Lessons in iOS Device Configuration Management

After an initial trial, Trinity College has deployed iPads to its 600 international students. Supporting these devices on the Trinity network has presented challenges relating to configuration management, wireless network capacity, and server load.

We addressed the problem of configuration management with a web application written using the Django framework, which enables students to download and install a customized configuration profile to their iPads. 

This paper describes the requirements and implementation of the configuration management solution, security issues, as well as the experiences and lessons learned from its use.