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Show HN: MicroMDM – Open Source MDM Server for Apple Devices

by zalmoxes on 10/1/18, 6:13 PM with 47 comments

• by zalmoxes on 10/1/18, 7:31 PM

  Hi, I'm the author(along with several other developers). MicroMDM is used in some enterprise environments and was recently mentioned in a number of security presentations regarding Apple's MDM and Device Enrollment Program services.

  https://duo.com/labs/research/mdm-me-maybe https://i.blackhat.com/us-18/Thu-August-9/us-18-Endahl-A-Dee...

• by tootie on 10/1/18, 7:15 PM

  This seems like the kind of thing Apple should be offering on their own already. But ultimately you're not going to see many enterprises adopt an Apple-only MDM unless they just love vendor lock-in to the most expensive vendor.

  Negativity aside, I applaud the effort. The MDM space is messy and crowded with bloated products. I hope these guys can at the very least pop the bubble a bit.

• by urda on 10/1/18, 6:46 PM

  I'm curious do any HN readers manage their personal devices through MDM with their own profiles, and what benefits are you seeing from that?

• by markovbot on 10/1/18, 8:10 PM

  what other open source MDM software is out there that aren't Apple-only? Specifically I'd like to manage Android phones and maybe Linux laptops (but I doubt I'll find that)

• by pharaohgeek on 10/3/18, 12:43 PM

  Reading through Apple's MDM protocol documentation and coding up one yourself is a great learning exercise. I had an idea for a niche MDM product and coded up a proof of concept. Eventually I realized the idea wasn't profitable, but still got a lot of value out of the development exercise. I even rewrote it from Java into a couple of different languages (Kotlin, Swift, Go...) to learn a bit more. It's a sufficiently difficult service to implement that you learn quite a bit along the way, but not so difficult that you don't see any progress as you go.