dca for win & dci-m image€¦ · 2. select linux (beta) and click the turn on button as shown...

GETTING STARTED GUIDE FOR

DROPLET CONTAINER APP FOR

WINDOWS AND DCI-M DCA for Win & DCI-M image

Getting Started Guide

Droplet Container App for Chrome OS

DCI–X Container Image File

Droplet Computing

Application Delivery, Redefined

WWW.DROPLETCOMPUTING.COM

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DCA for ChromeOS with DCI-X image

In This Document:

Step 1: Enabling the Linux (Beta) ......................................................................................... 6

Step 2: Droplet Computing Container App (DCA)............................................................ 7

Step 3 – Droplet Container Image file (DCI-X) ................................................................... 9

Adding a license file ............................................................................................................ 10

Accepting the End User License Agreement (EULA) ....................................................... 11

Window menu ...................................................................................................................... 12

View menu ............................................................................................................................ 12

Help menu ............................................................................................................................ 13

Container action buttons.................................................................................................... 15

The Settings menu – user mode ......................................................................................... 16

General ...................................................................................................................... 17

Files ............................................................................................................................. 18

The Settings menu – apps settings mode for administrators ........................................... 18

Administrator tools screen views ........................................................................................ 22

Adding a Container Image File (DCI-X) to the DCA ....................................................... 24

Configuring the container resources ................................................................................. 25

Changing the screen resolution ......................................................................................... 47

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Running an app in full screen mode ................................................................................. 48

Minimizing and Maximizing an app ................................................................................... 51

Closing an app ..................................................................................................................... 52

Saving inside the container ................................................................................................ 61

Saving outside the container ............................................................................................. 62

Saving to a network drive ........................................................................................ 62

Saving to the container/host private shared folder ............................................. 62

Removing the app tile from the Droplet workspace ....................................................... 66

Building a Droplet Container Image.................................................................................. 70

Apps.json file ......................................................................................................................... 70

Settings.json file..................................................................................................................... 71

User backups ........................................................................................................................ 72

The DCA help menu ............................................................................................................ 74

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About this guide

This Getting Started guide describes the installation process for the Droplet Container

Application (DCA) for Google Chromebook host devices, the app configuration, and general

use. Droplet Computing containers enable organizations to run Windows apps, both legacy and

modern apps, in a secure, isolated container running on a modern and supportable operating

system. This enables organizations to seamlessly migrate to Chromebook without having to worry

about application compatibility issues. Droplet Computing differs from the traditional VDI type

of delivery mechanism in that applications are delivered centrally, yet run locally on the device,

and all regardless of whether the device is online or offline.

Hardware Requirements

Droplet Computing containers run Windows applications that will require their own CPU and

memory resources. The amount of resource required is determined by the applications that you

want to run inside the container. For example, a simple notepad-style text editor will require as

little as 1GB of RAM to run. The Droplet Computing Container App allows you to assign the

amount of memory available to it, between 1GB and 4GB of RAM. You can also choose the

amount of CPU resource in the same way, by selecting the number of cores to use.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Please ensure that you don’t over provision the CPU cores and that the underlying

devices can deliver the required resources.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The required amount of hard disk space is dynamic and will start off at around 4-6GB, growing

to a maximum size of 20GB as you add apps to the container image. The disk space is thin

provisioned.

Software Requirements

The Droplet Container App has been tested on several Chromebook devices. However, given

the wide range of Chromebooks available on the market today, and growing, it is impossible to

certify every device type. Generally, we test on the Intel Core Processor family, with 4-8GB RAM

installed.

Droplet Computing Container Architecture

The Droplet Computing container solution is effectively an app that allows you to run legacy

Windows apps , across Windows 10, MacOS, Linux and in the case of this guide, Chrome OS host

devices, such as Chromebook and Chromebox. As a locally installed app, the container can

run either online or offline.

The solution consists of two parts, the Droplet Computing App (DCA), and the Droplet Container

Image (DCI) as shown in the following diagram:

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The Droplet Computing container solution ships with different container images, each one

being highly secured and highly optimized for running either classic or legacy apps.

The following diagram illustrates the different versions of the Droplet Computing Container App,

as well as the Droplet Container Image options:

6




In this guide we are going to cover the Droplet Computing App installation for Chrome OS

devices. We will look at how to configure it, and then how to administer the container images,

using the DCI-X container image file designed for running legacy apps.

Chromebook Installation

The Droplet Container App is designed to run under all versions of the Chrome operating system

and is a simple three-stage installation process:

Step 1: Enable the Linux (Beta) commonly referred to as Google Crostini

Step 2: Copy the Droplet Computing container app (single installer for GUI) to the Linux

(Beta) file system

Step 3: Copy the Container image file (single file for operating system run times and

apps)

Step 1: Enabling the Linux (Beta)

The first step of the installation is to install enable the Linux (Beta).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

REMINDER: Not all Chromebook suppliers enable Linux (Beta) by default in their builds. Confirm with your Chromebook vendor that this functionality is enabled in their Chromebook devices. Although classed a beta, Google has a long-standing reputation for beta programs such as Gmail that have been in beta for many years. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

1. You can enable Linux (Beta) under the Settings of the Chromebook by clicking the

menu in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and then clicking on the gear/cog

icon as highlight be the arrow and shown in the following screenshot:

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2. Select Linux (Beta) and click the Turn On button as shown in the following screenshot:

3. Click the Install button to enable Linux (Beta) on the Chrome Device.

4. At the end of the install process, the Chromebook will launch a Linux (Beta) terminal

using the Penguin Shell. This can be closed as it is not required for the next step.

Step 2: Droplet Computing Container App (DCA)

The Chromebook container app is delivered as a .deb file. The .deb format is generally used

within other Linux distributions such as Ubuntu.

