BL RACKMOUNT 4U - Uncategorized Phoenix Contact - Free user manual and instructions

Product Type	Rackmount Enclosure
Brand	Phoenix Contact
Model	BL RACKMOUNT 4U
Category	Industrial Enclosure
Height	4U (177.8 mm)
Width	19 inches (482.6 mm)
Depth	400 mm
Weight	Approx. 10 kg
Material	Steel with powder coating
Mounting	19-inch rack
Front Panel	Removable, with ventilation slots
Cooling	Passive ventilation, optional fan mounting
Protection Rating	IP20
Operating Temperature	-20°C to +55°C
Storage Temperature	-40°C to +85°C
Compliance	CE, RoHS
Included Accessories	Mounting brackets, screws
Main Functions	Housing for electronic components, protection, organization
Maintenance	Clean with dry cloth, check ventilation regularly
Safety	Ensure proper grounding, do not exceed load capacity
Spare Parts	Front panel, screws, mounting brackets
General Information	Designed for industrial environments, durable construction

Frequently Asked Questions - BL RACKMOUNT 4U Phoenix Contact

What are the exact dimensions of the BL RACKMOUNT 4U?

The enclosure has a height of 4U (177.8 mm), a width of 19 inches (482.6 mm), and a depth of 400 mm.

What is the weight of this rackmount enclosure?

The approximate weight is 10 kg, but it may vary based on configuration and accessories.

Is the front panel removable?

Yes, the front panel is removable and includes ventilation slots for passive cooling.

What is the maximum load capacity of the BL RACKMOUNT 4U?

The enclosure can typically support up to 30 kg of evenly distributed equipment, but always verify with the manufacturer for specific limits.

Does it come with mounting brackets?

Yes, the enclosure includes mounting brackets and screws for standard 19-inch racks.

Can I install fans for active cooling?

Yes, the enclosure has options for fan mounting. You can install standard 120mm fans to improve airflow.

What is the material of the BL RACKMOUNT 4U?

The enclosure is made of steel with a durable powder coating for corrosion resistance.

Is the enclosure compliant with international standards?

Yes, it is CE and RoHS compliant, suitable for industrial use.

How do I clean and maintain the rackmount enclosure?

Clean the surface with a dry cloth. Regularly check that ventilation slots are not blocked and that all screws are tight.

Are spare parts available for this product?

Yes, spare parts such as front panels, screws, and mounting brackets can be ordered from Phoenix Contact.

USER MANUAL BL RACKMOUNT 4U Phoenix Contact

Product display of multiple electronic devices including a front panel, front-mounted server, and a connected chassis (no visible text or symbols)

UWF Administrator application

User manual

UM ENVL UWF ADMIN

User manual

UWF Administrator application

UM EN VL UWF ADMIN, Revision A

2019-09-24

This user manual is valid for:

Designation

UWF Administrator

Table of contents

1 For your safety....5

1.1 Labeling of warning notes....5

1.2 Qualification of users....5

1.3 Intended use....5

1.3.1 Product changes ....6

2 Unified Write Filter 7

2.1 Overview 7

2.2 Considerations 7

2.3 Overlay....7

2.3.1 Overlay limitations ....7

2.3.2 Overlay size 8

2.3.3 Paging file 8

2.4 UWF overlay exclusions ....8

2.4.1 UWF overlay exclusions limitations .....9

2.4.2 Moving or deleting excluded files or folder 9

2.5 UWF commit or deletion ....10

2.5.1 File commit limitations ....10

2.6 Applying updates and installing software with UWF 11

2.7 UWF management option....11

3 Recommendations for prolonging UWF overlay life ....13

3.1 Increasing RAM overlay life ....13

3.1.1 Disabling Windows services 13

3.1.2 Excluding files or directories 14

3.1.3 Configuration before enabling UWF .....14

3.1.4 Choosing a size for the overlay 14

3.2 Debugging excessive overlay consumption....15

4 UWF Administrator 17

4.1 Overview 17

4.2 Installing UWF Administrator 17

4.2.1 Requirements ....17

4.2.2 Optional features ....18

4.3 UWF Administrator components....19

4.3.1 UWF overlay monitor 19

4.3.2 UWF notify 19

4.3.3 UWF Administrator configuration interface 20

4.4 Configuration....20

4.4.1 Overview ......20
4.4.2 Filter Setting ......21
4.4.3 Overlay setting 23
4.4.4 Commit File ....24
4.4.5 Exclude File/Folder 25
4.4.6 Miscellaneous 26

A Technical appendix....27

A 1 UWF Administrator events in other systems .... 27

B Appendixes....29

B 1 List of figures ...... 29
B 2 List of tables 31

1 For your safety

Read this user manual carefully and keep it for future reference.

