The branch reflector cache export and import tools allow you to export warmed up base layers, app layers, and drivers to a compressed archive that you can transfer to branch reflectors in advance, saving time and bandwidth.
Use this tool to prepare for a major operation, such as a migration for an entire office, or speeding up image distribution to remote or bandwidth-distressed branches. You can define images to export by providing the following:
Set of base and app layers
Set of layer groups that consist of base and app layers
Driver library
Branch Reflector Cache Export Tool
The branch reflector cache export tool exports the images to an archive which you can then transfer to the branch reflector and import it using the import tool.
To export the file, specify these server parameters.
Parameter |
Description |
|---|---|
ExportBranchReflectorCache |
Activate branch reflector export tool |
-tempfolder |
The temporary folder used by the tool |
-outputfolder |
Output folder to put the archived file |
-layercsvfile |
[Optional] Path of csv file containing a list of layers or layer groups. Example: 5, 1.0 where 5 is the image identifier and 1.0 is the image version. If you omit this parameter, you must include |
-layergroupslist |
[Optional] Path of text file containing a group name on each line in the file. If you omit this parameter, you must include |
-includedrivers |
[Optional] Provide this parameter to export the driver library |
-serveraddress |
IP address of a management server |
The tool performs some external calls to other server tools: ExportLayers to export the required layers and the DriverLibraryCloner to export the driver library. The tool mounts the exported layers and drivers, performs a scan of all files and outputs them into a branch reflector cache format. After the tool archives the branch reflector cache, it performs a cleanup of the temp folder.
Sample execution line:
..\Mirage management server\>Wanova.Server.Tools.exe ExportBranchReflectorCache -tempfolder c:\temp -layercsvfile c:\temp\layer.txt -serveraddress 10.26.200.175 -outputfolder c:\temp\brout -includedrivers -layergroupslist c:\temp\groups.txt
The branch reflector cache import tool extracts the branch reflector cache archive file and imports its contents into the cache of an active branch reflector. Run the tool on the branch reflector machine with local administrator rights.
Branch Reflector Cache Import Tool
The branch reflector cache import tool extracts the branch reflector cache archive file and imports its contents into the cache of an active branch reflector. Run the tool on the branch reflector machine with local administrator rights.
To import the file, you must specify these parameters.
Parameters |
Description |
|---|---|
<path of archive file> |
The full path of the exported branch reflector cache. This path can be a UNC path. |
<path of temp folder> |
The temporary folder must be local path on the branch reflector machine. |
The tool extracts the archive into the temp folder, then the Mirage desktop service API initiates a warmup operation, providing the service with the location of the extracted content and a path to a temp folder. The Mirage desktop service adds the required files to the branch reflector cache. The warmup process occurs in the background and does not impact the operation of the Mirage client or branch reflector. The tool runs until the warmup process completes.
Sample execution line:
C:\Program Files\Wanova\Mirage Service>Wanova.Desktop.BrWarmup.exe "C:\temp\ExportedBRCache.2017-01-10 13.26.15.zip" c:\temp"
After you run the command, the console displays the progress of the tool and the output is saved to the desktop log. Closing the console window does not cancel the warmup process as the desktop service performs the extraction and import phase.
The size of a base image and application layer can vary depending on the different characteristics of the layers. A rough estimate is 8 GB per base layer and 1 GB per app layer. The archive is extracted to a temp location and then imported into the cache, which requires double the disk space for the import operation. After the import is complete, the temporary location is cleared and only a single copy of each image is stored in cache.