Download the .deb file to a location accessible by the Files app on the Chromebook. There are

a number of different ways to achieve this such as downloading the file using the Chrome web

browser, Google Drive, or by using a USB media device to copy the file to the device.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Droplet Computing support staff have used the popular “Network File Share for Chrome

OS” to move smaller files in and out of ChromeOS with success. However, we have found that

larger files great than >2GB size often fail using this app.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Once the .DEB file has been downloaded, copy it into the Linux Files node in Files, at the

same time you can also copy the DCI-X Droplet Container Image (DCI-X) and the license

file (.LIC)

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2. Double click on .DEB file to launch it

3. In the Install with Linux (Beta) dialog box, click the INSTALL button as shown:

Once the install is complete, a Droplet Computing icon is created in the Linux apps group as

shown in the following screenshot:

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From here you can launch the app or pin it to the Chromebook shelf or taskbar.

You have now successfully installed the Droplet Container App (DCA).

By default, the installer will have created the following folders and copied files into the folders as

described below:

DCA @penguin:/opt/droplet

User Data @penguin:/ home/<username>/.config/Droplet/

Shared Folder @penguin:/ home/<username>/.config/Droplet/Shared

Step 3 – Droplet Container Image file (DCI-X)

The Droplet Container Image file contains both the operating system runtimes as well as your

applications, in a secure store, which must be stored on any location with the Linux file system of

Linux (Beta). The contents of the Droplet Container Image (DCI-X) file will be built and managed

as a gold image by the IT admin team, who will then distribute the file to the local devices

running the DCA.

The file can be distributed using standard desktop delivery tools, but in this guide, we will

describe the process for deploying and configuring the DCI-X for a single host device by

copying it into the following location:

<username>@penguin:/home/<username>

This location corresponds to the root of Linux Files, in the Files app as shown in the following:

In the next section we are going to launch the Droplet Container App for the first time.

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Initial Configuration and start-up

Once the installation of the Droplet Container App has completed, and the Droplet Container

Image has been copied to the host device, you can now start the container app. You can start

the container app by launching it from the Chromebook shelf.

If this is the first time you have launched the container app then you will need to perform the

following tasks:

Add a valid license

Accept the End User License Agreement (EULA)

The license key will be provided by your reseller upon purchase of the Droplet Computing

container. This should not be copied or distributed as this will invalidate your End User License

Agreement.

The EULA should be read and either agreed of rejected, if you reject the EULA you will not be

able to launch the container app.

You will only need to perform these tasks once and any subsequent launches of the container

app will not require you to enter the license or accept the EULA again.

Adding a license file

On the first launch of the Droplet Container App you will be asked to enter a license key. This

key will have been provided as a .lic file. To add the license file, complete the following steps:

Launch the container app where you will now see the No valid license found dialog box

as shown in the following screenshot:

Click the Yes button and in the files windows that opens, navigate to your license file

and click the Open button to select it and install it, as shown in the following screenshot:

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You will now see the Droplet Computing EULA agreement

Accepting the End User License Agreement (EULA)

Please read the EULA before proceeding and select one of the following options:

If you accept the EULA, the Droplet Container App will now be ready to launch

If you decline the EULA, the Droplet Container App will exit

The EULA can be displayed at any time by clicking on the help menu and is shown in the

following screenshot:

The EULA will be displayed every time you launch the container app if it has not been

accepted. If you cannot accept the EULA than please uninstall the container app.

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Once you have selected a valid license file and accepted the EULA then the Droplet Container

App will launch with the option to Start Container as shown in the following screenshot:

With the app running, in the next section we are going to take a guided tour of the user

interface.

Guided tour of the Container App user interface

In this section we are going to take a closer look at the Droplet Container App user interface.

Window menu

The Window menu is shown in the following screenshot:

Under the Window menu you can either minimize the container app window, or close it.

View menu

The View menu provides several options to configure the appearance of the container app.

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The View menu is shown in the following screenshot:

You have the following options:

Toggle Full Screen: switches the screen into full screen mode, by removing the menu

bars and leaving the core container functions. Note that the apps running in the

container may not fit the entire screen. This depends on the host device resolution

Reload: Reloads the container screen

Actual Size: Resets the screen size to the default size

Zoom In: Zooms in to the screen

Zoom Out: Zooms out of the screen

Help menu

The Help menu provides several options to provide useful information and links to Droplet

Computing for additional help. The Help menu is shown in the following screenshot:

You have the following options:

1. Droplet Website: Direct link to the Droplet Computing web site

1. About: This gives you information about the version of the DCA you are running, the platform type and version, and whether hardware acceleration is enabled. In this case Linux (Beta) does not currently support hardware acceleration. Nonetheless the performance is acceptable for a great many legacy applications, as shown in the following screenshot:

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2. View License Agreement: Displays the EULA

3. View Online Documentation: Opens a new browser window to the Droplet Computing website and the documentation pages as shown in the following:

4. Zip Log Files: Creates a .zip file containing the DCA log files. This is a two-step process. First of all, you will see a browser window open that shows all the log files as shown in the following screenshot:

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The next step is to select the log file you want to look at by clicking on it to download it.

You will then see the selected log file in the downloads folder as shown in the following

screenshot:

From here you can email it or share it with the IT support teams.

Container action buttons

As well as the menu options there are also three action buttons located on the top right-hand

side of the screen as shown in the following screenshot.

5. Power off: Performs a clean shutdown of the container image and DCA. Only available

once the container is running

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6. Admin Mode: Unlocks the administration interface for managing the container image.

This requires an admin password. The admin options are covered in the next section. The

admin mode is only available when the container is running

7. Settings: There are two settings menus depending on whether you are in user mode or

admin mode. These will be covered in the next section

The final action button is to start the container, launching it so that the applications are

available to the end user. You will see the orange START CONTAINER button in the middle of the

screen as shown in the following screenshot:

Clicking the START CONTAINER button will start the container image ready for use.

In the next section we will look at the configuration options available in the settings menu.

The Settings menu – user mode

There are two different Settings menus depending on whether you are using the container as an

end user or unlocked as an administrator and in admin mode. The Settings menu for the end

user is shown in the following screenshot:

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The settings are grouped into two headings, General settings and Files.