1.1 Labeling of warning notes

This symbol indicates hazards that could lead to personal injury.

There are three signal words indicating the severity of a potential injury.

DANGER

Indicates a hazard with a high risk level. If this hazardous situation is not avoided, it will result in death or serious injury.

WARNING

Indicates a hazard with a medium risk level. If this hazardous situation is not avoided, it could result in death or serious injury.

CAUTION

Indicates a hazard with a low risk level. If this hazardous situation is not avoided, it could result in minor or moderate injury.

This symbol together with the NOTE signal word alerts the reader to a situation which may cause damage or malfunction to the device, hardware/software, or surrounding property.

Here you will find additional information or detailed sources of information.

1.2 Qualification of users

The use of products described in this manual is oriented exclusively to qualified application programmers and software engineers. The users must be familiar with the relevant safety concepts of automation technology as well as applicable standards and other regulations.

1.3 Intended use

Unified Write Filter (UWF) is an optional feature in Windows ^© 10 Enterprise operating systems. UWF replaces the Enhanced Write Filter (EWF) feature provided in the Windows Embedded Standard 7 operating system. Much like EWF, UWF redirects all data writes from physical media to a virtual overlay which is often placed in RAM. Since all data writes are redirected from the physical media to RAM, this provides a way to reduce wear on solid-state drives with limited write cycles.

Along with reducing wear on solid-state drives, UWF provides a simple way to restore to a system by simply rebooting. This can be useful on systems that are preconfigured and would benefit from restoring to the same known good state upon every reboot cycle.

However, a drawback to UWF is exhaustion of the virtual overlay which usually resides in system RAM, a limited resource. When UWF exhausts all available overlay space, applications will begin to crash and eventually Windows will usually crash or hang.

Phoenix Contact UWF Administrator is a utility that provides an easy way to manage and monitor the virtual overlay. UWF Administrator will also monitor the overlay and run user specified actions when a configurable consumption threshold is reach.

1.3.1 Product changes

Changes or modifications to hardware and software of the device are not permitted.

Incorrect operation or modifications to the device can endanger your safety or damage the device. Do not repair the device yourself. If the device is defective, please contact Phoenix Contact.

2 Unified Write Filter

2.1 Overview

Unified Write Filter (UWF) is a built-in optional feature provided in the Windows ^® 10 Enterprise operating system. This section will go over a brief overview of some of the most critical UWF aspects. For a more detailed and up-to-date overview, please refer to Microsoft documentation at

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/customize/enterprise/unified-write-filter

2.2 Considerations

When enabling UWF, the operating system automatically disables:

• Paging files
• System restore
• Superfetch
• File indexing service
• Fast startup
• Defragmentation service

It is recommended to test on one system with UWF protection enabled before deploying to a set of systems. This testing ensures that the configuration does not consume the overlay in an unreasonably short amount of time. See “Debugging excessive overlay consumption” on page 15 for more information.

2.3 Overlay

To enable UWF protection on a system, a user must specify which volume to redirect to a virtual overlay. UWF supports two locations where the overlay can be configured:

• RAM: All writes to a disk volume are redirected to system RAM. Since RAM is in limited supply compared to disk space, an overlay configured on RAM will exhaust faster than one configured on disk.
• DISK: All writes to a volume are redirected to a temporary location on a drive. This temporary location is cleared on a system reboot.

2.3.1 Overlay limitations

There are limitations on which volumes can be protected by UWF.

– FAT, FAT32, and NTFS are the only file system formats supported. UWF will still protect a volume with other file system formats, but a user will not be able to commit files to physical media or create exclusions to the virtual overlay.

During initial startup, the Windows operating system may write system journal files before UWF is protecting the volume. This means that during a limited time at start up, NTFS formatted drives are not protected by UWF.

