Apple Remote Desktop includes three powerful command-line tools that can be used
with Send UNIX Command: networksetup, systemsetup, and kickstart. The tools
themselves are embedded within the Apple Remote Desktop client software, and do not interfere with existing installations of the software on Mac OS X Server.
The locations of two of the tools’ (networksetup and systemsetup) are added to the
default shell PATH, so you can access them through Remote Desktop as if they were installed in one of the standard UNIX tool locations.
The kickstart tool is not in the default shell path. It must be activated explicitly at its location:
/System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/ Resources/kickstart
Any command in the Mac OS X Server command-line guide that uses networksetup or
systemsetup can be used in Remote Desktop using the Send UNIX Command task. To
change any settings using these tools, you must run them with root permissions. The command-line guide can be found at:
www.apple.com/server/documentation/ Using networksetup
The command-line tool networksetup is used to configure a client’s network settings.
You can use it to create or modify network locations, change IP addresses, set network service proxies, and much more. You can find the command-line syntax, explanations, and an example in the tool’s help prompt by entering the following line in Terminal: Â For Mac OS X 10.3 clients use the following:
148 Chapter 8 Administering Client Computers
/System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Support/ networksetup -help
 For Mac OS X v.10.4 clients use the following from Send UNIX Command:
networksetup -help
A few of the capabilities of networksetup are listed below.
flag description
-listallnetworkservices Displays a list of all the network services on the server’s hardware ports. An asterisk (*) denotes that a network service is disabled.
-setmanual
networkservice ip subnet router
Set the TCP/IP configuration for network service to manual with IP address set to ip, Subnet Mask set to subnet, and Router address set to router. Example:
networksetup -setmanual "Built-in Ethernet” 192.168.100.100 255.255.255.0 192.168.100.1 -setdhcp networkservice
[clientid]
Use this command to set the TCP/IP configuration for the specified network service to use DHCP. The client ID is optional. Specify “Empty” for [clientid] to clear the DHCP client id. Example:
networksetup -setdhcp “Built-in Ethernet”
-setbootp networkservice Use this command to set the TCP/IP configuration for the specified network service to use BOOTP.
networksetup -setbootp “Built-in Ethernet” -setmanualwithdhcprouter
networkservice ip
Use this command to specify a manual IP address to use for DHCP for the specified network service. Example:
networksetup -setmanualwithdhcprouter “Built-in Ethernet” 192.168.100.120
-setdnsservers networkservice dns1 [dns2]
Use this command to specify the IP addresses of servers you want the specified network service to use to resolve domain names. You can list any number of servers (replace dns1, dns2, and so on with the IP addresses of domain name servers). If you want to clear all DNS entries for the specified network service, type “empty” in place of the DNS server names. Example:
networksetup -setdnsservers “Built-in Ethernet” 192.168.100.100 192.168.100.12
-setsearchdomains networkservice domain1 [domain2]
Use this command to designate the search domain for the specified network service. You can list any number of search domains (replace domain1, domain2, and so on with the name of a local domain). If you want to clear all search domain entries for the specified network service, type “empty” in place of the domain name. Example:
networksetup -setsearchdomains “Built-in Ethernet” company.com corp.com
Chapter 8 Administering Client Computers 149
Any command in the Mac OS X Server command-line guide which uses networksetup
can be used in Remote Desktop using the Send UNIX Command task. Using systemsetup
The command-line tool systemsetup is used to configure other nonnetwork system
settings. You can use it to query or alter time zones, network time servers, sleep settings, Energy Saver preferences, Remote Login (SSH) preferences, and more. You will find the command-line syntax, explanations, and example in the tool’s help prompt by entering the following line in the Terminal:
/System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Support/ systemsetup -help
A few of the capabilities of systemsetup are listed below:
-setwebproxy
networkservice domain portnumber (on | off) [username password]
Set Web proxy for a network service with domain and port number. Turns proxy on. Optionally, specify on or off to enable and disable authenticated proxy support. Specify username and password if you turn authenticated proxy support on. Example:
networksetup -setwebproxy “Built-In Ethernet” proxy.company.com 80 on bob mypassword
-help Displays a list of all the commands available in the Network Setup Tool, with explanatory information.
