A new knowledge-base article, released on the 22nd, is available from Microsoft for sequencing Office 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit) with App-V 4.6:

Prescriptive guidance for sequencing the Beta version of the 2010 Office system in Microsoft App-V

It’s interesting to note that the article states that this is not the only way to sequence Office 2010. Does the Office team have something else up their sleeve?

No formal product support is available from Microsoft for this beta product. For information about how to obtain support for a beta release, see the documentation that is included with the beta product files, or check the Web location where you downloaded the release.

This article describes one method that you can use to successfully sequence the Beta version of the 2010 Microsoft Office system for use with Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 4.6. The method that is described in this article is not the only method that is available. You may have to change the information in the article as appropriate for your particular environment.

KB Article: Sequencing Office 2010 beta in App-V 4.6 is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Microsoft Application Virtualisation 4.6 (RTM) has been made available, which you can download from the Microsoft Download Centre, including some new and updated support tools:

Microsoft Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services 4.6 – Here you can download an ISO that includes the App-V client for RDS/Terminal Server. The ISO includes the server components as well. You will need a TechNet, MSDN subscription or access to the Microsoft Licensing site to get access to the desktop client (as of writing, it does not appear to be available yet).

Microsoft Application Virtualization Administrative Template (ADM Template) – An additional template has been created to support the 64-bit client and includes one additional policy (setting the virtual drive letter).

Application Virtualization MSI Compat Transform – This includes a transform file that you must run against an App-V 4.5 generated MSI to make it compatible with the 4.6 client.

Application Virtualization Application Listing Tool – This tool will give you information on running virtual applications, which looks like this:

Microsoft Application Virtualization SFT View – SFT View loads a driver that automatically mounts SFT files as read-only folders (you will see a corresponding .dir folder for each SFT). This is an easy way to see into the SFT file and might be useful for performing virus scanning if the tool was installed on the servers hosting your Content share.

Application Virtualization Client Log Parser Utility – This tools has been previously available and is an excellent troubleshooting resource. You can find some information on using this tool here Getting to Grips with the App-V Client Log Parser Utility (Launch Times) and here Getting to Grips with the App-V Client Log Parser Utility (Error Codes)

Application Virtualization Cache Configuration Tool – If you need to change the client cache size post install, this is the tool to automate that process with.

Application Virtualization Dynamic Suite Composition Tool – Not much looks to have changed with this tool. Use it to create package dependencies without have to edit an OSD file. There’s an example of how the tool is used in this video.

Application Virtualization SFT Parser Tool – This command-line tool can generate quite a lot of information about an SFT file and would be useful for some in-depth troubleshooting; however if you want to look into the SFT file to get information on it, you can go past SFT Explorer. There’s also a small bug in SFT Parser – the –H switch doesn’t work, so help from the command-line just isn’t there.

The most glaring omission from the tools supplied by the App-V team, is a utility to view what’s inside the users’ PKG file (to see what’s inside the virtualised profile). Fortunately, Kalle Saunamäki is hard at work on his own tool, which you can read about here: What’s stored in my PKG files?

App-V 4.6 Released is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

You may recall from my last post on RemoteApp, that we can get RemoteApp for Hyper-V works on other platforms too. While it was straight-forward publishing applications from a Windows 7 host, the client would report this error when connecting to Windows XP and Windows Vista hosts:

Kind of annoying, because the original RemoteApp for Hyper-V post on the RDS blog, showed us something cool but left out the important part on how to get it working. Well, thanks to Justin and this comment, I’ve been able to fix the issue and get RemoteApp running on XP and Vista (unfortunately I can’t take any of the credit).

Liam Westley has already done a great job of documenting the complete process for setting up RemoteApp, so for full details go there – I’ll just summarise and fill in the missing pieces.

What You’ll Need

First up there is a set of minimum components that will need to be in place:

• The client computer can be Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1+ or Windows 7 (unless Microsoft decides to release an RDC update for Windows Server – unfortunately I don’t think they will)
• Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 – built into Windows 7, available for Windows XP (KB969084) and Windows Vista (KB969084)
• The RemoteApp host can be Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1+ or Windows 7
• If the RemoteApp host is running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you’ll need the following updates: Update for Windows XP SP3 to enable RemoteApp or Update for Windows Vista SP1 or above to enable RemoteApp (Windows 7 works out of the box)

Configure the RemoteApp Host

When configuring the host, I’ve been using been using a 1-to-1 setup, I haven’t tested this with pooled virtual desktops yet.

