Marker the 12th major release in Apple's almanac OS release cycle, version 10.11 El Capitan is an extension of the previous version of OS X, Yosemite, in that it focuses on adding stability, performance, and security enhancements to the already rock-solid UNIX foundation.

To assist It support staff, systems administrators, and enterprise users get up to speed on OS X El Capitan, the almost of import details and related resources take been compiled into this guide, which nosotros will update every bit new information becomes available.

See: Free ebook: Executive'southward guide to Apple in the enterprise

Executive summary

  • What it is: OS X El Capitan is a major release of Apple tree's OS X operating systems for Mac computers and servers.
  • Why it matters: Bone Ten El Capitan includes many enhancements to stability and functioning, and increases security with new features aimed at both enterprise and consumer users. It likewise adds expanded support for mobile devices and collaboration using OS Ten Server.
  • Who this affects: Keeping in line with Apple'south upgrade policy, OS 10 El Capitan is costless for all users running at least Os X x.six.8 (Snowfall Leopard). Bone X Server 5.0, the server management software that enables server configuration, is free for users of Server 4.0; all other users must purchase Server five.0 from the Mac App Store for $19.99.
  • When information technology was released: Apple tree released OS 10 El Capitan on September 30, 2015 on the Mac App Shop after initiating a public beta release to users that signed up for the Apple Beta Software Program on July nine, 2015.
  • How to get Os X El Capitan: All users running Bone 10 10.six.eight or later are eligible for a complimentary upgrade to OS 10 El Capitan through the Mac App Store. Users may also opt to create a USB install bulldoze with which to install El Capitan on multiple Macs.
  • Updates: Apple will issue periodic updates to Bone Ten El Capitan through the Mac App Store.

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What it is

During Apple CEO Tim Cook's keynote voice communication at the 2015 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC), he removed the shroud off of Apple's latest iteration of Bone 10, titled El Capitan, the successor to OS X Yosemite.

While Apple is known for its strict adherence to secrecy, particularly when it comes to hardware and software releases, the kickoff of several betas was released to developers on June 8, 2015 at the end of the first day of WWDC 2015. A month later, Apple launched a rare public beta program, giving users the opportunity to test-bulldoze non-optimized code and provide valuable feedback regarding bugs and software incompatibilities.

In add-on to farther unifying the blueprint between its desktop (Bone 10) and mobile (iOS) OSes, OS 10 El Capitan boasts notable new features; well-nigh of the features are designed to better OS X'south reliability and efficiency, specially when compared to Os X Yosemite. New features include:

  • Split View: Split View offers a side-past-side view of two supported apps, assuasive users to spring back and forth with undivided attending.
  • Spotlight: Searches are more versatile, encompassing just about any manner of retrievable data, such as movie times, sports scores, and conditions, in addition to spider web-based media searches or location-based data.
  • Notes: Notes received a major upgrade; this feature now includes handwriting support for written notes using a rail pad or iOS device. Also, attachments are now possible for media-rich content, maps, or other files, such as PDFs with a simple drag and drib. Checklists may as well be created from existing or shared information.
  • Safari: In addition to beingness updated, Safari at present supports AirPlay per-site. This allows y'all to stream web content directly from your browser window instead of sharing the unabridged desktop.
  • Metal: This is the core graphics technology that provides access to the graphics and CPU to work together to boost performance while reducing energy consumption.
  • Operation: OS X El Capitan boasts a multitude of under-the-hood changes that serve to brand your Mac work more than efficiently. For case, it's smoother to launch apps and switch betwixt apps, and it's faster to render web pages and PDF documents.
  • Security: Apple included Organisation Integrity Protection (SIP) as a way to reduce the take a chance for malware to infect and later run, effectively mitigating threats.
  • Mail: Calculation support for gestures similar to its iOS counterpart, Mail has increased ease of utilize through suggestions. Information technology also detects calendar dates or contact information and offers a i-click solution to add those items to native Calendar and Contacts apps found in Bone X.

Bone X El Capitan comes in only ane flavor. The optional Os Ten Server is an add-on app that enables server functionality over the base OS X Yosemite or El Capitan installation.

Some features are supported only on certain Mac hardware models or on newer models. For a total breakdown of the features and their respective requirements, check Apple'south knowledge base.

Apple tree'southward technical specifications for OS X El Capitan

  • Minimum OS: OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Hard disk infinite available: 8.8 GB
  • Apple ID required for certain features.
  • Internet service required for certain features.

