Installation of self-hosted apps ( iOS only)

Installing self-hosted apps on iOS devices

New article with version: 1.14

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This article refers to a Resellerpreview

Introduction

This HowTo describes how to install and manage hosted apps/self-hosted apps on iOS devices using the Securepoint Mobile Security Management Portal.
Self-hosted apps are apps that are not accessible through the App Store, or have not been submitted there, but are distributed via its own web server.

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This method is not recommended! These apps are not subject to any verification and may contain malware or cause or exploit security vulnerabilities.

Requirement

In order for a self-hosted app to be distributed, there must be

a web server publicly accessible via https and
its .ipa file (iOS package App Store) must be hosted on this web server and
a so-called .plist manifest file must also be present on this web server

The .ipa file

For the app to be distributed, its .ipa file must be deployed on an https-accessible web server. The .ipa file contains the app package, which provides the compressed data of the app in a packed file.
The .ipa file of the app can be exported via the Apple Developer Website. Alternatively, this file can be created or exported via a corresponding development environment, for example Xcode.

The .plist file

In order for an app to be distributed via a web server, a so-called manifest file .plist file must be created.

Requirements for the .plist file

The manifest file must contain the following:

As the name of the file manifest.plist
Full URL to the .ipa file on the web server
The Bundle ID (bundle identifier) for the app
The Bundle Version for the app
A name for the app

Creation of a .plist file

An editor is opened and the following content is entered Entries marked in green are individual configurations.
Necessary manual changes are additionally marked with .

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
 <dict>
 <key>items</key>
  <array>
   <dict>
    <key>assets</key>
    <array>
     <dict>
      <key>kind</key>
      <string>software-package</string>
      <key>url</key>
      <string>https://www.appserver.anyideas.de/MeineApp.ipa</string> //  The URL to the .ipa file on the web server 
     </dict>
     <dict>
      <key>kind</key>
      <string>display-image</string>
      <key>url</key>
      <string>https://www.appserver.anyideas.de/MeineApp57x57.png</string> //  The URL to the display image of the app on the web server.
     </dict>
     <dict>
      <key>kind</key>
      <string>full-size-image</string>
      <key>url</key>
      <string>https://www.appserver.anyideas.de/MeineApp512x512.png</string> //  The URL to the image of the app on the web server
     </dict>
    </array>
    <key>metadata</key>
    <dict>
     <key>bundle-identifier</key>
     <string>com.hersteller.meineapp</string> //  The bundle ID of the app
     <key>bundle-version</key>
     <string>1.0</string> //  The bundle version of the app
     <key>kind</key>
     <string>software</string>
     <key>title</key>
     <string>My App Name</string> //  App-Name
    </dict>
   </dict>
  </array>
 </dict>
</plist>

Explanation of changes and settings

After the manifest file named manifest.plist is created, it is also deployed to the web server.

Assign self-hosted app to MDM portal

Under Mobile Security iOS/iPadOS Apps via the App add button, the self-hosted app is added.
This app is configured as follows:

Caption	Value	Description
Type	App	Select the type App
Name	My App Name	Enter the name for the app
Source	Manifest URL	As app source Manifest URL must be selected
Manifest URL	https://www.appserver.anyideas.de/manifest.plist	Enter the full URL of the created manifest file on the web server
Take Management		Activate the supervised state for the app or take over the supervision if the app is already installed. The supervised state is necessary to delete the app remotely.
Purchase method	Unspecified	Select purchase method
Management flags:	Both deactivated	Select management flags
Device	»Add device	Add the devices on which the app will be installed
User	»Add user	Add the users on which the app will be installed
Roles	»Add roles	Add the roles on which the app will be installed
Tags	»Add tags	Add the tags on which the app will be installed
Comment	Comment	A comment can be added

After the configuration has been performed, this pop-up window appears with the app installation of the sample app Speedtest.

After clicking the Save button, the self-hosted app is deployed to the selected iOS devices, users, roles or tags.
Alternatively, the button / Install performs the installation and accompanying distribution.

Caption	Value	Description
url	https://www.appserver.anyideas.de/MeineApp.ipa	The URL to the .ipa file on the web server Enter the full URL to the app's .ipa file on the web server.
display-image	https://www.appserver.anyideas.de/MeineApp57x57.png	The URL to the display image of the app on the web server. The full URL to the 57x57 pixel PNG image (72x72 pixels for iPad) that will be used during download and installation
full-size-image	https://www.appserver.anyideas.de/MeineApp512x512.png	The URL to the image of the app on the web server The full URL to the 512x512 pixel PNG image that displays the iTunes app
bundle-identifier	com.hersteller.meineapp	The bundle ID of the app
bundle-version	1.0	The bundle version of the app
title	My App Name	App-Name