Installing Collector on macOS

The following sections explain the Collector installation and deployment methods in detail.

See the Installing Collector documentation to learn how to decide on the installation and deployment method applicable to your infrastructure.

Before you begin

Nexthink distributes Collector for macOS as a disk image DMG file with the following content:

• A predefined installation package file for installing Collector from a graphical user interface.

• The csi.app application for installing Collector from the command line interface.

• A reporter shell application that gathers system information for troubleshooting purposes.

• An uninstaller application to remove Collector when it is no longer needed.

After the installation, as a sanity check, optionally verify the status of the TCP connection between Collector and the Nexthink cloud platform.

Collector runs in user mode and does not ask the user for permissions to install any kernel extension. Running in user mode avoids having to reboot the devices after updates or uninstallation.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following before the installation:

• The Nexthink Collector Nexthink_Collector_<version>.dmg intallation package file.

• The customer key in the Customer Key.txt file, which you receive in your welcome email from Nexthink.

• Access to the full storage device (Full Disk Access enabled).

• URL of your Nexthink instance, including data in the path: <instance>.data.<region>.nexthink.cloud For more information about the URL, see the Connectivity requirements.

• TCP port number for the connection; default: 443.

• Optionally, a third-party automated deployment tool. This documentation covers Jamf and Intune.

• Download the macOS Collector DMG file directly from the product on the Collector management dashboard under Administration > Collector management > Downloads.

Installation package file

To obtain the predefined installation package file:

1

Click the downloaded file Nexthink_Collector-<version>.dmg file.

2

Extract the Nexthink_Collector-<version>.pkg package.

Installation procedure overview

On a high level, the procedure includes the following steps:

Choosing the installation path

Use one of the following paths to deploy Collector:

• Manual installation for a small pilot or unmanaged macOS devices when:

  • You are running a proof of value

  • You manage only a few macOS devices

  • You do not use a UEM solution for these devices

• Jamf deployment if your macOS devices are managed in Jamf and when:

  • Your macOS devices are already managed in Jamf

  • You want Jamf to push both permissions and package deployment

• Intune deployment if your macOS devices are managed in Intune and when:

  • Your macOS devices are already enrolled in Intune

  • You want Intune to push policies and run the Collector install script

You only need one enterprise deployment tool: Either Jamf or Intune.