Manage versions of Workspace

When you deploy Workspace in a large organization, it is often a requirement to control the version of Workspace that is available to certain categories of users.

Managing dependency versions

Starting in Workspace v13, the OpenFin Core package is a peer dependency of the OpenFin Workspace and OpenFin Notification Center packages. This means you must make sure you have the correct versions of all packages installed. You should also make sure you're running the same version of the Workspace and Workspace-Platform packages. For details about which versions you need for all packages, see the release notes on the versions page.

Managing versions through desktop owner settings

In the absence of a specific configuration, OpenFin RVM launches the most recent stable version of Workspace. You can manage the version of Workspace through an entry in desktop owner settings. This strategy enables you to determine what version of Workspace your end users receive and to control the rollout of new versions.

You can control the version of Workspace that runs on users' desktops with an entry like the following:

{
  "desktopSettings": {
    "systemApps": {
        "workspace": {
          "version": "8.1.7"
     }
    }
  }
}

If you're also running Notification Center, add an entry like:

{
  "desktopSettings": {
    "systemApps": {
        "notification-center": {
          "version": "1.20"
     }
    }
  }
}

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Note

Prior to RVM version 6.4.1.1, the name of the main setting for system applications was openfinSystemApplications.

The RVM uses this entry to find the appropriate version of Workspace or Notification Center to launch. That means that the desktop owner chooses when to update the Workspace software, not application owners.

If desktop owner settings aren't enough

If desktop owner settings can't be applied, starting in Workspace 11 you can specify fallback versions in your app manifest. This situation can occur if you have unmanaged desktops with untested versions you don't support, for example for external deployments. For details, see Fallback manifests for system applications.

Multiple desktop owner settings files

Desktop owner settings can be as simple as a single static JSON file hosted somewhere on your network. However, to control what version different sets of users access, you might want to create multiple settings files.

Because desktop owner settings are configured through a registry key, you can have multiple static files, and direct an individual user to a specific one. For example, you can have a production version of Workspace for most of your users, a pre-production version for beta testers, and a third, developer version for your developers.

To deploy a new version of Workspace, change the version number in the settings file that a given set of users access. The new version is applied when the RVM is restarted. This can be accomplished by either rebooting or closing all OpenFin applications and restarting at least one of them.

Do the same to roll back to an earlier version of Workspace. In this case, it is a good idea to force users to close Workspace, so that the older version is applied immediately.