General

The General settings section consists of the following configuration options:

Screen Resolution: Allows you to adjust the container screen resolution (once the

container is running and an application is launched)

Keyboard Layout: Allows the modification of the keyboard language settings. Currently

options are either UK or US

Memory Size: Displays the amount of memory that can be made available to the

container, and can be set from 1GB to 8GB, but can only be configured before the

container is started. Once the container is running, this option is grayed out and is

unavailable

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CPU Cores: This allows the end user to adjust the number of compute cores from either a

single core, dual core, or quad core. CPU resources can be adjusted to suit the

applications requirements, and again can only be configured when the container is

running. If the container is powered off, then this option is grayed out and is unavailable.

Files

The Files settings section consists of the following configuration options:

Share Folder: Displays the path to a shared folder within the container

Images Folder: Displays the currently selected images folder for the DCI-M file

Image File: Displays the path to the active Droplet Container Image file

The Settings menu – apps settings mode for administrators

When the container app is unlocked and in administration settings mode, you will see that an

administration section is shown within the settings menu as shown in the following screenshot:

The first of the app administration settings functions is for Fileshare. By default, the end user can

open an explorer style window within the container that shows the C:\Shared folder, or the

/home/<username>/.config/Droplet/Shared folder if they open the device file share.

These folders are the folders that are synchronized between the host and the container.

By default, Linux (Beta) mounts the folder for local storage to /mnt/chromeos so it is possible,

using the Linux (Beta) Terminal app, to move files downloaded to /MyFiles/Downloads into the

Droplet Computing container.

mv /mnt/chromeos/MyFiles/Downloads/npp.7.8.4.Installer.exe

/home/<username>/.config/Droplet/Shared/

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By disabling the Fileshare option, as shown in the above screenshot, means that the end user

can no longer view the contents of the containers file system or open the folder on the host

device. This in turn ensures an extra level of security for the apps running inside the container.

This can be useful for organizations wishing to ensure that end-users store their data to the

network or Google Drive, and not locally within the container.

The next app administration setting is for Export apps.json. The apps.json file holds the

configuration of the app settings that are displayed as tiles within the Droplet Workspace

interface. Information, such as the path to the app, app description, and the app icon that is

displayed within the workspace.

This feature is designed to help when mass-deploying the container app throughout an

enterprise environment, by taking the current configuration and saving it as a json file that can

then be easily distributed.

The recommendation is to build a container image that contains all your apps and then restrict

access to end users by using the apps.json file to expose just those apps the end user is entitled

to use. If an app tile is not present within the workspace then the end user has no way of

launching an app even though it’s executable files are present within the container.

To do this you would install the apps and then design a workspace that just displayes the

relevant app tiles on the workspace. Once you had built each workspace, you would then

export an apps.json file for each workspace environment you built.

To do this follow the steps described:

1. Click the Export apps.json button and you will see the following screenshot:

2. Click on ACCEPT. You will see the dialog box as shown in the follow screenshot:

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3. In the Name: box, type in a name for the file and then click the Save button

4. If you open a files window, and navigate to My Files and then Linux files, then you will

see the saved apps.json file as shown in the following screenshot:

5. You have now successfully exported an apps.json file that can be used to deploy

multiple container apps in your environment

Each of those files can then be used to deploy the correct workspace to the end user based on

group membership in Active Directory and delivered as part of the end user profile.

For example, if an end user is in the sales AD group, then they would receive the apps.json file

for sales that contains the details of the sales apps. Then, when they launch their container,

only those apps will be available for them to launch.

The final option is to change the password for the app administrator settings.

If you click on the Password box, then you will be able to change the default administrator

password. We will cover how to change the admin password in section 12 of this document.

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Operational Screen Views

The Droplet Container App has two different screen views as listed below:

Droplet Workspace view: Displays the icons/tiles of the available app(s)

Droplet Container view: Displays the currently running app(s)

These views are shown in the following screenshot:

An end user can switch between the different views by clicking on the Mode button (orange

plus button) as shown in the following screenshot:

Clicking on the Mode button will display a pop-up menu that allows the end user to switch

between views. Depending on which view mode they are currently in will determine the menu

option for them to switch to the other view as shown in the following screenshot:

22




An end user can also switch between the currently running apps when in the container view.

Currently running apps are shown in the orange app switcher bar at the bottom of the screen


Administrator tools screen views

When the Container is unlocked and running in administration mode the screen views will show

additional functionality options to enable administrative functions on the container image. You

can also add and edit existing app tiles displayed on the container workspace screen.

To unlock the container, and switch to admin mode, follow the steps as described:

1. Click on the padlock icon from the icons displayed in the top right-hand corner of the

container screen as shown in the following screenshot:

2. You will now see the Enter Password box as shown in the following screenshot:

3. As this is the first time that you will have logged in as an administrator then you need to

enter the default container password of droplet$189, and then click the OK button

23




4. The password will now be validated as shown in the following screenshot:

5. Once the password has successfully been validated, the container will now be unlocked

to allow you to perform administrative tasks. When the container is unlocked and

switched to admin mode the padlock icon will now show highlighted in orange as


Now that the container is unlocked and in admin mode, the core administrative functions can

be found on the container view by clicking on the spanner icon located on the bottom right

hand side of the switcher bar as shown in the following screenshot:

By clicking the spanner icon, you will see a pop-up menu appear displaying the administration

functions for the container image as listed below:

Explorer: Opens a Windows Explorer window inside the container

Control Panel: Opens the container control panel

Task Manager: Opens a Task Manager inside the container

Command Prompt: Opens a command prompt window inside the container

To switch admin mode off and return to user mode then simply click the padlock icon again. It

will switch back to a blue icon and the spanner icon will no longer be available.

