Radmind

Radmind is a suite of Unix command-line tools and an application server designed to remotely administer the file systems of multiple client machines.

For Mac OS X, there is a graphical user interface called Radmind Assistant, as well as a GUI for the Radmind server called Radmind Server Manager.

Radmind was the 2003 Apple Design Awards runner-up for Best Mac OS X Server Solution.

Radmind is developed by the Research Systems Unix Group at the University of Michigan.^{[citation needed]}

How Radmind Works

Radmind operates as a tripwire, detecting changes in a client's filesystem (and, in the case of Microsoft Windows, the registry) and reversing the changes. Radmind stores filesystem specifications in text files called transcripts, signified with a .T extension. Transcripts are referenced from command files, signified with a .K extension, which specify which transcripts (and with what precedence) should be applied to a client machine's filesystem.

Suite of tools

The radmind suite of tools comprises

• ktcheck, which updates the locally stored command files and transcripts to match those on the server.
• fsdiff, which checks the client filesystem against the transcripts on the local system without using network bandwidth.
• lapply, which updates the client filesystem to match the transcripts, downloading files as needed.
• lcreate, which uploads new transcripts to the server.
• lcksum, which verifies uploaded transcripts.
• lfdiff, which compares local files with copies on Radmind server.
• lmerge, which combines transcripts on the server.
• ra.sh , which automates the update process using ktcheck, fsdiff, and lapply.
• twhich, which returns which transcript(s) a file is referenced in.
• applefile, which allows Radmind to work with AppleSingle files.