Deploy CrashPlan apps

Overview

This article describes multiple strategies for deploying CrashPlan apps to user devices. You can integrate your apps with SSO, for example, without user intervention. The article is intended for administrators using device management tools like SCCM for Windows or Jamf Pro for Mac. This article provides:

• Introduction to CrashPlan app deployment and description of how it works in general.
• Links to help you with specific environments and specific deployment strategies.

Considerations

• Creating and using CrashPlan deployment policies requires familiarity with:
  • Creation and configuration of organizations in your CrashPlan environment.
  • The authentication methods that your organizations use to manage users.
  • The process you use to distribute and install applications to user devices (typically a device management tool like SCCM for Windows or Jamf for Mac).
• Deployment features are not available for Managed Service Provider environments.

How deployment works

Before selecting a deployment option, it helps to understand how deployment works from end-to-end:

1. You define a deployment policy in the CrashPlan console.
2. From the policy view in the console, you copy the arguments for a CrashPlan app installer command.
3. You paste or import those install arguments into your device management software and push them to devices, along with CrashPlan app executables.
4. When install commands run on user devices, CrashPlan apps retrieve your policy from the CrashPlan cloud.
   If the CrashPlan app fails to connect to the CrashPlan cloud and find the policy, it will retry every 5 minutes until it succeeds or a user explicitly stops the process.
5. CrashPlan apps run your policy's detection script in order to determine usernames, home directories, and optionally, organizations.
6. When a policy is configured to automatically register users, CrashPlan apps start monitoring and backing up data without user intervention. Otherwise, users manually authenticate and register.
   If automatic registration fails for any reason, the CrashPlan app retries every hour. It retrieves the policy again and tries to register again, until it succeeds or a user explicitly stops the process. 

Select a deployment option

The deployment options available vary with your CrashPlan environment's configuration:

• Whether you authenticate users with SSO or local authentication.
• Whether and how the deployment's username detection script matches usernames at devices with usernames in your authentication data.

Following are the most common deployment options:

• Silent registration with SSO
• Silent registration with local authentication
• Manual registration

Step 1: Identify the deployment organization

A deployment policy belongs to an organization. When you select or create that organization:

• The organization's authentication method is the policy's authentication method.
• When deployed CrashPlan apps install, users and devices become members of that organization. 
• An organization has one deployment policy only. Child organizations do not inherit their parents' policies.
• Custom images and texts for CrashPlan apps also belong to organizations. You can define customization before or after deployment.

Check configuration of the organization: 

1. Sign in to the CrashPlan console.
2. Select Administration > Environment > Organizations, and select an organization.
   Note the organization name; you will need it later.
3. Verify settings on the Security tab:
   1. Click the action menu and select Edit.
   2. Select the Security tab and verify that the settings are correct for your selected deployment option:
      • Silent registration with SSO: 
        • The Authentication must be SSO.
        • The Directory service must be Local.
      • Silent registration with local authentication:
        • The Authentication must be Local.
        • The Directory service must be blank.
      • Manual registration: 
        • The Authentication must be Local.
        • The Directory service must be blank.
   3. Click Cancel (or Save, if you made changes).
4. Verify the device backup defaults settings:
   1. Click the action menu and select Device Backup Defaults.
   2. Select the Backup tab and verify that DESTINATIONS lists at least one destination name and is set to Use.
      The other possible value, DESTINATIONS ... Auto-start, is not acceptable. It means silent deployment is not possible. To configure destinations, go to the organization's action menu, select Device Backup Defaults > Backup > Destinations.
   3. Select the Network tab and note whether PROXY is enabled; you will need that information later.
   4. Click Cancel (or Save, if you made changes).

Step 2: Create the deployment policy

Define the deployment policy for the organization you identified in Step 1.

1. In the CrashPlan console, select Administration > Client Management > Deployment.
2. Select Create New Deployment Policy or Create deployment policy.
   The prompt differs depending on whether you see the initial welcome screen or your list of existing policies.
3. Enter a Deployment policy name to describe this policy.
4. At Registration organization select the organization you identified at Step 1, above.
   If your organization's name does not appear in the menu, that organization already has a policy.
   You can edit or delete that existing policy.
5. At Do you want to automatically register users?, verify that the settings are correct for your selected deployment option:
   1. Silent registration with SSO: Yes
   2. Silent registration with local authentication: Yes
   3. Manual registration: No
6. At Select one or more operating systems, select the systems you will deploy CrashPlan apps to.
7. For each operating system you select, select Add a custom batch/bash script
   Provide a script that identifies the username and home directory that the CrashPlan app will provide when it registers with your CrashPlan environment. For details, see the script reference.
   The script must end by echoing the username and user home directory in accordance with your selected deployment option:
   • Silent registration with SSO: 

     echo AGENT_USERNAME=<value>
     echo AGENT_USER_HOME=<value>

   • Silent registration with local authentication:

     echo AGENT_USERNAME=<email@address.tld>
     echo AGENT_USER_HOME=<value>

8. At Do your clients need a proxy URL to connect to your CrashPlan authority?, select No or Yes, depending on what you determined at Step 1, above.
9. At Launch desktop app after initial install?, select the correct value for your selected deployment option:
   • Silent registration with SSO: No
   • Silent registration with local authentication: No
   • Manual registration: Yes
10. Click Create.
    You can view the policy and copy the installation properties at any time.

Step 3: Deploy CrashPlan apps to user devices

Step 4: Users sign in to the CrashPlan app

After setting deployment options, users are automatically signed in to the CrashPlan app.

Step 5: Verify success