- Up to 16 terabytes may be protected by UWF.

- Removable drives cannot be protected by UWF.

2.3.2 Overlay size

When using a RAM overlay the user should leave enough space in system RAM to properly run the operating system. Please refer to the Microsoft documentation for current RAM requirements for the Windows 10 operating system. For example, if 2 GB of RAM is required with Windows 10 64-bit and 4 GB of RAM installed, the user should only set the overlay to a maximum size of 2 GB (see "Filter Setting" on page 21).

2.3.3 Paging file

UWF turns off the page file when installing UWF. Without the page file, certain high-resource tasks may fail with a "Low Memory" warning. The more RAM that is installed the less likely this issue will appear. If resources are running low, programs may have unpredictable behavior. Furthermore, memory dump files will not be saved without a page file.

To mitigate this issue, the user may place the page file on an unprotected volume. This volume must not be a "removable" drive. If creating a page file, it is recommended to let the system manage the size. However, if a custom size is required, follow the recommendations outlined in https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2860880/how-to-determine-the-appropriate-page-file-size-for-64-bit-versions-of

To move the page file to a new location:

1. Press the + keys to open a "Run" window.
2. In the "Open" field type SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe and click the "OK" button.
3. The "System Properties" dialog box opens. Click the "Advanced" tab, and then, in the "Performance" group, click the "Settings" button.
4. Click the "Advanced" tab.
5. In the "Virtual memory" group click the "Change" button.
6. In the "Virtual Memory" window, select a volume that is not protected by UWF.
7. Click either the "System managed size" button or the "Custom size" button and enter the desired values in the size fields.
8. Click the "Set" button, and then click the "OK" button to apply the settings and close the window.

2.4 UWF overlay exclusions

UWF allows users to exclude files and folders from the overlay, which is used to retain changes to folders or files between reboots. When excluding a folder, all subfolders and files contained in that folder are also excluded from UWF protection. This is useful when a user may want to retain log history, such as in the case of a log file.

Along with file and folder exclusions, UWF allows user to exclude certain registry keys. This is useful for programs that store settings in the registry which the user wants to retain between reboots.

For more information and useful overlay exclusions see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/customize/enterprise/uwfexclusions.

2.4.1 UWF overlay exclusions limitations

WARNING:

Excluding any prohibited files, folders, or registry values can result in unpredictable system behavior.

Supported Registry Exclusions: A user can only exclude registry subkeys from the following keys:

• HKEY\LOCAL\MACHINE\BCD00000000
• HKEY\LOCAL\MACHINE\SYSTEM
• HKEY\LOCAL\MACHINE\SOFTWARE
• HKEY\LOCAL\MACHINE\SAM
• HKEY\LOCAL\MACHINE\SECURITY
• HKEY\LOCAL\MACHINE\COMPONENTS

Registry exclusions from any other keys are not supported.

Supported File Exclusions: The following directories and files are prohibited from being excluded from the overlay:

• \Windows\System32\config\DEFAULT
• \Windows\System32\config\SAM
• \Windows\System32\config\SECURITY
• \Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM
• \User\\NTUSER.DAT

The root of a volume (C: or D:, for example)

• \Windows
• \Windows\system32
• \Windows\System32\Drivers
• Page Files

A user may still exclude file or subdirectories in the prohibited list above.

2.4.2 Moving or deleting excluded files or folder

Moving files or folders

Users should not move excluded folders or files to protected locations since exclusion settings are tightly bound to a specific path. For example, if C:\example.txt is excluded from UWF protection and it is moved to C:\Test\example.txt, which is a protected location, then:

- the file C:\example.txt is permanently deleted.

- a new copy of the file is created at C:\Test\example.txt. Since C:\Test\ is protected, the copy of example.txt is moved to the virtual overlay. Since the virtual overlay resets after a reboot, all copies of example.txt will then be lost.

The above scenario is also valid for excluded folders.

To move excluded files or folders you must follow these steps:

1. Disable UWF protection.
2. Delete the old exclusion entry.
3. Move the file or folder to the desired location.
4. Add an UWF exclusion entry for the new location.

5. Re-enable UWF protection.

Deleting files or folders

When deleting excluded folders or files with File Explorer the folder or file is moved to the Recycle Bin, which is protected. This can sometimes result in an access denied error.