Apple's Mac hardware requirements for Os X El Capitan

  • MacBook (Early on 2015)
  • MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum or Early 2009 or newer)
  • MacBook Pro (Mid/Belatedly 2007 or newer)
  • MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
  • Mac Mini (Early 2009 or newer)
  • iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
  • Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
  • Xserve (Early 2009)

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Why it matters

Though many OSes rebrand or redesign with each new release, Apple has a different philosophy nigh its flagship OS. With its twelfth release of Os Ten, Apple has opted to move away from whiz-blindside features or a complete overhaul in favor of strengthening its underlying UNIX underpinnings and core system services, while peppering in new features and security updates.

The design aesthetic is like to previous versions of OS 10; even so, Apple continues toward a more platform-unified blueprint by further integrating shared features with iOS without fully merging them. Co-ordinate to Apple tree CEO Tim Cook, it's long been Apple's policy that unifying the 2 operating systems would "subtract from both," and the user wouldn't "become the best experience from either."

El Capitan works in conjunction with iOS, while however very much retaining the look and experience of Bone X that users worldwide accept enjoyed for well over a decade.

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Who this affects

OS X El Capitan is available to all Mac users running Bone 10 10.6.8 or newer as a gratis download.

Upgrading to OS X El Capitan is a straightforward procedure for devices that come across the technical requirements. Unlike competing OSes, Apple does not market multiple SKUs of its operating organization.

All features come pre-loaded with each installation of OS Ten El Capitan, which makes licensing Bone X for an unabridged fleet of devices as simple equally information technology is for just i computer. No missing or disabled features and easy-to-manage licensing, coupled with the power to natively run Windows via Boot Camp, make using Mac computers in the enterprise a worthwhile proposition, specially when considering both upfront costs (hardware) as well as back-end costs (licensing client software).

Regardless of the underlying version of Bone X, the base of operations system may be upgraded direct to El Capitan by running the Installer app downloaded. Performing a clean install is besides possible, yet not necessary to make the jump to El Capitan. If you wish to perform a clean install, remember to back up your information prior to installing the new OS.

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SEE: iOS 9: The smart person's guide

When this is happening

Os X El Capitan (build 10.11) was released to the public on September 30, 2015.

Build 10.11.1 was released on Oct 21, 2015 for download, deprecating the previous build. Available as a separate combo update every bit well, x.11.1 fixes several issues, including reliability updates and stability enhancements for known bugs.

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How to become OS X El Capitan

Os X users running at least OS X Snow Leopard (build x.6.8 or newer) are able to download the Install Os X El Capitan app exclusively from the Mac App Store. The installer, which tips the scales at just over 6 GB, may be used to straight upgrade an existing OS 10 installation to retain whatever existing data and applications. One time installation has completed, the installer file is rubber to delete or copy if you're upgrading multiple computers (Effigy A).

Figure A

For users of Os X versions prior to build 10.6.8, there are ii upgrade options: clean install and upgrade-upgrade.

Clean install

For OS X users of build 10.5 or older, the recommended solution for getting OS X El Capitan is the make clean install. This process requires the creation of a USB Installer Drive for Bone X El Capitan and a full backup of your existing information prior to installation.

Due to the nature of clean installs, the hard drive will exist erased completely, so information technology's very of import to have your information backed upwards before proceeding. In one case the install media and data fill-in are verified, boot the Mac with the install media and follow the prompts to format the hard bulldoze and install a fresh copy of OS Ten El Capitan.

Once the process is completed and the arrangement reboots a final time, OS X El Capitan will exist installed and ready for use. Simply reconnect your backup drive, restore your data, and download your applications to restore your organisation to full working order.

Upgrade-upgrade

While not a technical term per se, upgrade-upgrade refers to the process of installing a previous Bone X — OS Ten Snow Leopard (build 10.half-dozen.8) in this case — so upgrading to OS 10 El Capitan. This requires you to have access to OS Ten Snowfall Leopard's Installation DVD Media to perform an in-place upgrade to Bone X Snow Leopard; then, you can access the Mac App Shop to download and perform a 2d in-place upgrade to Os X El Capitan.

This is fourth dimension-consuming and not a recommended best practise, though it is a viable pick for those wishing to retain data and applications without formatting their hard drive.

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Updates

10.11.1

The 10.11.1 update released on October 21, 2015 contains a number of improvements to reliability in applications, including VoiceOver and Installer.

One major fix was restoring Microsoft Office 2016 support compatibility, which was effectively broken during the 10.11 initial release period.

