I have an impending project to wipe/reload macOS on something like 160 (mostly modern) Macs. While the location I'll be at has wifi, I know I'll be better off with a good switch, a caching server, and a bunch of usb-c to ethernet dongles preferably gigabit-speed capable ones.
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If you had to get only one, I would say get the official Apple one.

But since you need multiple units…. to work in parallel, I think those are quite expensive.

I did recovery using a Dell branded adapter. Worked fine.

Maybe test a cheap one and see if that works. If so, then you have your answer.

What Mike says, try cheapies; I have 3 or 4 of 'em stashed around, but have never thought about a parallel solution of any magnitude.
Maybe get a "master" on a USB drive (or 2+) and clone away at the same time?
And/or use a laptop (or 2+) and clone away w/ them, too, at the same time?

Massive OS Install Party @ Gabester's Joint!
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Whatever brand you buy. I’d buy a few other brands. With multiple models of Mac you will probably run into a few that just are finicky and nice to have other brands to troubleshoot with

Belkin (Foxconn) USB-C adapters work well with Macs, but sometimes don’t negotiate a connection with some routers. (Looking at you, SonicWall!!)

The most reliable solution will be a white AppleThunderbolt 2 to Ethernet adapter piggybacking on a TB2 to TB3 adapter.

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Tiangou
Belkin (Foxconn) USB-C adapters work well with Macs, but sometimes don’t negotiate a connection with some routers. (Looking at you, SonicWall!!)

Thanks for the SonicWall shout out Doc; our secured network is based on one of 'em.....

thankfully we don't massage that network too much, so we don't run into many issues, but that's good to know.

With 160 Macs to reup the OS's on, Gabester's got his hands full for at least a couple of hours.
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[www.amazon.com]

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C(-)ris
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Buzz

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Tiangou
Belkin (Foxconn) USB-C adapters work well with Macs, but sometimes don’t negotiate a connection with some routers. (Looking at you, SonicWall!!)

Thanks for the SonicWall shout out Doc; our secured network is based on one of 'em.....

thankfully we don't massage that network too much, so we don't run into many issues, but that's good to know.

With 160 Macs to reup the OS's on, Gabester's got his hands full for at least a couple of hours.
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There is nothing wrong with a Sonicwall that FortiGate or Palo Alto can't fix. But in all honesty I worked with them for years in the small business space and they are good for what they are.

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C(-)ris

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Buzz

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Tiangou
Belkin (Foxconn) USB-C adapters work well with Macs, but sometimes don’t negotiate a connection with some routers. (Looking at you, SonicWall!!)

Thanks for the SonicWall shout out Doc; our secured network is based on one of 'em.....

thankfully we don't massage that network too much, so we don't run into many issues, but that's good to know.

With 160 Macs to reup the OS's on, Gabester's got his hands full for at least a couple of hours.
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There is nothing wrong with a Sonicwall that FortiGate or Palo Alto can't fix. But in all honesty I worked with them for years in the small business space and they are good for what they are.

Nothing against SonicWalls. Have some long-obsolete certs for SonicWalls. Easy-peasy to make SSL VPNs with MFA. Regretful lack of built-in NTP service, a ticking clock on the support (subscription) from day #1 (which every maker does these days), and insufficient memory for storing more than a day's logs, but otherwise solid devices for the money.

But the d@mned Belkin adapters which sub for Apple's in almost every respect (excepting AST/GSX-diagnostics) only seem to work with SonicWalls about half the time.

It's not just SonicWall. Old Cisco routers and switches seem to have the same problem. But I seldom see those Cisco boxes anymore while SonicWalls are the go-to for SOHOs and small-enterprise.

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Thanks MRFriends!
I've ordered 4 Belkins, 6 no name brand cheapies, and 8 usb sticks (half samsung 300Mbps and half sandisk dual A/C connectors) to knock this out. I'll let you know how it goes...

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gabester
I have an impending project to wipe/reload macOS on something like 160 (mostly modern) Macs. While the location I'll be at has wifi, I know I'll be better off with a good switch, a caching server, and a bunch of usb-c to ethernet dongles preferably gigabit-speed capable ones.
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Hopefully they have an MDM to manage most of this? I do a similar scope of project every semester for iMac labs. I have it down to a near zero touch process now where I only have to touch the machine once and it is good to go.

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C(-)ris

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gabester
I have an impending project to wipe/reload macOS on something like 160 (mostly modern) Macs. While the location I'll be at has wifi, I know I'll be better off with a good switch, a caching server, and a bunch of usb-c to ethernet dongles preferably gigabit-speed capable ones.
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Hopefully they have an MDM to manage most of this? I do a similar scope of project every semester for iMac labs. I have it down to a near zero touch process now where I only have to touch the machine once and it is good to go.

Don't need MDM.

MDS hosted on any Mac jacked into a network switch. Can simultaneously cover as many Macs as can jack into the switch.

Save the install onto a bunch of USB SSDs and do a bunch more while the networked ones chug.

At the speed of modern Macs, one tech can cover dozens in a day.

Last time I did this, I found that by the time I booted Mac #3 into Recovery, Mac #1 was done.

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Tiangou

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C(-)ris

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gabester
I have an impending project to wipe/reload macOS on something like 160 (mostly modern) Macs. While the location I'll be at has wifi, I know I'll be better off with a good switch, a caching server, and a bunch of usb-c to ethernet dongles preferably gigabit-speed capable ones.
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Hopefully they have an MDM to manage most of this? I do a similar scope of project every semester for iMac labs. I have it down to a near zero touch process now where I only have to touch the machine once and it is good to go.

