Beginning with Symantec Workspace Streaming (SWS) 6.1 Service Pack 4, we have added the ability to stream from an external repository. The external repository can be a UNC share or some other network attached storage. This has the benefit off-loading some of the work from the Streaming Server, which will reduce the number of servers required in large implementations. This technology also makes it so users will use the nearest server if configured correctly.
Create the Repository
At this point there is not a link to access to the respository configuration tool from the Configuration and Management console. Log in to the Managment console and then type the URL directly into the browser. The link to the configuration tool is http://servername:<port>/externalRepos.awe, where the servername is your management console server, and the port is 9842 unless you modified it. You will be presented with a link to create a new repository.
You have the option of creating a UNC fileshare (file:////), SMB fileshare (file://), or http (http://) share. When complete your setup screen should like the following:
Repository Rules
One of the most interesting parts of this feature, is that it is possible to define rules for which repository a user should access. For example, if you use the IP address rule it is possible to have users stream packages from the nearest streaming server based on that address. The type of rules that can be used are:
- User - using wildcards if necessary, you can select users to stream packages from a specific repository.
- Group - if a users is a member of a listed group, the user will use the specified repository
- IP Address - Probably the easiest way to create location awareness. You have the option of using wildcards (192.168.11.*) or Classless Internet Domain Routing notation (192.168.11.0/32 which will match 192.168.11.0 through 192.168.11.32).
The rules can also be ordered according to priority of processing. You can drag each of the windows above or below each other. For example, in the diagram above I can drag the second rule to the top to make the IP rule a priority over the rule for Scot.
Populating Packages in the Repository
After you’ve loaded your package to the Streaming Engine and enabled in your Server Groups you will need to manually copy the package to the repositories. Copy the packages from the following location on your Launch Server:
You will need to copy all folders beneath the pkgRepo folder and place them in your external repository (you do not need copy the PackageStore file). The share that you use as your external repository need only have Read permissions set for all users that will access the repository.
How It All Works
Once the rules are defined they are immediately saved on the Launch Server. When the streaming agent makes a request for an application the rules get read by the streaming agent and the client processes them accordingly. For example, if my client’s IP address matches an IP rule then I will receive my package from the repository from which the rule is assigned. The streaming server will always be a fall back in the event the package is not on the repository or the repository is inaccessible.
To verify you are streaming from your external repository you can check the client logs. The easiest way to find this is to stream the application then search the latest client log for the name of your repository. Below is an example pulled from my client log file (by default this file is located at C:\_AC\Logs\MgrLogsome number ,sort by time and look for the log that was in use while performing the test):
[1392] GENERAL_FLOW,XPFRepositoryHandler::createSourceProvider#277| XPF repository initialized from \\sevdc\eastshare\71869e8381b74a4cbb1f50645b80f223\1\71869e8381b74a4cbb1f50645b80f223_1.xpa