To enable RemoteApp on the host, install the hotfix, then configure the TsAppAllowList key in the registry. In this example, I’ve configured the required entries for running Calculator. Here’s a listing of the registry values I added with the pertinent values highlighted.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TSAppAllowList]
"fDisabledAllowList"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TSAppAllowList\Applications\calc]
"CommandLineSetting"=dword:00000000
"RequiredCommandLine"=""
"IconIndex"=dword:00000000
"IconPath"="%windir%\\system32\\calc.exe"
"Path"="C:\\Windows\\system32\\calc.exe"
"VPath"="%SYSTEMDRIVE%\\Windows\\system32\\calc.exe"
"ShowInTSWA"=dword:00000001
"Name"="Calculator"
"SecurityDescriptor"=""

The simplest method of discovering the required registry keys for each RemoteApp entry is to configure the applications on Windows XP Mode or Windows Server 2008 running Remote Desktop Services.

Creating RemoteApp Connections

I’ve originally based the .RDP file on those created by the RemoteApp Manager in Windows Server. There is documentation on TechNet on how to configure RemoteApp programs and creating the .RDP file for each application here: Configuring RemoteApp Programs.

The important entries for connecting to Windows XP and Windows Vista, that you may need to add manually, are disableremoteappcapscheck (set to 1) and alternate shell (set to rdpinit.exe). These were the only additional entries I need to add the .RDP file to get this working. DisableRemoteAppCapsCheck fixes the ‘remote computer does not support RemoteApp’ error, and Alternate Shell makes sure you actually get a published application and not a remote desktop.

An .RDP file to connect to a RemoteApp program then looks like this (the added lines are highlighted):

redirectclipboard:i:1
redirectposdevices:i:0
redirectprinters:i:1
redirectcomports:i:1
redirectsmartcards:i:1
devicestoredirect:s:*
drivestoredirect:s:*
redirectdrives:i:1
session bpp:i:32
prompt for credentials on client:i:1
span monitors:i:1
use multimon:i:1
remoteapplicationmode:i:1
server port:i:3389
allow font smoothing:i:1
promptcredentialonce:i:0
authentication level:i:2
full address:s:winxp1.domain.local
remoteapplicationprogram:s:||calc
remoteapplicationname:s:calculator
remoteapplicationcmdline:s:
alternate full address:s:winxp1.domain.local
disableremoteappcapscheck:i:1
alternate shell:s:rdpinit.exe
screen mode id:i:2
winposstr:s:0,3,0,0,800,600
compression:i:1
keyboardhook:i:2
audiocapturemode:i:0
videoplaybackmode:i:1
connection type:i:2
displayconnectionbar:i:1
disable wallpaper:i:1
allow desktop composition:i:0
disable full window drag:i:1
disable menu anims:i:1
disable themes:i:0
disable cursor setting:i:0
bitmapcachepersistenable:i:1
audiomode:i:0
redirectdirectx:i:1
autoreconnection enabled:i:1
prompt for credentials:i:0
negotiate security layer:i:1
remoteapplicationicon:s:
shell working directory:s:
gatewayhostname:s:
gatewayusagemethod:i:4
gatewaycredentialssource:i:4
gatewayprofileusagemethod:i:0
use redirection server name:i:0

RemoteApp in Action

When launching the RemoteApp program, the UI isn’t quite as seamless as you get with the XenApp client. You will first see a warning prompt if the .RDP file is not signed, and then a dialog box while the client connects:

If the RemoteApp host is Windows XP, the user will be required to click the Details button to see the remote login dialog box and enter their credentials:

If the client is Windows XP or above and the host is Windows Vista or above, you can configure credential pass-through (single sign-on) to make connecting seamless. You must first enable CredSSP on Windows XP SP3 clients. Pass-through won’t work for Windows XP hosts – although you may be able to save the username and password in the .RDP file instead.

So finally with all of the pieces in place, here’s what you’ll see with applications running via RemoteApp. In this screenshot I have Calculator running remotely from Windows XP and Windows Vista next to the local version.