Don't need MDM.

MDS hosted on any Mac jacked into a network switch. Can simultaneously cover as many Macs as can jack into the switch.

Save the install onto a bunch of USB SSDs and do a bunch more while the networked ones chug.

At the speed of modern Macs, one tech can cover dozens in a day.

Last time I did this, I found that by the time I booted Mac #3 into Recovery, Mac #1 was done.

How much does MDS cost? That's a pretty sweet-looking tool.

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clay

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Tiangou

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C(-)ris

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gabester
I have an impending project to wipe/reload macOS on something like 160 (mostly modern) Macs. While the location I'll be at has wifi, I know I'll be better off with a good switch, a caching server, and a bunch of usb-c to ethernet dongles preferably gigabit-speed capable ones.
g=

Hopefully they have an MDM to manage most of this? I do a similar scope of project every semester for iMac labs. I have it down to a near zero touch process now where I only have to touch the machine once and it is good to go.

Don't need MDM.

MDS hosted on any Mac jacked into a network switch. Can simultaneously cover as many Macs as can jack into the switch.

Save the install onto a bunch of USB SSDs and do a bunch more while the networked ones chug.

At the speed of modern Macs, one tech can cover dozens in a day.

Last time I did this, I found that by the time I booted Mac #3 into Recovery, Mac #1 was done.

How much does MDS cost? That's a pretty sweet-looking tool.

[twocanoes.com]

MDS is free! Use it to deploy as many Macs as you want for as long as you want. It is also open source hosted on bitbucket so you can depend on it being around in the future.
We offer paid support options and encourage you to support the project by purchasing a license, but you are under no commitment to do so. We also sell MDS Automatons to fully automate your Mac deployments, but also make the source and compiled version of the firmware available to do it yourself.

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Tiangou

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C(-)ris

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gabester
I have an impending project to wipe/reload macOS on something like 160 (mostly modern) Macs. While the location I'll be at has wifi, I know I'll be better off with a good switch, a caching server, and a bunch of usb-c to ethernet dongles preferably gigabit-speed capable ones.
g=

Hopefully they have an MDM to manage most of this? I do a similar scope of project every semester for iMac labs. I have it down to a near zero touch process now where I only have to touch the machine once and it is good to go.

Don't need MDM.

MDS hosted on any Mac jacked into a network switch. Can simultaneously cover as many Macs as can jack into the switch.

Save the install onto a bunch of USB SSDs and do a bunch more while the networked ones chug.

At the speed of modern Macs, one tech can cover dozens in a day.

Last time I did this, I found that by the time I booted Mac #3 into Recovery, Mac #1 was done.

If you setup your environment right one tech can do 350 devices with DEP, VPP, and an MDM in a day. We did 360 MacBook Airs in 12 hours last summer, fully imaged all software installed and configured and the only touch we had to do was plugging in the NIC and turning it on. Was roughly 12 minutes each machine from hitting the power button to having the last package install(Office, Chrome, VLC, Zoom, Reader, and a few other small ones) and the machine reboot. We had enough NICs to do 20 at once, but we found that 16-18 was the sweet spot for one person as by the time they finished getting the last one unboxed and going the first one was done.


I watched the YouTube video posted on MDS and I can't figure out why they are using MDS to load a mobile config to add the device to JAMF. If you have an MDM you really don't need MDS at all, it is going to take longer to do it that way.

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C(-)ris
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2023 11:58PM by C(-)ris.

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C(-)ris
I watched the YouTube video posted on MDS and I can't figure out why they are using MDS to load a mobile config to add the device to JAMF. If you have an MDM you really don't need MDS at all, it is going to take longer to do it that way.

I’m sure that’s not how most use it. It’s awesome for automated and comprehensive setup without MDM.

But that YouTube workflow makes sense if they’re not doing DEP.

Lots of places with MDM and no DEP.

And I’ve been in places where they have DEP, but the firewall at work blocks Apple’s servers. Choices are to send people home and trust that DEP takes care of everything without need for follow-up/troubleshooting, or use an iffy hotspot, or do initial setup on site with manual installs or MDS. The last option is quick and easy with MDS and you have happy end-users.

MDS can also automate a wipe+OS update and redeploy for devices with DEP. Saves a few minutes per machine, which adds up quickly.

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Hey MRFriends -

I do have an MDM and will be setting up a zero touch workflow (there currently is one but it's predicated on an end user logging in, so I'll need to set up a parallel one that does everything without a user being present and just leaves it ready for the user to login), but as a backstop because I have no idea of the state of these ~125 Macs (somehow I either previously overcounted by 40 or am now missing 40 from my spreadsheet) I wanted to have the USB sticks and wired ethernet.

I also (independent of Tiangou's recommendation) picked up 3 arduino micros for MDS as it's been something I've intended to play with for some time and my management approved.

I've got ~16-20 hours of time allocated on this whirlwind trip in which I will be wiping/readying most of these Macs for redeployment. A couple dozen are still under warranty, almost 100 can run Ventura, almost all the rest can run Monterey. There is a single 2010 MacBook Air limited to High Sierra in the collection and a handful of 2013/2014/2015 devices that max out at Big Sur.

Hopefully the company thinks that this is worth the $300 plane ticket + the same for lodging; they were planning to bring in a vendor who was going to charge $50 per Mac to do the same, so I think it's a win.

Appreciate the tips and insight, my old deployment tech pal from when I worked for that major urban school district never got back to me on whether it was realistic for me to work on a dozen dozens of devices in such a short period of time. Sounds like I should be able to pull it off.

I'll update here later this week when the trip is done with details on how it went.
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