Setting Up a File Share Distribution Point

Updated: 01 July 2021
Product: Jamf Pro
An SMB share can be used as a file share distribution point with Jamf Pro. This article explains the procedure for setting up an SMB share on a macOS server for use with Jamf Pro.
Note:

An AFP share can also be used as a file share distribution point with Jamf Pro, but AFP shares are incompatible with Apple File System (APFS), which is the default file system for computers with macOS 10.13 or later. Computers with macOS 10.13 or later that are HFS+ formatted still support AFP.

  1. On the macOS server that you want to use as a file share distribution point, open Terminal.
  2. Create a directory for the share by executing a command similar to the following:
    mkdir /Users/Shared/jamfshare
  3. If you replaced /Users/Shared/jamfshare in the above command with a path to a directory other than Users/Shared, apply 755 permissions to the share by executing a command similar to the following:
    sudo chmod 755 /path/to/jamfshare
    Note:

    Replace "/path/to/jamfshare" in the above command with the directory of your file share.

  4. Open System Preferences.
  5. Click Users & Groups and authenticate by clicking the lock icon and entering your password.
  6. Create a user with standard permissions with "read" in the account name (e.g., "jamfread") and note the credentials for later use.
    Note:

    Do not use spaces in the account username.

  7. Create a user with administrator permissions with "write" in the account name (e.g., "jamfwrite") and note the credentials for later use.
    Note:

    Do not use spaces in the account username.

  8. Click the back button to return to the main System Preferences pane.
  9. Click Sharing.
  10. Select the File Sharing checkbox in the left pane.
  11. In the Shared Folders pane, select the file share folder created in step 2. If you created the file share in a directory other than /Users/Shared, you may need to click the add (+) button to locate the file share.
  12. In the Users pane, click the pop-up menu next to the "read" account created in step 6 and set the permissions to "Read Only".
  13. Click the pop-up menu next to the "write" account created in step 7 and set the permissions to "Read & Write".
  14. Click the pop-up menu next to Everyone and set the permissions to "No Access".
  15. Select the Remote Login checkbox in the left pane.
  16. Do one of the following:

    • Select All Users to enable access for all users.

    • Select Only these users: and use the add(+) button to enable access for only the "read" and "write" accounts created in steps 6 and 7.

  17. In Jamf Pro, configure the file share using the credentials of the "read" and "write" accounts created in steps 6 and 7. For instructions, see File Share Distribution Points in the Jamf Pro Administrator's Guide.
  18. (Optional) Enable HTTP downloads on the file share server.
  19. (Optional) Enable HTTPS on the file share server.