Base stores and Device View stores¶
A Dedicated Snap Store is the union of a Base store and at least one Device View store. The Base store is where the collection of snaps reside, whereas the Device View stores are curated windows into a specific Base store.
Base stores¶
A Base store is the store to which every snap name should be registered and published through. This store is the primary point of interaction between developers and the Dedicated Snap Store infrastructure. All snap names and revisions flow through the Base store.
In this way, the Base store can be thought of as a centralized location for specific applications, through which various Device View stores are allowed to filter through to curate a proper collection of device- or function-specific software.
Device View stores¶
A Device View store is the store which a specific device model is able to view a curated collection of snaps picked from a collection of Base stores, including the Brand Base store, the Global store, or even other Brand Base stores.
A device model is specifically related to the name associated with any particular model assertion one may use to generate Ubuntu Core images, which should always point at a corresponding Device View store.
Important facts¶
Devices should be thought of as particular ‘classes’. This means that if a device does a specific function, it is a unique category; devices which fulfill other needs fit into a different category. As such, each class of device should have its own Device View store, which serves snaps from the Base store corresponding to that class’ particular function. This ensures a logical separation in the kind of software which can be installed to any particular device, corresponding to its given model assertion model name.
Regardless of the kind of store, they are all private to a collection of Ubuntu One SSO accounts which have specifically been given access to them. For instance, only an account which has been given the Viewer role for a Device View or Base store can see the snaps available in that store.
A standard store configuration using a Base and Device store
Snap stores are represented by the cylinders, with the Device View store is represented by the cylinder with Acme in the top-right. Acme _view store 1_ has been configured to include snaps from the Global snap store and the Serial Vault is used by the company’s devices to authenticate and thereby gain access to private snaps.