Yet Apple's changes in the Mac's OS X operating system and a crystallization of recent management and security features are spurring a Mac surge in an unlikely market: the enterprise. ZDNet's technology experts deliver the best tech news and analysis on the latest issues and events in IT for business technology professionals, IT managers and tech-savvy business people. Apple is on the cusp of gaining the kind of market command it has not held in over 20 years, with 67 percent of enterprise IT professionals believing the Mac will “cut into PC share over the.
This article is intended for enterprise and education network administrators.
Apple products require access to the Internet hosts in this article for a variety of services. Here's how your devices connect to hosts and work with proxies:
- Network connections to the hosts below are initiated by the device, not by hosts operated by Apple.
- Apple services will fail any connection that uses HTTPS Interception (SSL Inspection). If the HTTPS traffic traverses a web proxy, disable HTTPS Interception for the hosts listed in this article.
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Make sure your Apple devices can access the hosts listed below.
Apple Push Notifications
Learn how to troubleshoot connecting to the Apple Push Notification service (APNs). For devices that send all traffic through an HTTP proxy, you can configure the proxy either manually on the device or with a configuration profile. Beginning with macOS 10.15.5, devices can connect to APNs when configured to use the HTTP proxy with a proxy auto-config (PAC) file.
Device setup
Access to the following hosts might be required when setting up your device, or when installing, updating or restoring the operating system.
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| albert.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Device activation | Yes |
| captive.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Internet connectivity validation for networks that use captive portals | Yes |
| gs.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Yes | |
| humb.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Yes | |
| static.ips.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Yes | |
| sq-device.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS only | eSIM activation | — |
| tbsc.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Yes | |
| time-ios.apple.com | 123 | UDP | iOS and tvOS only | Used by devices to set their date and time | — |
| time.apple.com | 123 | UDP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Used by devices to set their date and time | — |
| time-macos.apple.com | 123 | UDP | macOS only | Used by devices to set their date and time | — |
Device Management
Network access to the following hosts might be required for devices enrolled in Mobile Device Management (MDM):
Mac Os Enterprise Management
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *.push.apple.com | 443, 80, 5223, 2197 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Push notifications | Learn more about APNs and proxies. |
| gdmf.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Used by an MDM server to identify which software updates are available to devices that use managed software updates | Yes |
| deviceenrollment.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | DEP provisional enrollment | — |
| deviceservices-external.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | — | |
| identity.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | APNs certificate request portal | Yes |
| iprofiles.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Hosts enrollment profiles used when devices enroll in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager through Device Enrollment | Yes |
| mdmenrollment.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | MDM servers to upload enrollment profiles used by clients enrolling through Device Enrollment in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager, and to look up devices and accounts | Yes |
| setup.icloud.com | 443 | TCP | iOS only | Required to log in with a Managed Apple ID on Shared iPad | — |
| vpp.itunes.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | MDM servers to perform operations related to Apps and Books, like assigning or revoking licenses on a device | Yes |
Apple School Manager and Apple Business Manager
Network access to the following hosts as well as the hosts in the App Store section is required for full functionality of Apple School Manager and Apple Business Manager.
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
| *.school.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | - | Schoolwork Roster service | - |
| ws-ee-maidsvc.icloud.com | 443, 80 | TCP | - | Schoolwork Roster service | - |
| *.business.apple.com. | 443, 80 | TCP | - | Apple Business Manager | - |
| isu.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | - | - |
Software updates
Make sure you can access the following ports for updating macOS, apps from the Mac App Store, and for using content caching.
