To help ZENworks distribute the apps purchased through the Apple VPP, you need to create an Apple VPP Subscription in ZCC. This will enable you to link your ZENworks Server to the VPP account to retrieve all apps purchased through this VPP account.
NOTE:Before creating an Apple VPP Subscription, ensure that an MDM role is assigned to at least one of the ZENworks Primary Servers. For details, see Configuring an MDM Server.
While creating a subscription, you can also define a schedule based on which bundles for these purchased apps will be automatically created by ZENworks.
You can enroll in either of the following programs
Apple Deployment Programs account: Navigate to deploy.apple.com and create your program agent account. For more information, see the Apple Documentation.
Apple Business Manager: Navigate to business.apple.com to create your Apple Business Manager account. For more information, see the Apple Documentation.
On the Getting Started with Mobile Management page, navigate to Apple VPP Subscription and click New VPP Subscription. Alternatively, click Subscribe and Share > New > Subscription.
Select Apple VPP Subscription and click Next.
Fill in the fields:
Subscription Name: Specify a unique name for the subscription.
Folder: Browse to the folder in which the subscription will be created. By default, the subscription will be created in the /Subscriptions folder.
Description: Provide a short description for the subscription. This description is displayed on the subscription’s Summary page. Click Next.
On the Configure Apple Volume Purchase Program page, perform the following:
Download the Apple Volume Purchase Program Token: You can download and link either of the following tokens:
For account-based tokens, click Apple Volume Purchase Program Enrollment Web Portal to sign in to the Apple VPP portal using the Apple Deployment Programs account. Download the VPP token from the Account Summary page of the Apple VPP portal.
For location-based tokens, click Apple Business Manager Web portal and sign in using your VPP account credentials. Download the specific location-based VPP token by navigating to Settings > Apps and Books section.
Link ZENworks to the Volume Purchase Program server: Browse and upload the VPP token. The following information that is associated with the token is retrieved:
Organization: The name of the organization that has subscribed for the Apple VPP.
Country Code: The country code associated with the Apple VPP token.
Apple ID: The Apple ID associated with the Apple VPP token.
Email: The email address associated with the Apple VPP token.
Location ID: The unique code associated with the location-based token. This is applicable only for Apple Business Manager accounts.
Location Name: The name of the location associated with the location-based token. This is applicable only for Apple Business Manager accounts.
Token Expiry: The expiry date of the Apple VPP token.
After the token is successfully uploaded and linked to ZENworks, any existing licenses associated with the token are reset and the associated users, if any, are also retired. If the token is already in use by another MDM solution, then ZENworks will notify with an appropriate message, after which you can click Claim Management to link the token with ZENworks.
If the token was previously used by a subscription (that is deleted but its bundles are retained) within the ZENworks zone, then the new subscription will reflect the licenses already consumed. This is achieved by reconciling the VPP account of the new subscription with the one of the deleted subscription.
Click Next.
For each app purchased through the Apple VPP, ZENworks retrieves the app details from Apple and creates iOS bundles, which can then be distributed to users or devices. On the Bundle Creation Settings page, click the browse icon to select a folder location where you want the iOS bundles to reside. Within this folder location, another folder with the name of the subscription is created, within which bundles will reside.
You can also configure additional app settings for these bundles:
Allow ZENworks to take ownership of the app, if the app is already installed on the device: If the app is already installed on the device, this option allows ZENworks to now manage the app. This option is checked by default for all VPP bundles and cannot be modified.
Retain app on the device after unenrolling the device from the ZENworks Management Zone: Retains the app on the device if the bundle is unassigned or deleted, or if the device is removed from the zone. This option is unchecked by default for all VPP bundles and cannot be modified.
Prevent backup of app data to iCloud: Prevents the backup data of apps from getting synced with iCloud. You will not be able to retrieve the app data if the device has unenrolled from the zone.
Create Bundle as Sandbox: Creates a Sandbox-only version of the bundle. A Sandbox version of a bundle enables you to test it on your device before actually deploying it. This option is selected by default for all VPP bundles.
Click Next.
From the Schedule Type drop-down list, choose one of the schedule types. Based on the specified schedule, ZENworks retrieves the latest apps associated with the VPP account. Subsequently, bundles are created for only those apps for which bundles are yet to be created.
Irrespective of the Schedule Type selected, ZENworks syncs with Apple on a daily basis, to retrieve the latest apps. However, bundles are not created as a part of this sync. For details, see Updating License Summary.
You can also select the Launch the Apple Volume Purchase Program Summary page immediately after saving checkbox, which will re-direct you to the Apple VPP License Summary page. Click Finish to complete creating the subscription.
After creating the subscription, you can view its status in the Subscribe and Share section of ZCC. Claim in Progress and Claim Failed statuses indicate that the process to claim management of the VPP account from another MDM solution is either in progress or has failed. If the claim fails, ZENworks will retry until the claim is successful. However, if for any reason the status remains as Claim > Failed for a substantial period of time, then it is recommended that you delete the subscription along with its bundles and create a new subscription.Until the claim is successful, you will be unable to perform actions such as creating bundles, with this subscription.
IMPORTANT:Any replicated content objects, such as bundles that are associated with Apple VPP Subscriptions should not be shared across multiple zones.