App Layering

App Layering services

The following services run on the App Layering appliance:

  • Management service
  • Layering service
  • BITS server service

The services are displayed on the System tab.

Management service

The App Layering appliance uses the Management service to communicate with the following servers, agents, and platform software:

  • Active Directory
  • Windows file servers
  • Network time servers
  • Unix file servers
  • DHCP server
  • App Layering agents
  • Your hypervisor and provisioning service

The firewall ports for each of the above components must be open. For details, see Firewall ports.

Layering service

The Layering service manages your layers and image templates. The appliance keeps a set of master layers on its local storage, and Elastic layers on the appliance’s File Share.

Note: Elastic layers are copies of App layers stored on the appliance’s File Share. Elastic layers are delivered upon user login, rather than as part of the layered image.

On the System module, the Layering service shows the amount of available space on each of your File Shares.

BITS Server service

The App Layering appliance copies files to and from the appliance using Microsoft’s BITS Server service and the location specified in the connector configuration.

Firewall ports for the BITS Server service

Open the firewall ports for the BITS Server service. For details, see Firewall ports.

BITS Server logs

BITS Server produces its own logs, which you can find here:

/var/log/Unidesk

The logs are based on the log4net configuration settings, which you can find in the following location:

source\BitsServer\Citrix.AppLayering.BitsServer\log4net.config

If you want to change the Uploads folder location

You can mount another volume to use for BITS uploads by configuring the path to the volume for both the BITS server and the Hyper-V connector.

  1. Mount the new volume.

  2. Edit the Uploads folder location for BITS Server in the following json file:

    /var/aspnetcore/bits-server/appsettings.Production.json

    Change default UploadFolder settings of /mnt/repository/Uploads to the new location, for example /mnt/test/Uploads.

  3. Locate the connector configuration file:

    /usr/local/lib/node_modules/unidesk-hyperv-connector/config.json

    Change the default upload folder (called fileUploadFolderPath) from /mnt/repository/Uploads to the new location:

  4. Restart both services:

    systemctl restart kestrel-bits-server
    systemctl restart unidesk-hyperv-connector
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  5. Update the group and permissions on the new Uploads folder:

    chmod 770 /mnt/test/Uploads
    chmod g+s /mnt/test/Uploads
    chgrp apache /mnt/test/Uploads
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App Layering services