac OS X Panther Server Administration: Integrating Mac OS X Server into Heterogeneous Networks. 24 May 2005. "O'Reilly Media, Inc.". 978-0-596-55060-8. 74–75.
- Web site: WWDC: Apple announces Design Awards. MacWorld. 13 February 2014.
- Book: Noah Gift. Jeremy Jones. Python for Unix and Linux System Administration. 8 December 2008. O'Reilly Germany. 978-0-596-51582-9. 244.
- Book: Edward Marczak. Greg Neagle. Enterprise Mac Managed Preferences. 18 August 2010. Apress. 978-1-4302-2937-7. 146.
- Book: Al-Sakib Khan Pathan. The State of the Art in Intrusion Prevention and Detection. 29 January 2014. CRC Press. 978-1-4822-0351-6. 41.
