Infrastructure as Code with Jamf - Terraform for Repeatable Mac Management

Learn to automate Jamf Pro deployment using infrastructure as code principles with Terraform and GitHub Actions in this 45-minute conference talk from JNUC2025. Discover how Terraform providers enable version-controlled, repeatable, and testable Mac fleet management through presentations by Jamf Sales Engineers Shane Brown and Ryan Legg, alongside Vanguard DevOps engineers Javier Robles and Anthony Telljohann. Explore the evolution from GUI-based "click ops" to API scripts and finally to Terraform providers, understanding why infrastructure as code matters for Apple device management and how it delivers lower maintenance overhead with community-supported providers. Master Jamf Onboarder for automated setup of new customer instances with compliance benchmarks, and examine GitHub modules for experienced administrators including CIS policies, configuration profiles, Mac applications, and smart groups. Analyze Vanguard's real-world case study demonstrating how they managed 25% of their resources via Terraform in just 5.5 months while supporting 20,000 crew members and 3,200 Macs during 115% growth, resulting in 33% more changes deployed, 43% fewer incidents, and 418% more vulnerabilities closed. Understand building reusable application components with Atmos and YAML, implement effective import strategies, and leverage version control benefits including change tracking, rollback safety, and team collaboration. Explore GitOps workflows incorporating branches, pull requests, and automated formatting/linting, while learning to measure success through increased deployment frequency, reduced incidents, and improved engineer satisfaction. Address common gotchas including environment inconsistencies, import strategy selection, rollback safety considerations, and reusable component development. Gain practical guidance on getting started with Deployment Theory Provider, Jamf Security Provider, and GitHub Modules, plus comprehensive Q&A coverage of Git branches, open source considerations, provider updates, environment consistency, and CI/CD workflow implementation.

Syllabus

0:00 Introduction: Infrastructure as Code with Jamf
1:37 What is Infrastructure as Code? Testable, Repeatable, Scalable
3:15 Evolution: GUI Click Ops → API Scripts → Terraform Providers
5:14 Jamf Onboarder: Automated Setup for New Customers
7:36 GitHub Modules: Backing Onboarder for Experienced Admins
9:19 Live Demo: Terraform Apply Creating 63 Resources Policies, Profiles, Apps, Smart Groups
12:06 Vanguard Case Study: 20,000 Crew, 3,200 Macs, 115% Growth in One Year
14:09 Why Vanguard Chose Terraform: Version Control, Resilience, Repeatability, Automation
17:09 Vanguard Results: 33% More Changes, 43% Fewer Incidents, 418% More Vulnerabilities Closed
18:03 Gotchas: Environment Inconsistencies, Import Strategies, Rollback Safety, Reusable Components
25:06 Getting Started: Deployment Theory Provider, Jamf Security Provider, GitHub Modules
27:55 Q&A: Git Branches, Open Source, Provider Updates, Environment Consistency, CI/CD Workflows