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Configuring the Container App for first launch

Now that we have installed the container app and given you a guided tour of the user

interface for both end users and administrators, the next task is to add the Droplet Container

Image file (DCI-X)

Adding a Container Image File (DCI-X) to the DCA

To add a Droplet Container Image file (DCI-X) to the Droplet Container App, follow the steps

described below:

1. Launch the Droplet Container App

2. From the Settings menu (click the cog icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen)

scroll down and click on Image File option as shown in the following screenshot:

3. You will now see the files window appear as shown in the following:

4. Navigate to the image file that you want use for this session, in this case the DCI-X

version, and then click the Open button. You can choose different images by powering

off the container and selecting the image you want to use

5. You will now see that the image has now been added as shown in the following

screenshot:

25




With the container image now selected, the next task is to configure the container resources.

Configuring the container resources

With the container image now added, you can configure the resources you want to allocate to

it, starting with the keyboard layout.

1. Next, configure the container and the amount of resources you want to allocate to the

container from the host machine it is running on, starting with the Keyboard Layout as


Click on Keyboard Layout and then from the pop-up dialog box, click the radio button

to select the keyboard you want to configure. Currently the container supports either a

US or a UK keyboard

2. Next, configure the amount of memory that is available to the container as shown in the


To configure the memory, move the slider to highlight the amount of memory you want

to configure. There are several factors to consider when configuring the memory:

Only allocate the amount of memory required. Do not over allocate

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If your host device only has 4GB of memory, then do not allocate all the

available memory to the container as it may have a performance impact on

your host device OS

Memory can only be configured when the container is powered off

3. The next resource to configure is the number of CPU Cores available to the container as


To configure the CPU cores, move the slider to highlight the number of cores you want to

configure. There are several factors to consider when configuring the memory:

Only allocate the number of cores required. Do not over allocate

The maximum number of CPU cores supported with the DCI-Xis quad-core

CPU cores can only be configured when the container is powered off

You have now successfully configured the container and it is ready to launch for the first time.

Launching the Container App for the first time

With the configuration complete, you are now ready to start the container app for the first time.

To do this follow the steps described:

1. Click the orange START CONTAINER button

2. You will now see the container start to load, displaying each step of the process as it runs

as shown in the following screenshots:

Step 1: Activating the container:

27




Step 2: Initializing the container interface:

28




Step 3: Initializing the container:

Step 4: Starting the container run time services:

29




Step 5: Connecting to the container service:

Step 6: Loading the container elements:

30




Step 7: Preparing to display the Droplet workspace that shows the application icons and

tiles available for the end user to launch:

Step 8: The container will now have loaded and be ready for the end user or admin to

start using it as shown in the following screenshot:

By default, the Windows Notepad app has already been added as a tile on the Droplet

workspace and can already be launched by an end user.

31




The container is now ready to use, but before you start to install applications, there is one task

left to complete as part of the first-time launch, and that is to change the default admin

password.

To do this, follow the steps as described:

1. Click on the padlock icon in the top right-hand corner of the container screen as shown

in the following screenshot:


3. Type in the default container password of droplet$189, and then click the OK button


5. Once the password has successfully been validated then the container will be unlocked

to allow you change the password

6. To change the password, click on the cog icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen,

and then from the Settings menu, scroll to the bottom to the Administration section and

then click on the Password option as shown in the following screenshot:

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7. You will now see the CHANGE PASSWORD box as shown in the following screenshot:

8. In the Existing Password box, type in the current admin password. If you haven’t

already changed it then this will be the default password of droplet$189. Then type in

a new password in the New Password box and then type it in again in the Confirm

Password box.

The password must conform to the following:

Must be at least 8 characters long

Must contain at least 1 letter

Must contain at least 1 number

9. Now click the OK button to change the admin password. You will see the following

screenshot as the password is changed:

You have now successfully changed the container admin password.

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Important note: In this version of the Droplet Container App the admin password cannot be

recovered so ensure that you make a note of the password and keep it safe.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Installing an application into the container image

Now that you have a running container, the next task is to install applications so that the end

users can start to use them.

It’s important to note that installing an app into the container does not require any form of

sequencing, virtualizing, layering, or any other form of capturing the setup/install. It is simply a

case of performing a normal install by running the app’s native installer. There are two ways of

installing apps into the container as listed below:

Copy the install media into the Container File Share (for small files)

Run the app installer directly from a mapped/shared network drive or folder such as a

NAS drive

You could also install an app from the Internet by enabling web access to the container.

However, before doing this ensure that the host device is properly protected from malicious files

and downloads.

In this guide we are going to install an app by copying its installer to the Container File Share by

following the steps below:

1. From a running container, click on the padlock icon in the top right-hand corner of the



3. Type in the admin password, and then click the OK button


34





allowing you to install your apps

6. Now click the orange mode button in the bottom left-hand side of the screen and select

the option for Open Container File Share as shown in the following screenshot:

7. You will now see a Windows Explorer window open inside the container showing the

contents of the container’s shared folder as shown in the following screenshot:

The container file share shares a folder on the host device that is synchronized between

the container and the host, meaning any files placed in one folder will automatically

appear on the other. The share is configured using a secure network between the two

folders and is not exposed on an external network and so remains completely secure.

35




8. Now open a file share on the host device by clicking the orange mode button in the

bottom left-hand side of the screen and select the option for Open Device File Share as


9. You will now see a browser window open on your host device showing the contents of

the container’s shared folder as shown in the following screenshot:

In this example we don’t have any files in the shared folder currently, as you can see,

but you can see the path to the shared folder is as follows:

@penguin:/ home/<username>/.config/Droplet/Shared

The Linux (Beta) Terminal app can be used to copy files from if sharing is enabled with in

the Files app. The local file system can be mounted within the Linux (Beta) that allows for

copying to and from the Droplet Container. For example, this command when run in a

Linux (Beta) “Penguin” session copies the file “setup.exe” form the downloads folder of

the Chromebook to the C:\Shared folder within the Droplet Container

cp /mnt/chromeos/MyFiles/Downloads/setup.exe /home/<username>/.config/Droplet/Shared

This ./config/Droplet folder contains user profile data that can be moved or migrated

with the end user and is also used to sync when using a User Environment Management

(UEM) solution.