Folder Access Denied You'll need to provide administrator permission to delete this folder New folder Date created: 8/28/2019 6:01 PM Continue Skip Cancel More details

Figure 2-1 "Folder Access Denied" message

To work around this, a user can exclude the recycle bin from UWF protection or press the + keys, and then right-click the folder or file and press the key. This will bypass the recycling bin.

2.5 UWF commit or deletion

A feature of UWF is to allow users to commit changes made to, or delete files from, the virtual overlay back to the physical drive. This allows any changes made to be retained between reboots. Registry key values can also be deleted and committed in the same way as files.

2.5.1 File commit limitations

This feature can only commit files and not directories. For this reason, this feature is not recommended for use when making a significant change, such as when installing a program.

Files are deleted permanently after committing the deletion; they are not copied to the recycling bin.

A user can only delete a file already committed to the UWF overlay or created before UWF protection was enabled. An error will result if a user attempts to delete a file created when UWF protection was enabled and it has not been committed to the overlay using the "Commit File" feature.

Since excluded files are not committed to the overlay, they cannot be removed using UWF file delete option. Section 2.4 describes file exclusions.

2.6 Applying updates and installing software with UWF

UWF protection should not be enabled when applying Windows Updates or installing software. In the case where large changes need to be made to the operating system, the following steps should be followed:

1. Disable UWF protection, and then reboot the system.
2. Apply updates or install software while UWF protection is disabled.
3. Once done, re-enable UWF protection, and then reboot the system.

Changes should be applied and UWF is protecting the system again.

2.7 UWF management option

Along with the UWF Administrator utility software, Microsoft has a built-in command line tool, uwfmgr.exe which can be used to configure advanced settings that UWF Administrator does not support. You can find the details here:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/customize/enterprise/uwfmgrexe

3 Recommendations for prolonging UWF overlay life

The UWF overlay is a limited resource that can be exhausted. This section outlines recommendations for limiting the number of writes to the UWF overlay that will prolong the useful life of the overlay.

3.1 Increasing RAM overlay life

Since the RAM overlay will often be only a few gigabytes, consumption of the overlay should be considered. This section outlines some ways to prolong the life of the UWF RAM overlay. This section is only a brief overview and further investigation may be required to prolong the overlay life in certain configurations.

3.1.1 Disabling Windows services

The Windows operating system has many background tasks and services that can quickly consume the overlay. The following features are disabled automatically by the operating system once the user installs UWF to prolong the life of the overlay (no action is needed):

• Paging Files
• System Restore
• Superfetch
• File Indexing Services
• Fast Start
• Defragmentation Service

Other services that can be disabled manually to prolong overlay life are:

Table 3-1 Group Policy Editor settings

Function Path Setting Action
Windows update1	Computer Configuration/Administrator Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update	Configure Automatic Update Click the “Disable” button
		Specify intranet Microsoft update service location	Local host 127.0.0.1
Windows Defender	Computer Configuration/Administrator Templates/Windows Components/Windows Defender	Turn off Windows Defender Click the “Enable” button
OneDrive Computer	Configuration/Administrator Templates/Windows Components/OneDrive	Prevent usage of OneDrive for file storage	Click the “Enable” button

1 It is not sufficient to disable the update service since the operating system will re-enable it.

Table 3-2 Task Scheduler settings

Function Path Setting Action
RegidleBackup	Microsoft/Windows/Registry RegidleBackup	Click the “Disable” button
Cleanmgr.exe	Microsoft/Windows/DiskCleanup SilentCleanUp	Click the “Disable” button
Component Store Cleanup	Microsoft/Windows/Servicing	StartComponentStoreClean up	Click the “Disable” button

3.1.2 Excluding files or directories

If a program is writing consistently to a specific directory or file, excluding it from the overlay will increase the life of the overlay.

For example, directories containing log, temp, or program files could be excluded.

Exclude C:\Windows\assembly to exclude changes made when the operating system compiles “.NET” libraries.

3.1.3 Configuration before enabling UWF

Certain tasks should be completed before enabling UWF protection. These should be run before enabling UWF.

If enough time is available, let the PC run for a day or two. This will allow libraries to compile and cleanups to run. To speed up the process the following can be done:

- Pre-compile .NET framework libraries.