One thing to note is that the remote applications are all group together on the taskbar; in this screenshot, the two remote Calculators are grouped with Remote Desktop Connection – users’ won’t see separate remote buttons as you get in competing products.

So What’s Left?

Use of RemoteApp is not restricted to the brand of hypervisor – RemoteApp will be available on Windows XP+ regardless of where it is running. You could, for example, use blade PCs as hosts.

If you have Citrix XenApp or Quest vWorkspace, you already have tools to publishing applications from virtual desktops, so where would this actually be useful? SMBs without either product would benefit (although I have had one enterprise customer ask me about this feature) or perhaps this would work as a replacement for Windows XP Mode if you don’t like Windows Virtual PC (and who does?).

Deploying and managing the .RDP files could be fun. A simple method of deployment would involve the use of Windows Installer packages adapted from those generated by RemoteApp Manager. You could also use your user environment management tool of choice; however the option that holds most promise is extending RD Web Access. Custom code will be required, but it would replace copying .RDP files to users’ desktops and could even support pooled virtual desktops.

Ultimately it would be nice to see this documented on TechNet. Apparently though, the RDS team are working on a follow up post that should give us all the info we need and more.

RemoteApp for Windows XP and Windows Vista, the missing pieces is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Microsoft has made available a set of 11 videos on App-V. These are mainly introductory, but are still worth watching even if you’ve been working with App-V for some time.

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) separates the application from the operating system preventing application conflicts and enabling the ability to run multiple versions of an application of the same desktop. Virtual applications can be delivered in many ways – streaming by assigning applications to user, delivering to machines via Configuration Manager or by using file streaming from removable media.

Using App-V and AppLocker together ensures that no matter how the application is delivered or what format is takes, physical or virtual, it will respect the policies defined by IT.

Watch these demonstrations to learn how to configure App-V; create, update, and publish virtual applications; and create and manage policies for virtual applications.

The videos are available from microsoft.com here: Application Virtualization (App-V) Video Series

The page appears to be intermittently available at the moment, so here’s the full list of videos:

• App-V Configuration Options
• App-V with AppLocker Executable Rules
• App-V with AppLocker Windows Installer Rules
• Creating an App-V Virtual Application – Using the Sequencer
• Deprovision a Virtual Application Using App-V
• Launching an App-V Virtual Application and Reviewing Client Configuration
• Using App-V Metering to Manage Application Licenses
• Publishing an App-V Virtual Application Using Full Infrastructure Mode
• Running Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 Virtualised
• Update a Virtual Application Using App-V
• Using Dynamic Suiting to Create a Plug-in Dependency in Word

App-V Video Series available from Microsoft is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

I’m unsure if this is a bug or by design, but if you are using SFTMIME to add packages to an App-V client, you may receive the following error:

The handle is invalid.

Error code: 460579-23C02532-00000006

Which looks something like this:

The issue is in the path to the manifest XML file for the package – when executing the command like this, I’ll see the error every time:

SFTMIME ADD PACKAGE:"Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001" /MANIFEST "\\VBOXSVR\Packages\Microsoft Office\2010_x64\000\Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001_manifest.xml" /OVERRIDEURL "\\VBOXSVR\Packages\Microsoft Office\2010_x64\000\Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001.sft" /GLOBAL /CONSOLE

Can’t see the the problem? The command certainly looks like it should work. An entry in the log file sheds light on the issue:

[02/09/2010 17:23:57:638 INTF VRB] {tid=AB0:usr=Admin}
SWCreatePackage(name=’Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001′, manifest=’\VBOXSVR\Packages\Microsoft Office\2010_x64\000\Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001_manifest.xml’)

The first backslash is truncated, leave the UNC path incorrect. The same happens for the path to the SFT file – again the log file shows what’s going on:

[02/09/2010 17:21:07:936 JGSW ERR] {hap=20:app=Microsoft Word 2010 (Beta) 084154.001:tid=9D8:usr=Admin}
The Application Virtualization Client could not connect to a server because the URL specified, ‘\VBOXSVR\Packages\Microsoft Office\2010_x64\000\Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001.sft’, was invalid (rc 04300507-000D3002).

