Extension Information Technology (EIT) has been supporting Macs in County Extension Centers since 2007. Our support model has developed over the years. This document summarizes the current state of support.
EIT manages Mac computers in compliance with the NC State Endpoint Security Standard, NC State Computer Use Regulation, and approved Data Management Procedures.
All Mac computers, whether purchased or leased through EIT, are configured and managed through JAMF Pro. JAMF Pro is the NC State approved configuration management system for Macs. The three members of our Mac support team are certified JAMF Administrators.
User accounts for employees are given administrative access. Software updates, including updates to the operating system, browsers, Microsoft Office, antivirus and anti-malware are applied through JAMF.
EIT requires that all Mac computers have a three year AppleCare contract. EIT provides software support and hardware repair internally. Each member of the support team is a certified Apple Certified Mac technician. The certification entitles our team to obtain parts and make hardware repairs to Apple equipment. By doing this, we significantly reduce costs for our offices, because the AppleCare support contract costs considerably less and because we are able to limit repair costs to parts-only.
EIT supports hardware through the life of the AppleCare contract. We extend software support beyond the AppleCare period for as long as the operating system is being updated. Once a computer is no longer able to run a supported operating system, it must be removed from EIT support and it should be retired because it no longer complies with NC State's Endpoint Protection Standard.
Each EIT-managed computer receives a Crashplan license. Crashplan is an NC State approved cloud backup system that continuously backups files to the cloud whenever the computer is on a network. The license is purchased for the computer with Extension Administration funds under a campus site license. Crashplan enables EIT to recover lost files and ensure disaster recovery.
The leased computers are replaced on a three-year cycle. EIT delivers the new computers to the office and picks up those on the lease that is ending. All data is wiped in compliance with NC State removal standards before being returned to Apple. EIT returns purchased computers to NC State Surplus only after they also undergo through the approved data removal procedures.
