Thick Client GUI

Summary

This enhancement to Thick Client GUI optimizes the client installer by allowing PDB (debug) files to be excluded from the upgrade package and loaded on-demand via eSP.

Previously, the RIS UI upgrade package included a sizable amount of PDB debugging data which is not required unless there is an error loading the RIS.

With this change, the PDB files may be relocated to eSP for download after the initial upgrade is complete, and only loaded on-demand when the .NET runtime needs to find a line number for a stack trace.

This functionality is only necessary for updates happening interactively while the user is waiting; background installation packages will still include the PDB files and the additional bundle of PDB files will not be required.

This change is transparent to users, but will result in faster client upgrades due to the smaller installer package size.

Service Team Upgrade Instructions

The Service Team must complete the following actions to deploy this feature:

Changes to eSP Configuration

To enable this functionality, go into the RIS Deployment Manager page of eSP, edit the task for the http deployment, and set DownloadPDBFilesSeparately to Yes. Otherwise, the updater will function as normal.

Configuration Instructions

No System Administrator actions are necessary, but Service Team assistance is required to enable this feature.