Open CMD window with Administrator rights:

a) Navigate to "C:\Windows\Microsoft.Net\Framework\..."
b) Execute "ngen eqi"
c) Execute ngen queue status - see if status is paused
Alternatively go to task scheduler
a) Microsoft->Windows->.NET Framework
b) Run all ".NET Framework NGEN" process in the menu until completion.

– Cleanup Component store.

Open CMD window with Administrator rights

a) Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
b) You can also mount the image and clean the component store offline.

Make sure all required updates and application are installed beforehand.

3.1.4 Choosing a size for the overlay

Overlay life can vary greatly depending on may factors, however, one of the largest factors is the size of the UWF overlay. Generally, as the configured overlay size gets smaller, the overlay will exhaust quicker. For this reason, it is recommended to configure the overlay as large as possible.

3.2 Debugging excessive overlay consumption

Further debugging may be required to determine the cause of excessive overlay consumption. Running the following PowerShell command will output all files in the overlay to a .csv file:

$wmiobject = get-wmiobject -Namespace "root\standardcimv2\embedded" -Class UWF_Overlay
files =wmiobject.GetOverlayFiles("c:")
$files.OverlayFiles | select-object -Property FileName,FileSize | export-csv -Path D:\output.csv 

By looking at which files are stored in the overlay you can determine which programs are writing most to the overlay and consuming space.

4 UWF Administrator

4.1 Overview

Phoenix Contact UWF Administrator provides a graphical user interface for monitoring and configuring the Unified Write Filter (UWF) overlay. The application also provides threshold-based protection to avoid overlay exhaustion. Finally, the tool allows users to configure file exclusions that are useful in preventing overlay exhaustion.

4.2 Installing UWF Administrator

4.2.1 Requirements

The following is required to install the Phoenix Contact UWF Administrator application.

– Phoenix Contact industrial PC (IPC).
- 4 GB RAM for 64-bit systems and 2 GB RAM for 32-bit systems.
- .NET Framework 4.6.1, which is installed by default with the Windows 10 2019 LTSC and Windows 10 2016 LTSB operating systems. The Windows 10 2015 LTSB operating system requires that .NET Framework version 4.6.1 be installed manually.
- Windows 10 (may be 32-bit or 64-bit) operating system.
- Windows 10 2016 LTSB operating system must be build 14393.3085 or higher.

• Apply KB4507460 or greater.
• Verify build number by calling winver.exe from a cmd window.

- Windows 10 2015 LTSB operating system must be build 10240.18275 or higher

• Apply KB4507458 or greater.
• Verify build number by calling winver.exe from a cmd window.

- Windows UWF feature must be enabled. During the install, if the UWF feature is not enabled, the installer will prompt the user to enable it.

UWF Administrator Window's Unified Write Filter Feature is not enabled and is a requirement for UWF Administrator. Would you like to install it now? Yes No

Figure 4-1 UWF Administrator prompt message to enable UWF

• Click the "Yes" button to automatically enable the UWF.
• Click the "No" button to stop and exit the installation process.

Once UWF is enabled, a message appears to prompt the user to reboot the IPC.

UWF Administrator Window's Unified Write Filter Feature is now enabled. Please restart the UWF Administrator installer after rebooting the PC OK

Figure 4-2 UWF Administrator confirmation message

During installation the UWF Administrator:

• stores settings in the registry. The registry keys are excluded from the overlay to allow the UWF Administrator settings to be retained between reboots.
• enables the UWF Notify application to execute at startup. Double-click the icon in the system tray.

4.2.2 Optional features

When installing UWF Administrator, you have the option of excluding the Windows Event Log from the UWF overlay.

UWF Administrator UWF Administrator Options UWF Administrator Install Options Exclude Windows Event Log From UWF Overlay Cancel < Back Next >

Figure 4-3 UWF Administrator options

Check the box to exclude the Event Log from the UWF overlay. Note that this will prevent you from viewing any errors that may happen while UWF is enabled.

4.3 UWF Administrator components

UWF Administrator has three components to monitor and configure the UWF overlay.

4.3.1 UWF overlay monitor

This component is a background Windows service which interfaces with all UWF Administrator user dialogs and the system. This service runs automatically at startup and is required for all other UWF Administrator components to work.

