App Portal / App Broker 2025 R1 Administration Guide
The App Portal / App Broker Administration Guide includes user documentation for both administrators who configure and manage App Portal, and for end users who use the App Portal storefront to request software for their computer or mobile phone.
The App Portal / App Broker 2025 R1 Administration Guide is organized into the following sections:
| Topic | Content |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Explains what happens the first time you launch the product and are prompted to upload your license file. Also explains how to enter initial deployment technology and integration settings. |
| Managing Your App Portal Site | Explains how to configure your product website by adjusting the settings on the Site Management views. |
| Managing Your Catalog | Explains how to use the Catalog Management views to create and manage catalog items, which are applications/programs that have been published for deployment through the software storefront. |
| Using App Broker for ServiceNow | Explains how to set up and configure App Broker integration with ServiceNow so that employees can request catalog items—including OS deployment with application migration—from within the ServiceNow user interface. |
| Using App Broker for BMC | Explains how to integrate App Portal with BMC MyIT so that you can use MyIT as your front end app store, while App Portal performs the behind-the-scenes fulfillment of software requests, including automatically reserving licenses. |
| Using Compliance Management Features to Track Software Licensing and Usage | Explains how to use My Apps/Inventory Management and Retire/Upgrade campaigns to track software and computers in use in your company, including license data. |
| Using Task Sequence Catalog Items to Perform OS and Application Deployment | Explains how to perform OS deployments by offering task sequence catalog items in the App Portal storefront, making your OS deployments self-service instead of administrator-driven. |
| Using App Survey, Clone/Migrate, and Support Tools to Perform Advanced Deployment Tasks | Explains advanced deployment tasks that you can perform using App Portal that do not involve the checkout of an OSD task sequence catalog item in the App Portal storefront, including using App Survey to migrate applications from a source to target computer, and using Clone/Migrate to migrate applications. |
| Variables Reference | Lists variables used in App Portal / App Broker. |
| App Portal API Reference | Describes App Portal’s API for web services. |
| App Broker REST API Reference | Describes App Broker’s REST API for web services used to integrate with ServiceNow, BMC MyIT, and other ITSM systems. |
| Troubleshooting | Lists topics that help you troubleshoot App Portal issues you may encounter. |
This document does not cover how to use, manage, or install System Center Configuration Manager or Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite or any other deployment technology.
Components of App Portal
[CHECK THIS: FROM TRAINING MANUAL]
App Portal is a web-based application that enables users the ability to order software, operating systems, and more in a self-service manner. App Portal uses third party deployment technologies, such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) to fulfill deployments.
App Portal consists of four components. The four components of App Portal include:
- App Portal Website
- App Portal Web Service
- App Portal Windows Service
- App Portal Database
Each of the four components listed above serve a key role in the overall App Portal application. The following table provides details for the role that each of the four components play in the App Portal application.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| App Portal Website | The App Portal Web Site (ESD) is a Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) website that both the users and administrators connect to in order to generate requests, perform administrative functions, and check status on existing requests. This website can be installed on the ConfigMgr server, or on its own web server. The App Portal Web Site is the single point to connect for both administrators and users. |
| App Portal Web Service | The App Portal Web Service (ESDWebService) is an IIS web service that is used to interact with the host ConfigMgr environment (2007 or 2012). The web service is configured to run as the Local System account on the ConfigMgr server in which it is installed. In ConfigMgr 2012, this web service needs to be installed on the CAS (or Primary Site Server in a single server hierarchy). In ConfigMgr 2007, the web service needs to be installed on the CEN and each Primary Site Server. The App Portal Web Service is not used in Symantec Endpoint Management (Altiris) implementations. |
| App Portal Windows Service | The App Portal Service (ESDService) is installed on the same server as the App Portal Web Site. This service is used to interact with the App Portal Web Services installed on the ConfigMgr environment. This Windows Service runs as the service account specified during installation. |
| App Portal Database | The App Portal maintains its own SQL database. It is recommended that this database exist on the same SQL server as the “primary” ConfigMgr database (e.g. CAS, CEN, or primary depending on version and hierarchy).The App Portal can be installed on Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 or greater. |