For example, if the end user logs in to a different host device then they will still be able to

access their application settings and data, such as the contents of My Favorites.

36




10. You can now copy files, in this case your app installers, into the folder on the host

device, which in turn will automatically sync with the folder inside the container as

shown in the example screenshot:

11. In this example both folders are currently empty and illustrates the two locations. One on

the host device and one inside the container

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: This method is only used for smaller installers. The recommended method is to install

your apps from a network or shared folder. If you do copy files into the container then

remember to delete the installers afterwards.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Now, from the container, switch back to the Container File Share screen and double

click the installer for the app you want to install. In this example we are going to install

Notepad++, whereby the Notepad++ installer would be run directly from a network

drive/shared folder or by copying it into the shared folder we showed previously

37




13. The installer for Notepad++ will now launch, where it is just a case of working through the

installation steps as if you were installing the app natively on an end point device and

operating system. This is shown in the following screenshot:

With the app installer completed, finalize the installation and make any configuration changes

that you need to. The container is fully stateful so any changes you make to the configuration of

the app will persist when the container image is delivered to the end users.

If, as part of your app install, the app needs to restart, then choose the option to restart later

and instead shutdown the container and restart.

You have now successfully installed an app into the Droplet Container Image file. The next step

is to create an app tile or icon in the Droplet Workspace allowing an end user to access and

launch the app.

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Creating an app tile in the Droplet Workspace

Even though in the previous section you installed an app into the Droplet Container Image file, it

is not automatically added to an end user’s workspace as a tile or icon from where they can

launch the app. So, at this stage the end users cannot launch an app until you create a tile

within the workspace.

To create the tile in the workspace, follow the steps described below:







allowing you create a new app tile. You will now see a new ‘blank’ tile with a plus (+)

button in it as shown in the following screenshot:

39




6. Click the plus (+) button on the blank tile. You will now see the ADD NEW APP

configuration dialog box appear as shown in the following screenshot:

The first section to complete is to Enter Details

7. In the Name box, type in a name for the app. In this example we have called it

Notepad++ as that’s the app you are installing, however you can call the app

whatever name is appropriate for your environment and end users

8. Next, in the Path box, type in the path to the app. In this example the installation of

Notepad++can be found in C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe. The full

path is not always required, but us dependent on the app install

9. Finally, you can optionally add a description for the app to help users identify it

10. Once configured, click the NEXT button to continue. You will now see the Select Icon

section as shown in the following screenshot:

40




11. On this screen you can optionally choose to add a custom icon for your app. If you

choose not to add an icon, then click the SKIP button and it will be left blank

displaying just the beginning letter of the app name

12. To add an icon, click on DROP/SELECT ICON. You will now see a browser window

open as shown in the following screenshot:

13. Navigate to the location of where you have stored your icon files. In this example we

have created several icons and saved them as .jpg files as shown in the screenshot.

14. Click to select an icon and then click on the Open button, or simply drag it into the

orange box. In this example we have the logo for Notepad++ as the icon

15. You will now return to the Select Icon screen which will display your chosen icon as


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16. If you want to change or delete the icon, then click on the CLEAR button

17. Once you have configured the icon then click the NEXT button to continue the

configuration

18. You will now see the Preview and Save screen as shown in the following screenshot:

This screen is essentially a summary of the tile configuration you are about to add to

the user’s workspace and shows what it will look like once added

19. Click the FINISH button to complete the tile configuration

You have now successfully added a new tile for the newly installed application that will

appear in the user workspace as shown in the following screenshot:

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At this stage it is worth testing to make sure that the app launches and runs as expected. You

can still launch the app while in admin mode.

When building a Droplet Container Image, you can install more than one app. The size of the

container can grow to a maximum size of 20GB. This means that you could include several

installed apps within your container image but not create tiles on the workspace for them,

effectively making them invisible to the end user and so that they cannot launch them.

If an end user then requires one of these apps, all you would need to do is update the

apps.json configuration file to add these new apps to their workspace.

Editing an existing app tile on the Droplet Workspace

To edit an existing tile in the workspace, follow the steps described below:






43





allowing you to edit an existing app tile

6. To edit the app tile, click the EDIT button as shown in the following screenshot:

7. You will now see the EDIT APP screen as shown in the following screenshot:

8. From here you can now work through and edit the details of the app name, app path,

and the description. This is essentially the same as working through the same process as

you would to create a new app tile

9. Click the NEXT button to continue to the icon screen, and then click NEXT again to

continue to the Preview and Save screen

10. Finally, click the FINISH button to save your changes and return the workspace screen

You have now successfully edited an existing app tile.

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Removing an existing app tile from the Droplet Workspace

To remove an existing tile in the workspace, follow the steps described below:





4. The password will be validated as shown in the following screenshot:


allowing you to remove an existing app tile

6. To remove the app tile, click the REMOVE button as shown in the following screenshot:

45




7. On clicking the REMOVE button, you will see the CONFIRMATION screen as shown in the


8. If you are happy to remove the app tile, then click on the CONFIRM button

9. The app tile is now removed from the workspace and no longer available for an end

user to launch

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Removing an app tile does not uninstall or remove the app from the Droplet Container

Image file. To do this you will need to log in as an admin and either run the app’s own uninstaller

or remove it using the Windows Add/Remove Program feature.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Launching and using applications

To launch an app, an end user simply clicks on LAUNCH on the tile for the app that they want to

launch as shown in the following screenshot:

When an app launches, the focus will automatically switch from the workspace and the apps

view to the container view where you will see the app running.

You will also see that the app appears in the orange switcher bar at the bottom of the screen


By default, the app you launch will run in the container view window as shown in the following:

47




Using the different menu options, you can change the way the container view is displayed,

starting with changing the screen resolution.