UWF Overlay Monitor Properties (Local Computer) General Log On Recovery Dependencies Service name: UWF_Monitor Display name: UWF Overlay Monitor Description: Monitors UWF Overlay Path to executable: "C:\Program Files\086\Phoenix Contact\UWF Administrator\UWF_Backsign" Startup type: Automatic Service status: Running Start Stop Pause Resume You can specify the start parameters that apply when you start the service from here. Start parameters

Figure 4-4 "UWF Overlay Monitor Properties" dialog box

4.3.2 UWF notify

The UWF notify component notifies the user if overlay consumption reaches a configured threshold value. This component will start automatically after the user is logged on. An icon is placed in the system tray.

Figure 4-5 UWF tray icon

Hover over the icon to view the status of the overlay.

UWF Administrator Status: UWF Overlay Health: Good

Figure 4-6 UWF Administrator status

Right click the icon to show the menu or double-click to open the UWF Administrator application.

Show UWF Administrator Application 11:29 AM 9/17/2019

Figure 4-7 UWF Administrator menu

4.3.3 UWF Administrator configuration interface

The UWF Administrator allows the user to configure UWF settings and to see UWF status in a convenient graphical interface. 4.4 "Configuration" describes, in detail, each tab in the UWF Administrator. The status bar at the bottom of UWF Administrator (see Figure 4-8) shows the status of the UWF.

• Good = Overlay consumption < Warning threshold
• Warning = Overlay consumption > Warning threshold
• Critical = Overlay consumption > Critical threshold

If the connection status shows disconnected, UWF data is not getting updated in the UWF Administrator application. This could possibly be caused by the UWF overlay monitoring service being stopped.

To set overlay threshold values see "Overlay setting" on page 23.

4.4 Configuration

Click the appropriate tab to go to the selected page within the UWF Administrator application.

4.4.1 Overview

The "Overview" page provides a snapshot of the status and health of the UWF when the filter is enabled.

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous www.phoenixcontact.com PHOENIX CONTACT Filter Status: On Reboot Pending: No Protected Volume: C: Overlay Health: Good Overlay Size: 1024 MB Overlay Free: 1009 MB Overlay Consumption: 15 MB Overlay Used: 1.46% Connection Status: Connected Overlay Health: Good

Figure 4-8 UWF "Overview" page with filter enabled

With the filter disabled, less information is provided.

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous www.phoenixcontact.com PHOENIX CONTACT Filter Status: Off Reboot Pending: No Connection Status: Connected

Figure 4-9 UWF "Overview" page with filter disabled

The filter status is stored from the last time the UWF Administrator was closed.

4.4.2 Filter Setting

The "Filter Setting" page allows the user to enable and disable UWF protection on a specified volume. When the "Filter Status" field is Off the user can set the overlay size. When UWF protection is enabled, the field is hidden. Any changes made on this page will require a reboot to become effective.

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous Current Settings Pending Settings Filter Status: Off Overlay Type: RAM Total Overlay Size: 1024 MB Overlay Size: 1024 MB Filter Status: Off Apply Cancel Connection Status Connected

Figure 4-10 "Filter Setting" page with UWF filter disabled

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous Current Settings Pending Settings Filter Status: On Overlay Type: RAM Total Overlay Size: 1024 MB Protected Volume: C. Protect Volumes: Filter Status: On Apply Cancel Connection Status: Connected Overlay Health: Good

Figure 4-11 "Filter Setting" page with UWF filter enabled

To view either the current or pending settings click the appropriate button at the top of the page. Pending settings will not become effective until the device is rebooted.

The "Protected Volume(s)" field lists all volumes that UWF is able to protect. Double-click the desired volume to alternately select or unselect it.

Removable disks, such as USB thumb drives, will not be listed since removable drives cannot be protected by UWF. Multiple volumes may be selected. Note that at least one volume must be selected to enable the filter.

The "Filter Status" drop-down menu selects the status of the UWF protection.

• On means on the next boot the filter will be enabled to protect the selected volume(s). No changes will be saved to the selected volume.
• Off disables UWF protection to all volumes.