When attempting to stream the package, the operation fails and the following error is displayed:

The Application Virtualization Client could not launch Microsoft Word 2010 (Beta) 084154.001.The protocol specified in the OSD file is not supported. Report the following error code to your System Administrator.Error code: 460579-04300507-000D3002

Which looks like this:

Thankfully a workaround is very easy to implement – just add an extra backslash to each path:

SFTMIME ADD PACKAGE:"Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001" /MANIFEST "\\\VBOXSVR\Packages\Microsoft Office\2010_x64\000\Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001_manifest.xml" /OVERRIDEURL "\\\VBOXSVR\Packages\Microsoft Office\2010_x64\000\Microsoft_Office_2010_x64_084154.001.sft" /GLOBAL /CONSOLE

The ADD PACKAGE command will then work and the package will stream correctly.

App-V Errors 00000006 and 000D3002 When Adding Packages is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Microsoft posted about RemoteApp for Hyper-V yesterday, which was essentially highlighting the application publishing capabilities available in Windows XP mode and Windows Virtual PC; however this particular blog post calls out the use of RemoteApp to publish applications on Windows XP and Vista guests running under Hyper-V.

It’s fantastic to see this capability provided in the base product – SMBs implementing Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2008 R2 will benefit greatly. However, calling it “RemoteApp for Hyper-V” is a bit of a misnomer.

So instead of Hyper-V, here’s Internet Explorer published as a RemoteApp from a Windows 7 guest VM running under VirtualBox 3.1:

This demonstrates that the RemoteApp feature is not dependant on the hypervisor. You can therefore, use RemoteApp on any hypervisor or even on Windows clients running directly on hardware.

Also, contrary to what the blog post says, Windows 7 is not required for the client, this capability can be extended to Windows XP and Windows Vista, as long as they have the Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 client installed. Here’s Internet Explorer 8 running as a RemoteApp on a Windows XP client:

What is missing from the blog post is specific steps required to get this functionality working under Windows XP and Windows Vista. Hopefully we may see those instructions soon – I’ve been having some trouble getting RemoteApp working on those older operating systems:

RemoteApp for Hyper-V. Hyper what? is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Of course, Windows Virtual PC has been covered in detail already, but I got a chance to play with the product and there’s some neat UI experiences that I hadn’t seen covered yet. Here’s a quick overview of interacting with Windows Virtual PC.

Windows Virtual PC gets a spanking new icon:

Once installed, Virtual PC actually creates a new top level user folder, a nice touch too I think:

You can move this folder just like you can with other user folders:

Virtual machines are managed directly within Windows Explorer – the old management/admin application window from older versions of Virtual PC is no more:

You can open the virtual machine settings from within Explorer too:

Creating a new virtual machine is just as you would expect, except very simplified. Give the machine a name and location (by default virtual machines are stored in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines):

Configure memory and networking (I have two network cards in this machine and VPC keep choosing the disconnected card – yay..)

Finally you get options for creating the VHD:

This revision looks pretty good for some basic virtualisation tasks (in now way is it taking aim at VMware Workstations and others). Now where’s the 64-bit guest support?

If you’re having issues seeing the screenshots, you might have more luck by going directly to my SkyDrive folder:

Some More Windows Virtual PC Screens is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

I’m a little slow off the mark here (I’ve got my head buried in something unrelated), but I’ve just found out today that the App-V 4.5 Cumulative Update 1, although only available on Connect, is not actually a beta, it is the final code that you can start deploying.

The MDOP blog covered this release last month, but I think I heard “Windows 7 support” and didn’t hear much after that. My bad, I need to pay more attention.

So what is new in CU1 (4.5.1.15580)?

• Support for Windows 7 Beta and Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta
• Improved support for sequencing the Microsoft .NET Framework
• Customer feedback and hotfix rollup (includes hotfix rollup 3 plus some other fixes)
• Instant access or removal of applications assigned to end users

Get it from Connect today or wait until next month when it will be generally available to all (including the TS client which is not available on Connect).

Did you know that App-V 4.5 CU1 is not beta? is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Two great tools for managing App-V applications have appeared in the last few weeks – SoftBar and the App-V 4.5 Client Diagnostic and Configuration tool (ACDC). Thanks to the efforts of Greg Brownstein and Ment van der Plas, we have some excellent choices for improving the way we can manage and troubleshoot virtual applications on the client. 