macOS, iOS, and tvOS
Network access to the following hostnames are required for installing, restoring, and updating macOS, iOS, and tvOS:
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| appldnld.apple.com | 80 | TCP | iOS only | iOS updates | — |
| configuration.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS | Rosetta 2 updates | - |
| gg.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | iOS, tvOS, and macOS updates | Yes |
| gnf-mdn.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | Yes |
| gnf-mr.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | Yes |
| gs.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | Yes |
| ig.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | Yes |
| mesu.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Hosts software update catalogs | — |
| ns.itunes.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS only | Yes | |
| oscdn.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | macOS only | macOS Recovery | — |
| osrecovery.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | macOS only | macOS Recovery | — |
| skl.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | — |
| swcdn.apple.com | 80 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | — |
| swdist.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | — |
| swdownload.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | Yes |
| swpost.apple.com | 80 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | Yes |
| swscan.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS only | macOS updates | — |
| updates-http.cdn-apple.com | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | — | |
| updates.cdn-apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | — | |
| xp.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Yes |
Oil Enterprise Mac Os Catalina
App Store
Access to the following hosts might be required for updating apps:
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *.itunes.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Store content such as apps, books, and music | Yes |
| *.apps.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Store content such as apps, books, and music | Yes |
| *.mzstatic.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Store content such as apps, books, and music | — |
| itunes.apple.com | 443, 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Yes | |
| ppq.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Enterprise App validation | — |
Content caching
Access to the following host is required for a Mac that uses macOS content caching:
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lcdn-registration.apple.com | 443 | TCP | macOS only | Content caching server registration | Yes |
| serverstatus.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Content caching client public IP determination | Yes |
Apple Developer
Access to the following hosts is required for app notarization and app validation.
New Mac Os 11
App notarization
Starting with macOS 10.14.5, software is checked for notarization before it will run. In order for this check to succeed, a Mac must be able to access the same hosts listed in the Ensure Your Build Server Has Network Access section of Customizing the Notarization Workflow:
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17.248.128.0/18 | 443 | TCP | macOS only | Ticket delivery | — |
| 17.250.64.0/18 | 443 | TCP | macOS only | Ticket delivery | — |
| 17.248.192.0/19 | 443 | TCP | macOS only | Ticket delivery | — |
App validation
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
| *.appattest.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS and macOS | App validation, Touch ID and Face ID authentication for websites | - |
Feedback Assistant
Feedback Assistant is an app used by developers and members of the beta software programs to report feedback to Apple. It uses the following hosts:
| Hosts | Port | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
| fba.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Used by Feedback Assistant to file and view feedback | Yes |
| cssubmissions.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Used by Feedback Assistant to upload files | Yes |
| bpapi.apple.com | 443 | TCP | tvOS only | Provides beta software updates | Yes |
Apple diagnostics
Apple devices may access the following host in order to perform diagnostics used to detect a possible hardware issue:
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
| diagassets.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Used by Apple devices to help detect possible hardware issues | Yes |
Domain Name System resolution
In order to use encrypted Domain Name System (DNS) resolution in iOS 14, tvOS 14, and macOS Big Sur, the following host will be contacted:
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
| doh.dns.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Used for DNS over HTTPS (DoH) | Yes |
Certificate validation
Apple devices must be able to connect to the following hosts to validate digital certificates used by the hosts listed above:
| Hosts | Ports | Protocol | OS | Description | Supports proxies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| crl.apple.com | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| crl.entrust.net | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| crl3.digicert.com | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| crl4.digicert.com | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| ocsp.apple.com | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| ocsp.digicert.com | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| ocsp.entrust.net | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| ocsp.verisign.net | 80 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | — |
| valid.apple.com | 443 | TCP | iOS, tvOS, and macOS | Certificate validation | Yes |
Firewalls
If your firewall supports using hostnames, you may be able to use most Apple services above by allowing outbound connections to *.apple.com. If your firewall can only be configured with IP addresses, allow outbound connections to 17.0.0.0/8. The entire 17.0.0.0/8 address block is assigned to Apple.
HTTP proxy
You can use Apple services through a proxy if you disable packet inspection and authentication for traffic to and from the listed hosts. Exceptions to this are noted above. Attempts to perform content inspection on encrypted communications between Apple devices and services will result in a dropped connection to preserve platform security and user privacy.
- See a list of TCP and UDP ports used by Apple software products.
- Find out which ports are used by Profile Manager in macOS Server.
- Learn about macOS, iOS, and iTunes server host connections and iTunes background processes.
- Customize the Notarization Workflow.