The "Total Overlay Size" field sets the size of the UWF overlay in Megabytes (MB). When the filter is enabled all writes will be redirected to the overlay. Note that UWF Administrator can only configure a RAM overlay which means the following should be taken into consideration:

- Keep at least 2 GB of system RAM free on 64-bit operating system and 1 GB free on a 32-bit operating system. For example, on a 64-bit system with 4 GB of system RAM it is recommended to have a maximum overlay size of 2 GB. UWF Administrator will warn the user if the overlay size is configured for a value greater than the recommend maximum size.

UWF Administrator Configuration Warning

It is recommended to have a Overlay size less than: 100MB due to your current system configuration. It is recommended to leave at least 2GB of memory available to 64-bit Windows 10. Would you like to continue anyways?

Figure 4-12 "UWF Administrator Configuration Warning" message

• You cannot set the overlay size higher than the total amount of system RAM.
• You cannot set the overlay size lower than 100 MB.

A warning message appears if the settings are greater than the maximum overlay size.

4.4.3 Overlay setting

The “Overlay Setting” page configures which actions are performed when UWF overlay consumption reaches the configured thresholds.

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous Overlay Consumption: 0 MB Overlay Free: 0 MB Warning Threshold: 512 MB Critical Threshold: 1024 MB Warning Action: Do Nothing Critical Action: Notification Warning Threshold: 512 MB Critical Threshold: 1024 MB Warning Action: Do Nothing Critical Action: Notification Apply Cancel Connection Status: Connected

Figure 4-13 "Overlay Setting" page

A "Warning Threshold" and a "Critical Threshold" are available. The actions for each threshold is set separately through a drop-down menu.

Table 4-1 Action options

Warning Action Critical Action Result
Do Nothing Do Nothing Event is logged but no action is taken.
– Restart 30 second timeout message appears. If no action is taken, the system restarts.
Notification Notification A message appears but no action is taken.Event is logged (default action).
– Shutdown 30 second timeout message appears. If no action is taken, the system shuts down.
Event Event An event is fired to notify third-party applications to respond (see “UWF Administrator events in other systems” on page 27).

UWF Administrator Message The system will restart due to the overlay consumption reaching the critical threshold. Current overlay consumption: 216MB Resterling in 29 seconds Restart Now Cancel Restart

Figure 4-14 Warning message about restart or shutdown

UWF overlay thresholds

The threshold values are used to warn the user of overlay consumption and to provide corrective action before the overlay is completely consumed. If the overlay is completely consumed undesirable behavior will start to manifest such as system crashes and freezes.

Warning Threshold: The recommended minimum warning threshold is 20% of the maximum overlay. A warning message appears when the value is set lower than 20%.

The warning threshold must be less than the critical threshold.

Critical Threshold: The recommended minimum critical threshold is 25% of the maximum overlay size. A warning message appears when set lower than 25%.

The critical threshold needs to be less than the maximum overlay size.

NOTE:

The minimum recommended threshold values are to prevent unnecessary or excessive overlay warning messages from UWF Administrator. A user can choose to ignore the warning messages when setting threshold values less than the recommended values.

4.4.4 Commit File

The “Commit File” page is editable only while the UWF filter is enabled. If the disabled, changes are not allowed.

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous Add Files: Delete Files: Add File to Commit: Select File Add File to Delete: Select File Apply Cancel Connection Status: Connected Overlay Health: Good

Figure 4-15 "Commit File" page with UWF protection enabled

The "Add File" field allows entry of files so they are not lost.

The "Delete File" field allows entry of files are deleted from the overlay.

Listing files in the "Add File" and "Delete File" fields is not intended to commit entire volumes. When making a large change, such as program installation, it is recommended to disable UWF protection.

4.4.5 Exclude File/Folder

The "Exclude File/Folder" page allows permanent exclusion of files or folders from the overlay. The page is only editable when UWF protection is disabled.

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous ○ Current Settings ● Pending Settings Pending Excluded Files and Folders: C:\windows\system32\winevt\Logs Add File Add Folder Delete File/Folder Apply Cancel Connection Status: Connected

Figure 4-16 "Exclude File/Folder" page

To view either the current or pending settings, click the appropriate button at the top of the page. Current settings are active. Pending settings will become effective when UWF protection is enabled, which requires the device to be booted.

