# Limitations of APS Support in the Panel

## About This Document

This document is addressed to independent software vendors who plan to distribute web applications among the Panel users. The aim of the document is to help vendors find out whether they can package their applications to APS to make them available through the Panel.

The document does not contain information about Application Packaging Standard itself or give application packaging instructions. It focuses on how the Panel implements APS and what APS packages are not supported by this implementation.

## APS Support in the Panel

Application Packaging Standard (APS) is a set of rules that defines a web application packaging format. This standard is designed to ease the integration of applications in a service provider's infrastructure. It covers provisioning, management, and integration of cloud-based services and applications.

The Panel uses APS to offer third-party applications to hosting customers. These applications are presented in APS catalog, where the customers can buy or download them.

Currently, the Panel does not support all aspects of APS. Therefore, customers may have problems trying to install certain applications. To find out whether your application is compatible with the Panel, see section Plesk Panel Restrictions.

You can find more information about APS at http://www.apsstandard.org/.

APS specification and supporting documents are available at http://www.apsstandard.org/isv/documentation/.

## Restrictions on Packages Processing

The current Panel version has restrictions on APS applications processing. If an application requires performing restricted actions, the Panel will not install it. Particularly, these actions are the following:

- Sending e-mails or processing incoming mail.

  See Mail aspect of APS in APS Format Specification v1.2, section 8.8. Mail at http://www.apsstandard.org/r/doc/package-format-specification-1.2/index.html#s.aspects.mail

- Changing the DNS resource records of an environment where the application works.

  See DNS aspect in APS Format Specification v1.2, section 8.10. DNS Zone at http://www.apsstandard.org/r/doc/package-format-specification-1.2/index.html#s.aspects.dns

- Installing third-party dynamic libraries (*.dll, *.so).

  See DLL aspect in APS Format Specification v1.2, section 8.11. DLL Content Processing Method at http://www.apsstandard.org/r/doc/package-format-specification-1.2/index.html#s.aspects.dll

- Updating older version of application with complex changes in application settings or deployment logic. According to APS, such updates are called upgrades. For more information on the application updates, see the APS Format Specification v1.2, section 5.1.15 Updates at http://www.apsstandard.org/r/doc/package-format-specification-1.2/index.html#s.metadata.common.update

If you need you application to perform these actions, consider other ways of integration with the Panel: API RPC, modules or Panel Notifications.

Also, the Panel does not support the following actions defined in the application package:

- Checking application settings for consistency via verification script. For more information on verification scripts, see the APS Format Specification v1.2, section 5.3.3 Verification Script at http://www.apsstandard.org/r/doc/package-format-specification-1.2/index.html#s.metadata.provision.verification-script
- Processing application resource usage reports defined by resource counters and passed by resource script . For more information on resource counters and resource scripts, see the APS Format Specification v1.2, section 5.2.6. Resources at http://www.apsstandard.org/r/doc/package-format-specification-1.2/index.html#s.metadata.service.resources and 5.3.3 Resources Script at http://www.apsstandard.org/r/doc/package-format-specification-1.2/index.html#s.metadata.provision.resource-script

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