Windows File Share
A Windows File Share configuration contains the credentials and storage location that the appliance needs to connect to a file share. Use Windows File Share Connector Configuration to publish Layered Images.
For more about Connectors and Connector Configurations, see Connect.
Before you start
Ensure that you have the following configurations:
- A connector configuration with Offload Compositing enabled that supports packaging layers.
- A network file share that can be accessed over SMB from packaging machines created by the packaging connector.
If this is your first time using App Layering
If this is your first time using App Layering and you want to publish layered image disks to a network file share, you can create a connector configuration for each of your publishing locations.
When publishing a layered image, you can select a connector configuration. If you don’t yet have the right connector configuration for the task, you can create one by clicking Add Connector Configuration on the Connectors page.
Required information for Windows File Share Connector Configuration settings
In the Management Console, select Connector > Add Connector Configuration > Windows File Share and click New.
To configure the Windows File Share, specify the following values:
- Config name: A useful name to help identify and track this connector configuration.
- SMB File Share Path: Network share path where layered image disks must be published.
- User Name: Name of a user with read and write permissions to the given share path.
- Password: Password of the given user.
Compositing Settings
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Offload Connector Configuration: A connector configuration with Offload Compositing enabled. This connector configuration composites the layer on behalf of the Windows File Share connector. The virtual machine settings used by the Offload Compositing engine are from this connector configuration. For example, if the Offload Connector Configuration is set up to create UEFI machines, the resulting image is in UEFI format.
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Disk Format: The virtual disk format to publish images as in the network file share. This can be either VHD or VHDX.
Image Portability
The Windows File Share connector is a required component for using Image Portability. It works in conjunction with other IPS-compatible connectors to support export and publish operations.
During an export or publish task, the Windows File Share connector facilitates transferring a platform native image to shared storage as a VHD(x). When configuring this connector for IPS tasks, ensure that the Connector Configuration field references an IPS-compatible connector associated with the source environment (the platform from which the image is being exported/published).
In the case of a publish task, the shared storage is the target location for creating a PVS vDisk using an image which was previously prepared for use with PVS. This may be the PVS vDisk store Windows folder which has been shared on the network. You then register the disk with PVS manually, using the PVS console or PowerShell cmdlets.