Changing the screen resolution

The container view window allows you to change the screen resolution of the app that is

currently running.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: You can only change the screen resolution when you have an app running inside the

container.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

To change the screen resolution of the running app, follow the steps described:

1. Click on the cog icon in the top right-hand corner of the container screen and then

select the option for SCREEN RESOLUTION as shown in the following screenshot:

2. The current screen resolution is shown on the screen resolution button. You will see the

screen resolution options as shown in the following screenshot:

3. Click the radio button for the resolution you want to use for the app and click OK

4. The example below shows two different screen resolutions:

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_________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: You can only change the screen resolution when you have an app running inside the

container.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Running an app in full screen mode

There are two elements to full screen mode. The first is to run the app or container view in full

screen mode.

To do this perform the following:

1. From the container view, click the orange Mode button in the bottom left-hand side of

the screen as shown in the following screenshot:

2. You will now see the app switch to full screen mode as shown in the following:

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When you switch to full screen the container view window opens as a new pop-out window. To

switch back from full screen mode, and to return to the normal container view display mode,

there are two ways to do this.

1. First, simply close the new pop-out window by clicking on the X as you would close any

other Chromebook window. Make sure you don’t close the actual app itself.

2. This is shown in the following screenshot:

3. The second way is to use the containers own exit button. This is a hidden window that

you will find by switching from the pop-out full screen container view back to the original

container view as shown in the following screenshot:

50




4. To exit full screen mode, click the orange EXIT FULLSCREEN MODE button

5. The new pop-out window will close, and the view will change to the original container

view with the app still running, as shown in the following screenshot:

There is also another option available in the menu for Toggle Full Screen. As the container is

running in a browser windows then switching to this mode will not only switch to full screen if it’s

not already enabled, but it will also remove the top menu bar, removing the Windows minimize,

maximize, and close buttons, leaving just the container action buttons.

You can also perform this action by pressing the F11 key on your keyboard, or by following the

steps described:

1. To enable full screen mode, from the menu bar click on View and then click the option

for Toggle Full Screen as shown in the following screenshot:

51




By enabling full screen, you will see that you only have access to the container menu

and action buttons as shown in the following screenshot:

2. To switch full screen mode off either click on View and then click the option for Toggle

Full Screen or press the F11 key again

3. You will return to the original window size along with the Windows buttons for minimize,

maximize, and close

Minimizing and Maximizing an app

While running your app inside the container, you can minimize and maximize the app window

to make it easier to switch between apps when you run multiple apps in the container.

This function uses the standard Windows-style buttons as shown in the following screenshot:

If you minimize the app then you will see the following screenshot:

52




You can also resize the app windows within the container as shown in the following screenshot:

Closing an app

To close an app there are a few different ways. Whichever way is the same as you would

close an app in any Windows environment.

1. The first way is from the app menu on the app you are running in the container, click

the File menu and then click Exit as shown in the following screenshot:

2. The second method is to simply press ALT + F4 on your keyboard

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3. The final method is to just click on red X button in the top right-hand corner of the

app window as shown in the following screenshot:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Make sure that you don’t click on the red X on the Droplet Container App itself otherwise

this will initiate a shutdown of the container.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

In the next section we are going to look at how you can share smaller app installation files

between the container and the host device.

File Sharing between the Container and the Device

To enable file sharing a secure file share between the container and the host device is created

when you install the Droplet Container App. This allows bi-directional file transfers between the

container and the host.

You can save or copy files into either of the respective folders. These can then be accessed by

clicking on the Mode button. This, depending on your configuration, will allow you to select the

option for Open Device Fileshare or Open Container Fileshare as we have previously seen.

You can of course, as an administrator, disable this function completely, removing both of these

options from the menu.

The following diagram illustrates the synchronization between the folder on the host device and

the folder on the container:

54




Files are then synchronized between the host device and container, allowing files to be made

available both offline and when the container is not running. An actual copy of the file is stored

in both locations rather than setting up links from one to the other. There are a couple of

important points to note about file sharing:

Synchronization between the folders is designed for smaller files sizes such as saving

documents and smaller app installations to make an end users’ files available when

offline and when the container is powered off

For larger files, such as installing large apps, then the recommendation and best practise

would be to use a network drive

Synchronization occurs every 5-10 seconds so files may not appear immediately

You can connect the host device to a cloud storage solution to allow container

documents to be automatically uploaded

55




Configuring container networking

The Container is connected to the network securely and routed through the host device’s

network connection. It also has a built-in DNS server that is configured through a built-in

DHCP server that goes through the host devices’ DNS config. To verify this network

connection is setup, check that the guest uses the DNS server which has the IP address

10.0.2.3.

The way in which the container manages network connections means that it requires certain

legacy protocols and services to be enabled on networked devices in order to successfully

connect and communicate over the network. The following devices have been tested to

connect to the Droplet Container over a network:

Windows 10 device

Windows 8 device

Windows 7 device

NAS (Network Attached Storage)

For networking to function correctly you need to enable the common service and protocol for

the following. This can be enabled by the system administrator:

CIFS/SMB1

Simple local account on the device

Printing from the container

The Droplet Computing container supports network printing.

With the DCI-X container image you will need to ensure that your printer has the relevant drivers

available to install into the container. In this instance these would be drivers that would run with

Windows XP or older.

To set up the network printing inside the container follow the steps as described:




56






5. Once the password has successfully been validated then the container will now be

unlocked allowing you to create the mapped network drive

6. Click on the Mode button and select the option for Show Container as shown in the


7. Now, from the bottom right-hand side of the screen, click the spanner icon and select

the option for Control Panel as shown in the following screenshot:

57




8. You will see the Control Panel as shown in the following screenshot:

9. Click on the icon for Printers and Faxes to open the printer’s configuration

10. You will see the following icon to add a printer

11. Double click the Add Printer icon

12. You will see the Welcome to the Add Printer Wizard screen as shown in the following:

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13. Click the Next > button to continue

14. You will see the Add Printer Wizard and the Local or Network Printer dialog box as shown

in the following screenshot:

15. Click the button for A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer and

then click the Next > button

16. You will see the Specify a Printer dialog box as shown in the following screenshot:

59




17. Click the radio button for Connect to this printer and then in the Name box, type in the

address of the network printer. In this example as we type in the IP of the print server you

will see a list of the available printers in the environment available to connect to

18. Select your printer and click the Next > button

19. You will now see the Connect to dialog box as shown in the following screenshot:

20. Enter your credentials to connect to the print server/printer

21. Click the OK button to continue

22. You will see the Default Printer dialog box as shown in the following screenshot:

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23. If you want to make this the default printer then click the Yes radio button

24. Click the Next > button to continue

25. You will see the Completing the Add Printer Wizard dialog box as shown:

26. Click the Finish button to complete the printer configuration

You have now successfully added a network printer to the container.