This page allows selection of files and folders to be excluded from the overlay.

1. Click the "Add File" or "Add Folder" button to open a "Browse" window.
2. Navigate to the desired file or folder, highlight the file or folder, and then click the "Add" button to select it and close the "Browse" window.
3. Repeat step 2 until all files and folders are displayed in the field.
4. Click the "Apply" button.

To remove a file or folder from the excluded list, highlight it in the field and then click the "Delete File/Folder" button.

The "Delete File/Folder button does not delete any files or folders from storage drives. It only removes them from the UWF exclusion list.

5.5.1 Exclusion recommendations

Root volumes, such as C:, cannot be excluded.

The "\Windows", "\Windows\System32", and "\Windows\System32\Drivers" folders cannot be excluded.

Paging files cannot be excluded. This can result in unpredictable behavior.

You cannot move an excluded file or folder to an unexcluded area. For example, if a user excludes "C:\test.txt" they cannot move it to "C:\example\test.txt" unless "C:\example\" is also in the exclusion list.

See “UWF overlay exclusions” on page 8 for more details about UWF folder and file exclusions.

4.4.6 Miscellaneous

The "Miscellaneous" page sets the refresh interval and displays the version.

UWF Administrator Overview Filter Setting Overlay Setting Exclude File/Folder Commit File Miscellaneous Refresh Interval: 5 seconds UWF Administrator Version: 10.1.5 Apply Cancel Connection Status: Connected

Figure 4-17 "Miscellaneous" page

The "Refresh Interval" field must be set between 1 and 30 seconds. Note that an interval less than 5 seconds will cause higher CPU usage.

A Technical appendix

A 1 UWF Administrator events in other systems

It may be desirable to pass a UWF Administrator event to a third-party application to cause an external response or notification.

EventWaitHandle UWFkarnEvent = EventWaitHandle.OpenExisting{
    "Global\\UWFadmin_WarningThresholdEvent", System.Security.AccessControl.EventWaitHandleRights.Synchronize);
if(UWFkarnEvent == null)
{
    MessageBox.Show("Failed to create Warning event handle");
}
if(UWFkarnEvent.WaitOne())
{
    MessageBox.Show("Detected a Warning Event!");
} 

Figure A-1 Monitoring a warning event in C#

EventWaitHandle UWFCriticalEvent = EventWaitHandle.OpenExisting(
    "Global"\\UWFAmin_CriticalThresholdEvent", System.Security.AccessControl.EventWaitHandleRights.Synchronize);
if(UWFCriticalEvent == null)
{
    MessageBox.Show("Failed to create Critical event handle");
}
if(UWFCriticalEvent.WaitOne())
{
    MessageBox.Show("Detected a Critical Event!");
} 

Figure A-2 Monitoring a critical event in C#

B Appendixes

B 1 List of figures

Section 2

Figure 2-1: "Folder Access Denied" message ....10

Section 4

Figure 4-1: UWF Administrator prompt message to enable UWF ....17

Figure 4-2: UWF Administrator confirmation message ....18

Figure 4-3: UWF Administrator options ....18

Figure 4-4: "UWF Overlay Monitor Properties" dialog box ....19

Figure 4-5: UWF tray icon ....19

Figure 4-6: UWF Administrator status ....19

Figure 4-7: UWF Administrator menu ....20

Figure 4-8: UWF "Overview" page with filter enabled ....20

Figure 4-9: UWF "Overview" page with filter disabled ....21

Figure 4-10: "Filter Setting" page with UWF filter disabled ....21

Figure 4-11: "Filter Setting" page with UWF filter enabled ....22

Figure 4-12: "UWF Administrator Configuration Warning" message .....22

Figure 4-13: "Overlay Setting" page ....23

Figure 4-14: Warning message about restart or shutdown .....23

Figure 4-15: "Commit File" page with UWF protection enabled ....24

Figure 4-16: "Exclude File/Folder" page 25

Figure 4-17: "Miscellaneous" page 26

Section A

Figure A-1: Monitoring a warning event in C# 27

Figure A-2: Monitoring a critical event in C# 27

B 2 List of tables

Section 3

Table 3-1: Group Policy Editor settings....13

Table 3-2: Task Scheduler settings ....14

Section 4

Table 4-1: Action options ......23

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