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Intel Nodes Only

This guide is applicable to VMs deployed on Intel nodes only. Read more about Apple ARM-based Support (Beta) to see which commands and options are supported for VMs deployed on Apple ARM-based nodes.

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Quick navigation

Jump to: Option A: Use the Big Sur image provided by MacStadium | Option B: Use the Big Sur ISO provided by MacStadium | Option C: Update a Catalina or Mojave VM to Big Sur

Starting with Orka v1.4.2 & 1.4.3, you can work with macOS Big Sur in your Orka environment. To be able to spin up a Big Sur VM, you need to have a Big Sur base image or ISO available in your environment.

Before you begin, make sure that your Orka environment is updated to Orka 1.4.2 or later.

Describe that MacPros do not support it

Option A: Use the Big Sur image provided by MacStadium

1. Connect to your Orka environment via VPN.
2. Download the BigSur image in your cluster by running orka image pull --image 90GBigSurSSH.img -y

The 90GBigSurSSH.img is a fully installed and configured macOS BigSur image with a 90G disk size. It also has an admin user configured and SSH and Apple Screen Sharing access enabled.

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Where do I go from here?

Once you have downloaded the macOS Big Sur base image, you can create Orka VM configs, and deploy VM instances from them. See here.

Option B: Use the Big Sur ISO provided by MacStadium

1. Connect to your Orka environment via VPN.
2. Download the BigSur ISO in your cluster by running orka iso pull --iso Big-Sur.iso -y

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Where do I go from here?

Once you have downloaded your macOS Big Sur ISO, you can use it to install Big Sur on a clean VM. See here.

Option C: Update a Catalina or Mojave VM to Big Sur

You can update a macOS Mojave or macOS Catalina VM to macOS Big Sur.

1. Connect to your Orka environment via VPN.
2. Make sure that you have a running Orka VM with macOS Mojave or macOS Catalina.

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IMPORTANT

Make sure that you are working with a freshly deployed instance. The VM must be deployed after your environment has been upgraded to 1.4.2 or 1.4.3.

You can create a new VM config and deploy from it, or you can deploy a new VM instance from an existing VM config.

3. Connect to your Orka VM via VNC or Apple Screen Sharing.
4. From System Preferences, update your current macOS to the latest available version.
   You might need to restart your Orka VM as part of the process.

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Known caveats

If the boot process becomes unresponsive during the update and you don't see any progress for a while, try restarting the VM using the stop and start operations from the CLI, the API, or the Web UI.