Fixes were included for a bug in Apple tree Mail that prevented some email communications from displaying in mailboxes and afflicted outgoing server information.

Lastly, 150 Unicode characters (emoji) were added.

10.eleven.2

The 10.11.ii update released on Dec vii, 2015 includes patches for over fifty security vulnerabilities.

By far, the most lauded improvements are in Wi-Fi and Handoff reliability. Some users have noted degraded performance of wireless networks after upgrading to El Capitan from a previous version of Bone X, and this update resolves this issue.

Bluetooth and AirDrop received reliability improvements equally well, since at that place were reports of devices losing connectivity or dropping off due to Bluetooth-related issues, which AirDrop requires in order to institute a connection with other devices.

Enterprise-related issues were too addressed in this update — in particular, NTLM hallmark for Safari users and a Configuration Profile issues, which acquired edited profiles to be removed altogether instead of updated.

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10.xi.3

The 10.eleven.3 update was released on January 19, 2016. Clocking in at nigh the aforementioned size as version 10.11.2, this update mainly includes problems fixes and security patches for vulnerabilities that could permit attackers to obtain privilege escalation to compromise a Mac.

One fix is aimed squarely at enterprise administrators that implement .pkg files to deploy software. This update will retain .pkg file receipts in the /var/db/receipts directory when performing an in-place upgrade from Os X Yosemite.

Also included is an important gear up that corrects a bug preventing users with 4K monitors from waking their computers from sleep way.

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10.11.iv

The x.eleven.four security-focused update was released on March 21, 2016. It includes several user and enterprise features, and it improves the stability and compatibility of your Mac. This is Apple's prepare to a years-old security problems that could let an assailant to compromise a calculator to run capricious code at the kernel level.

Included with the more than xl Mutual Vulnerability and Exposures (CVE) fixes, the update adds the ability to passcode-protect information stored in the Notes app, besides as the power to import Evernote files and sort notes. Corrections have been made to the Photos app and its treatment of RAW files and Apple's Live Photos, which is too at present supported for sharing via AirDrop and Messages.

An important feature for iBooks users is being able to store books in iCloud. Until this update, PDFs were not stored nor synced via iCloud; now PDF storage is enabled as of 10.eleven.four, every bit are a few other corrections to using VIP mailboxes with Gmail accounts in Mail, using Twitter'south URL-shortening service in Safari, and improved compatibility with Apple's USB-C Multiport Adapters.

Enterprise users will see more server- and networking-focused content with this update, such as fixes to correct vulnerabilities in screen sharing and Migration Assistant. Also, Mail not displaying information of certain calendar events hosted on Microsoft Commutation servers. Lastly, improved compatibility and reliability of Personal Hotspot and Cisco VPN clients.

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ten.11.5

The 10.11.5 update was released on May 16, 2016, bringing with it mostly stability updates. This patch includes over 65 CVE fixes for a variety of hardware-, software-, and kernel-related security vulnerabilities.

Additionally, the 10.11.5 update addresses minor glitches experienced past some users after updating to ten.11.4, causing their equipment to freeze sporadically. Enterprise customers too receive minor updates to the NetBoot and Profile Manager services when deploying more than one kick image on the network or configuration profiles that reference detail lines that would trigger unexpected hardware responses.

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10.11.6

The ten.xi.half dozen update was released on July eighteen, 2016, and it addresses mostly stability and security issues. The update mitigates 61 CVE fixes for security-related vulnerabilities that tin impact privilege escalation by means of arbitrary code execution.

This update resolves some compatibility-related issues experienced by users, preventing certain network devices from accessing SMB shares or allowing accounts managed with parental controls from retaining any saved data.

In addition, some enterprise-level compatibility concerns were improved upon or resolved outright when booting client devices from a NetBoot server or using NetBoot images. Also resolved was an consequence that would cause a time out to occur when performing Agile Directory authentication.

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10.11.6 Security Update 2016-002

The Security Update 2016-002 was released on October 24, 2016 as function of the ten.11.6 Combo Update released in July 2016. The integration of Security Update 2016-002 addresses important security vulnerabilities that allows malicious actors unauthorized admission to Mac systems. The update mitigates twenty CVE fixes for security-related vulnerabilities that tin affect privilege escalation by means of arbitrary lawmaking execution, kernel privileges, or memory corruption.

The security update is a highly recommended update, suggested by Apple for all Mac computers running OS 10 10.ten (Yosemite), 10.11 (El Capitan), and 10.12 (Sierra).

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