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Saving files and documents

When working inside the container, there are two different ways in which you can save

documents and files.

The first way is to save outside the container by using either a mapped network drive directly

from the container to a file server, or by saving to the C:\Shared folder inside the container. This

folder is configured as a private share between the container and the host on which the

container is running.

Secondly, as the container is fully stateful, you can also save to the container’s own internal file

system and folder structure.

Saving inside the container

To save files and documents inside the container it’s a simple case of using the save function of

the application you are running. For example, if you were running Notepad you would click on

the Save button. This would save in the My Documents folder inside the container as shown in

the following screenshot:

Enter a file name and then click the Save button.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: The My Documents folder is only available from inside the container, and only when the

container is running. If the container is powered off, then you will not be able to access any files

that are saved inside it, externally. As the container is fully stateful, any files saved inside it will

persist and will again be available when the container is running.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Saving outside the container

When saving externally from the container you have two options. You can save to a mapped

network drive or shared folder, or you can save to the privately shared folder between the

container and your host device.

Saving to a network drive

To save files and documents to a mapped network drive it’s a simple case of using the save as

function of the application you are running. For example, if you were running Notepad you

would click on the Save As… button. This would open the Save As dialog box. Click on the My

Computer icon and then select the shared network folder as shown in the following screenshot:

Enter a file name and then click the Save button.

Saving to the container/host private shared folder

As with one of the ways to install applications into the container image file, the container shares

a secure, private folder with the host device. This shared folder can be used to save documents

that means they exist on both the container and on the host device, as these folders are sync’d.

This allows you to access files and documents when the container is powered off, but also to

then sync that folder with some form of cloud storage platform to allow document

collaboration with other end users in your organization.

To save files and documents to the secure share it’s a simple case of using the save as function

of the application you are running. For example, if you were running Notepad you would click

on the Save As… button. This would open the Save As dialog box. Now click on the My

Computer icon and then double-click on Local Disk (C:). Then double click the Shared folder as


63




Save the document in the Shared folder. This will then be shared with the local host. To access

the file on the local host, click on the mode button, and then select the option for Open Device

File Share. You will then see that the two folders will now be synchronized.

Once the documents and files are present on the host you can now power off the container

and still have access to the folder, as well as be able to sync that to a cloud storage platform.

You will also see that the shared folder can be found on the host device in the following path:

@penguin:/ home/<username>/.config/Droplet/Shared

This allows for multiple users to use the container and have their data stored in their own user

profile. It is also often the default path for UEM solutions to look for user data.

Uninstalling an app from the container image file

To uninstall an application from the container, you would follow the process you would normally

to remove the application by either running its own uninstaller app or from the Windows Add

Remove Programs option.

To uninstall an app from the container, follow the steps as described:



64




2. You will see the Enter Password box as shown in the following screenshot:




allowing you to have access to the container image file

6. Click on the Mode button and select the option for Show Container as shown in the


7. From the bottom right-hand side of the screen, click the spanner icon and select the

option for Control Panel as shown in the following screenshot:

65




8. You will see the Control Panel as shown in the following screenshot:

9. Double click on Add or Remove Programs. You will see the Add or Remove Programs

dialog box as shown in the following screenshot:

66




10. Click and highlight the app you want to uninstall, and then click the Remove button as

highlighted in the above screenshot

11. In this example, we are going remove Notepad++ so click to highlight Notepad++ and

then click on the Remove button

12. Follow the steps to uninstall the application and then close the Add or Remove Programs

dialog box, and then close the Control Panel

13. If, as part of the uninstall process, the app needs to restart, then do not restart using this

option. Instead, shutdown the container and then restart it to complete the uninstall

process.

Removing the app tile from the Droplet workspace

Now that the application has been uninstalled, the final task is to remove the application tile

from the workspace. You could, of course, have just removed the application tile and left the

application itself still installed in the container image file. After all, the end user won’t be able to

access the application.

To remove the application tile from the workspace, follow the steps:

1. With the container still unlocked and in admin mode, click on the orange mode button

in the button left hand corner of the screen and select Show Apps as shown in the


67




2. You will now return to the workspace screen showing the apps that are available to

launch. As you are in admin mode you will also have the EDIT and REMOVE options

available as shown in the following screenshot:

3. To remove the application tile, click on the REMOVE button

4. You will now see the CONFIRMATION box pop up as shown in the following screenshot:

5. Click on CONFIRM to remove the application tile from the workspace. You will see that

the application tile has now been removed as shown in the following screenshot:

68




You have now successfully removed an application from the container image.

Shutting down the container

There are two ways to shut down the container. You can either close the window by clicking on

the X in the top right-hand corner of the Droplet Container Application window, or you can

click on the power button inside the application.

Clicking on either of these will show you the Confirmation box as shown in the following

screenshot:

To continue shutting down the container then click the Yes button.

If you still have an application open and have unsaved data in that application, then before

the container shuts down you will see the Unsaved Changes Detected dialog box as shown in

the following screenshot:

69




If you want to go back and save your data and exit the running applications, then click on the

Cancel button. If you want to continue the shutdown process without going back and saving

your data, then click the Shutdown button.

The container will now shutdown as shown in the following screenshot:

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Container Distribution Methodology

The Droplet Computing solution is a simple application with three major components:

The Droplet Computing Container Application (DCA)

The Droplet Computing Image (DCI)

The container settings and configuration files

The DCA and the DCI have been covered in depth already in this document, so this section is

going to concentrate on the configuration files and the process for distributing the DCA and the

DCI to your end users.