flag description
Flag Description
-setallowpowerbuttontosleepcomputer (on | off)
Enable or disable whether the power button can sleep the computer. Example:
systemsetup
-setallowpowerbuttontosleepcomputer on
-setdate mm:dd:yy Use this command to set the current month, day, and year. Example:
systemsetup -setdate 04:15:02 -setlocalsubnetname name Set Local Hostname to name. Example:
systemsetup -setlocalsubnetname LabMac1
-setnetworktimeserver timeserver Use this command to designate a network time server. Enter the IP address or DNS name for the network time server. Example:
systemsetup -setnetworktimeserver time.apple.com
-setremoteappleevents ( on | off ) Use this command to set whether the server responds to events sent by other computers (such as AppleScripts). Example:
150 Chapter 8 Administering Client Computers
-setremotelogin ( on | off ) Sets remote login (SSH) to either on or off. Important If you turn off remote login, you won’t be able to administer the server using SSH for remote login. Example:
systemsetup -setremotelogin on -setrestartfreeze ( on | off ) Use this command to specify whether the server
restarts automatically after the system freezes. Example:
systemsetup -setrestartfreeze on -setrestartpowerfailure ( on | off ) Use this command to specify whether the server
automatically restarts after a power failure. Example:
systemsetup -setrestartpowerfailure on
-setsleep minutes Sets amount of idle time until computer sleeps. Specify “Never” or “Off” for computers that should never sleep. Important: if you set the system to sleep, you will not be able to administer the server remotely while it is sleeping. Example:
systemsetup -setsleep 60 -settime hh:mm:ss Sets the current time. The provided time
argument should be in 24-hour format. Example:
systemsetup -settime 16:20:00
-settimezone timezone Use this command to set the local time zone. Use “-listtimezones” to list valid timezone arguments. Example:
systemsetup -settimezone US/Pacific -setusingnetworktime ( on | off ) Sets whether using network time is on or off.
Example:
systemsetup -setusingnetworktime on -setWaitForStartupAfterPowerFailure
seconds
Set the number of seconds after which the computer will start up after a power failure. The <seconds> value must be a multiple of 30 seconds. Example:
systemsetup -
setWaitForStartupAfterPowerFailure 30 -setwakeonmodem ( on | off ) Use this command to specify whether or not the
server will wake from sleep when modem activity is detected. Example:
systemsetup -setwakeonmodem on -setwakeonnetworkaccess ( on | off ) Use this command to specify whether the server
wakes from sleep when a network admin packet is sent to it. Example:
systemsetup -setwakeonnetworkaccess on
Chapter 8 Administering Client Computers 151
Any command in the Mac OS X Server command-line guide that uses systemsetup
can be used in Remote Desktop using the Send UNIX Command task. Using kickstart
The kickstart command-line utility is embedded within the Apple Remote Desktop client software. It allows you to install, uninstall, activate, configure, and restart components of Apple Remote Desktop without restarting the computer. You can configure all the features found in the Remote Desktop section of the Sharing System
Preferences. The kickstart utility can be used via SSH to configure remote computers,
including Xserves. The kickstart utility is located at:
/System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/ Resources/kickstart.
The syntax and list of actions possible with kickstart are available by running
kickstart as follows:
$sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/ Resources/kickstart -help
If you are running the kickstart utility through Apple Remote Desktop’sSend UNIX
Command function, you don’t need the full path, just the name kickstart and root as
the command’s user.
You can use the sudo command with an administrator account to use the kickstart
utility, or you can use the root user via Send UNIX Command. All commands presented in this section should be typed as one line of text. It’s OK if the text wraps as you enter it; just be sure not to enter return characters.
The following are some examples of actions possible with kickstart:
 Activate Remote Desktop sharing, enable access privileges for all users, and restart the Apple Remote Desktop Agent:
$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/
Contents/Resources/kickstart -activate -configure -access -on -restart -agent -privs -all
 Activate Remote Desktop sharing, enable access privileges for the users “admin”, grant full privileges for the users “admin,” and restart the Apple Remote Desktop Agent and Menu item:
$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/ Contents/Resources/kickstart -activate -configure -access -on -users admin -privs -all -restart -agent -menu
 Activate Remote Desktop sharing, and disable access privileges for all users:
$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/ Contents/Resources/kickstart -activate -configure -access -off
 Shut down the Apple Remote Desktop Agent process:
$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/ Contents/Resources/kickstart -agent -stop
152 Chapter 8 Administering Client Computers
 Deactivate Remote Desktop access for a computer:
$ sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/ Contents/Resources/kickstart -deactivate -configure -access -off