Endpoint Services, Munki, Adobe Remote Update Manager (RUM)

How to use Adobe Remote Update Manager (RUM) to keep your Adobe deployments up-to-date on Munki-managed Macs.

Systems

Munki Mac Endpoint Management

Intended Audience

University of Illinois IT Pros leveraging Technology Services Endpoint Services Munki Mac Endpoint Management systems to deploy Adobe applications.

Actions

General Information

Beginning in August 2021, in an effort to improve efficiency, decrease human error, and decrease the amount of time that unit endpoints wait for Adobe Creative Cloud updates, the Endpoint Services team will begin offering several packages for deployment via Munki that leverage Adobe's built-in Remote Update Manager (RUM) Utility.

By using RUM, endpoints will receive updates directly from Adobe without having to wait for Endpoint Services (EPS) to package them for the Munki service. EPS will continue to package Adobe updates for Munki; however, the frequency of these updates will be fewer throughout the year. Many unit IT admins may already be familiar with RUM, as the MECM service has been using RUM to handle Adobe updates for several years.

Available RUM-Based Munki Packages

The following Adobe Remote Update Manager-based packages are available in the Multi-Tenant Munki service. All assume that RUM is already installed on the Mac (which will be the case as long as EPS-packaged Adobe apps have been installed), and all will install on Intel hardware only at this time.

  1. adobe_rum_on_demand: An on-demand package designed to be manually run from Managed Software Center by the end user, whenever and as often as needed.
    • Runs the Adobe RUM utility and logs progress to the Munki log, which can be viewed while Managed Software Center runs.
    • Instructs the end user (via a Munki preinstall alert) on how to monitor update progress.
    • Checks for open Adobe applications and prompts the end user to quit any that it finds.
    • Suitable for one-to-one deployments and some shared machine scenarios.
    • Should only be deployed as an optional install, as it will attempt repeated installs if used as a managed install.

  2. adobe_rum_launchd_3am: This package installs a launch daemon and script to run RUM every night at 3am.
    • Automatically runs the Adobe RUM utility at 3am, either in a logged-in session or at the login window.
    • Silently skips updates for any open Adobe applications.
    • Writes results to /Library/Logs/RemoteUpdateManager.log.
    • Machines must be configured to be awake and online at 3am in order to receive updates.
    • Suitable for labs, kiosks, and classroom workstations, or wherever there is no primary end user responsible for updating a device.
    • May be used in combination with adobe_rum_on_demand in the event that the end user falls behind with on-demand updates.

  3. adobe_rum_launchd_monday_3am: Same as above, but only runs Mondays at 3am instead of nightly.

To request a RUM-based package for a different schedule, please contact the EPS team.

Security Updates

In the event that a security update with Adobe's Priority 1 severity rating is released, EPS will package it for immediate release. See more information about Adobe's severity ratings.


Contact the EPS team