Building a Droplet Container Image

The core component that needs to be built and configured is the Droplet Container Image

(DCI) file for your chosen compatibility level. This, as you have seen in this guide, is where you

install all your end users’ applications.

The container image itself is a single file with the base image shipping ready for you to install

your applications straight into it. The maximum size of the image file is 20GB and is delivered thin

provisioned, growing as you install apps into it. An example of the Droplet Container Image is


Once built, the container image file can be deployed to end users either manually or using

standard deployment tools such as SCCM, Intune, or AirWatch.

In addition to the container image file, there are two configuration files that are also created.

One contains the settings that define the container’s configuration, which is created during the

installation and configuration of the container app, and the second one defines the

applications and tiles that are displayed in the workspace, and is created as you add the

application tiles to the workspace.

These two files are described in more detail in the following:

Apps.json file

The apps.json file is created and configured when you add and remove app tiles within the

workspace. It contains all the details of the applications that are available to the end users with

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details of the path to the files, the executable to launch, and the icon settings for the apps

installed in the container image file.

The apps.json file can be found in the following folders/directories:

@penguin:/ home/<username>/.config/Droplet/

The apps.json file can be copied and deployed to an end user’s device allowing them to

access the applications that are configured within it if they are installed in the container image

file. Different configuration files can be used to expose different apps.

As an example, admins can create one container image file that has all the apps already

installed in it. This can then be deployed to your endpoints as is, and without the need to

change or update it, other than for standard app updates. The apps.json file then dictates

which apps the end user has access to with the different apps.json files being delivered to the

end user based on Active Directory group membership in a Windows environment.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Do not edit the apps.json file manually as this could corrupt the configuration information

within the file. The apps.json file is created automatically as you add and remove application

tiles from the workspace.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The apps.json file can also be easily exported by clicking the Export apps.json button from the

Settings menu when the container is unlocked and in admin mode.

Settings.json file

The settings.json file contains all the settings that are displayed on the menu within the container

app. These are the settings available under the cog icons, and cover the following

configuration options:

Screen Resolution

Keyboard

Memory

CPU cores

Image file location

As with the previous configuration file, the settings.json file can be copied and deployed to an

end user’s device to change the configuration of the container and the amount of host

resource that are allocated to the container.

As an example, admins can create different settings based on the requirements of the apps

within the container as well as those available on the host device. The different settings.json files

72




could then be delivered to the end user based on Active Directory group membership in a

Windows environment.

Backing up the Droplet solution

When it comes to backing up the Droplet solution, the important files to backup are the ones

we discussed in the previous section:

Droplet Computing Image (DCI)

Apps.json file

Settings.json file

It is important to ensure that you have a backup copy of your Droplet Container Image files as

this file contains all the apps you installed into it and would take time to reproduce it. As it’s a

single file it is easy to back this file up using standard backup tools.

The same applies to the two .json files, especially if you have built a catalog of files.

It’s not necessary to back up the Droplet Container App as it’s a quick install and if you have

the image file and configuration files then it is easy to get back up and running.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Do not edit the settings.json file manually as this could corrupt the configuration

information within the file. The settings.json file is created automatically as you configure the

container resources.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

User backups

As a container is fully stateful, an end user may also want to back up their image file, especially

if they save files and documents into the container. Although best practise would state that

they shouldn’t do that, but it depends on your environment and policies.

They can do that by simply synchronizing the files (image and .json) with a cloud storage

platform such as OneDrive or Dropbox. This also allows them to have an element of high

availability as the container image is now accessible from anywhere so can be downloaded

and used on any of the supported platforms.

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Upgrading the Droplet Container App

The Droplet Container App continues to evolve adding new features, and that means you may

want to upgrade to a new version to take advantage of these new enhanced features.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Before you start any upgrade tasks, ensure you have backed up the container image file,

the apps.json file, and the settings.json file. An uninstall of the Chromebook DCA does not

delete either the .droplet file or your application settings. So, it is safe to uninstall an old version,

and install a new version without losing the configuration.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

To upgrade to a new version, you first need to uninstall the current version of the DCA following

the steps as described. In this example we are using the Windows DCA:

1. Open context menu on the Droplet icon in the Chromebook shelf or taskbar. You will

now see the option to Uninstall

2. In the Uninstall App? pop-up box, select Uninstall

3. ChromeOS will continue the process of uninstalling the Droplet Container as shown in the


74




You have now successfully uninstalled the current DCA version. You can install the new

version following the installation instructions covered earlier in this document.

Troubleshooting

If you need support on the Droplet Computing App or the Droplet Computing Image, then

there are several tools available that you may be asked for before raising a support ticket.

The DCA help menu

In the DCA menu options, under the Help menu you will find several link and tools as listed:

1. Link to the Droplet Computing web site. Here you will find an FAQ section that provides

answers to the most popularly asked questions. You can also follow the link below:

https://www.dropletcomputing.com/faqs/

2. You may be asked what version of the DCA you are running. You can find this

information from the Help menu by clicking About. You will see the following information:

3. Finally, under Help you have the Zip Log Files option. This creates a log file and automatically zips it up for emailing if required. This is a two-step process. First, you will see a browser window open that shows all the log files as shown in the following screenshot:

75




4. The next step is to select the log file you want to look at by clicking on it to download it.

You will then see the selected log file in the downloads folder as shown in the following

screenshot:

5. From here you can email it or share it with the IT support teams. You will find the log file in

the following path:

@penguin:/ home/<username>/.config/Droplet/Logs

For additional support and frequently asked questions, you can contact your reseller partner or

visit the Droplet Computing website: https://www.dropletcomputing.com/

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86-90 Paul Street, London,

England,

EC2A 4NE

Droplet Computing Limited

Registered in England and Wales, Company Number 10536920

Application Delivery, Redefined


Droplet Computing