MDS

Deploy a Mac in 7 Seconds

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Deploy Intel and Apple Silicon Macs in Seconds

Quickly set up and provision Macs with MDS. Within minutes of pulling a it out of the box and using MDS, your Mac will be set up, configured, and ready to deploy. MDS works with all Macs (including new Macs) with Secure Boot and System Integrity Protection. MDS sets up all the resources for booting from the recovery partition or an external drive, wiping and installing macOS, and installing required packages. The entire process can be automated with the MDS Automaton to bring the actual time of setting up the Mac to less than 7 seconds. It is the easiest and fastest way to deploy Macs.

See It in Action





MDS Features

  • Create Workflows
  • Install Packages
  • Install macOS
  • Label Workflows
  • Automate Restores
  • Create Bootable macOS Volumes
  • Configure Automaton
  • Save to Disk Image
  • Save to External Volume
  • Add Packages to Workflows
  • Add Workflow Descriptions

Everything You Need for Mac Deployment

MDS 4 raises the level for Mac Deployment. MDS 4 adds in full support for Apple Silicon Macs and Big Sur Auto Advance. Kicking off a workflow takes less than 4 minutes from turning on the Mac; the setup is completely unattended. The MDS 4 includes package management with Munki, inventory fleet management with MunkiReport, MDM with MicroMDM, and much more. Quickly set up and deploy MDS 4 on a Mac and have all the resources you need to successfully deploy anywhere from dozens to thousands of Macs.

Fully Automate with the MDS Automaton

Reduce the time in front of each Mac to less than 10 seconds! The MDS Automaton automates the commands to start up in the recovery partition and kick off workflows. Using the Automaton makes it easy to set up and deploy a large number of Macs. Once the workflow starts running, the automaton can be unplugged and plugged into the next Mac. We recommend 5 automatons per tech that will be deploying Macs for peak efficiency!

Restore from the Recovery Partition

MDS works by booting from the recovery partition (holding Command-R at boot or holding the power button on an Apple Silicon Mac), restoring from an external drive or web server, and then installing optional packages. In the past, administrators used NetBoot or booting from an external volume, but currently shipping Macs do not support NetBooting or booting from an external drive without changing security settings.

 

Completely Free!

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.

Perfect Complement for MDM & DEP

MDS does not replace a client management system but instead works seamlessly with it. Whether you are using Munki, FileWave, or an MDM-based client management system, use MDS to install the package that installs the client or enrolls the system.

If you are using Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP), MDS can be used to quickly restore non-responsive systems with an automated workflow for re-installing macOS.

Big Sur Auto Advance for True Zero-Touch Deployment

MDS 4’s built-in MDM server supports the new Auto Advance feature in Big Sur. When a Mac enrolled in Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager starts up for the first time, an auto enrollment record will be downloaded from the MDM service and the Mac will auto advance through the Setup Assistant. Without a single key pressed, the Mac will be fully set up and enrolled in MDM. MDS also supports using 3rd party MDM services that support Auto Advance.

Run Workflows External Drive or Web Server

MDS can save the macOS installer, workflows, and configuration on an external volume or Disk Image via a Web Service for quick and easy access. After booting up from the recovery partition, you have all the resources you need for re-installing macOS and installer packages.

Automate with an Automaton

If you are deploying many Macs, speed is important. Let the Automaton do the keystrokes for you. MDS turns an inexpensive Arduino Micro into a powerful Automaton that fully automates the process. All you do is start up the Mac with the Option key held down, insert the Automaton into any USB port, and let the automation process happen: the Automaton picks it up from there.

Use a macOS Externally Bootable Disk

MDS walks you through creating a bootable external disk so you can run workflows from an external drive or do maintenance on macOS without booting into the internal drive.

Resources

System Requirements

  • Current Version: MDS 4.3 (history)
  • Intel-based or Apple Silicon Mac
  • macOS 11 (Big Sur) or macOS 12 (Monterey)

What Our Customers Are Saying

  • “This is fantastic.”

  • “The automaton is so *cute*!”

  • “Now you’re getting real”

  • “What a great idea #macdeploystick is”

  • “😎👍!”

  • “twocanoes.com makes the coolest MacAdmin tools!”

  • “Refreshing my labs just got a whole lot easier!”

  • “I used MDS for around 20-30 MacBook Pros. It worked flawlessly. I’ll be using it for more than 100 Macs soon.”

  • “A MacDeployStick in every CI worker provides touchless MacOS reimaging.”

  • “Mac admins have a new way to deploy macOS to their Apple devices with the Mac Deploy Stick.”
    – TechRepublic

  • “Tim Perfitt of Two Canoes returns to the pod this week to talk about their new product, Mac Deploy Stick!”
    – Mac Admins Podcast

  • “Created mdsresources.dmg with multiple workflows, saved to an smb share, boot to recovery, enter 4 commands, choose workflow and boom, rocking and rolling with three different lab setups to choose from, next up-program the automaton for those commands”

MDS Videos

MDS News & Tips


Updates

MDS 4 Preview: Auto Advance in Big Sur

 March 28, 2021

Auto Advance in Big Sur brings functionality to Deployment Enrollment and MDM that has been missing: Zero-touch setup. Prior to Auto Advance, a Mac that …

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