Both tools are aimed at anyone virtualising applications with App-V and make it a snap to get into those applications for testing and troubleshooting as well as managing the App-V client. Here’s SoftBar and ACDC in action:

I thought it might be interesting to give you an idea of their feature sets and how each tool compares to the other. So this table is the result of my completely un-scientific (and probably flawed) comparison:

*OK, completely pointless for comparison, but ACDC only gets a point here because the name is similar to these these guys. (I’m hoping it was deliberate..)

I’ve only scratched the surface with what I think I can get out of each tool and so far my favourite is ACDC, but if you’re virtualising applications with App-V, either of these tools should be in your bag of tricks:

• SoftBar, for support go here
• App-V 4.5 Client Diagnostic and Configuration tool, for support go here

ACDC vs. SoftBar – Fight! is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Ment van der Plas, of Login Consultants, has gone and created the most awesome App-V client tool – the App-V 4.5 Client Diagnostic and Configuration tool:

ACDC makes it possible for administrators or users to troubleshoot virtual applications and the environment they run in:

• Launch predefined and custom commands within the virtual environment of each application.
• See the impact of the App-V Client and the available virtual applications on your system by calculating package size, cache size, user delta file size, log file size etc.
• Diagnose problems with App-V applications by parsing the App-V Client log file (in real time) and search any message online.
• Configure settings that are not visible in the App-V Client GUI, such as “Predictive Streaming”, “Allow Stream from File”, “Max Package Age” and many more.
• Give an overview of application and package information by merging important WMI, registry and OSD information in one single window.
• ACDC can be run both as an Administrator and as a Limited User. Running as a limited user will limit the functionality of the tool due to the fact that it has less permission on the system.

I’ve not had time yet to go through the tool in detail, but I’m definitely adding this one to my toolkit. Thanks Ment!

You need this – App-V Client Client Diag and Config tool is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Here’s an interesting video on the Channel 9 site about the architecture of Microsoft Application Virtualization:

John Sheehan, Architect of Microsoft’s AppVirt (SoftGrid) technology, spends some time with me digging (deeply) into the architecture and engineering of the application virtualization technology he and team create. A few months ago John joined us for a Going Deep on application virtualization and you asked for more (and you asked for us to go deeper – John only scratchd the surface last time we spoke). Well, here you go, Niners. Deep AppVirt. This is whiteboard-heavy and John’s mic’d so the sound quality is exceptional.

View the video here: John Sheehan: Architecture and Engineering of Microsoft Application Virtualization (AppVirt)

Go Deep with AppVirt is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Ment van der Plas has a great article on virtual application deployment in SCCM 2007 R2

The App-V 4.5 Full Infrastructure scenario (with App-V Management / Streaming server) only supports User Based application deployment. If you are using the Configuration Manager 2007 R2 integration of App-V 4.5 you can do both User and Machine based deployment.

Since I often receive questions about user based and machine based deployment with App-V 4.5, I thought I would be nice to explain the two scenarios using Configuration Manager 2007 R2.

First let’s get the terms straight: User Based deployment means that you target a user (usually via a group) to deliver a piece a software. Machine Based deployment is when you target a specific machine to deliver a piece of software to.

The difference in Configuration Manager lies in the creation of the collections

To read the full post go here: How To: User Based and Machine Based App-V deployment in SCCM 2007 R2

User Based and Machine Based App-V deployment in SCCM 2007 R2 is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

I was testing this myself yesterday without luck, but it looks like App-V does not currently run on Windows 7.

App-V 4.5 is not currently supported or functional on Win7.  Info on Win7 support will be published soon.

App-V 4.5 will install successfully on Windows 7 x86 and you can load an application into the cache; however you will run into some issues when launching virtual applications. Interestingly, VMware ThinApp also has issues on Windows 7. I would expect all of the application virtualisation vendors to have support for Windows 7 in time for the release.

My recommendation would be to test your applications running natively on Windows 7 before attempting to run them virtually on the new platform – application virtualisation is not a compatibility layer.

No App-V on Windows 7 (for now) is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Attempting to install the App-V Sequencer may not be successful and result the message “The wizard was interrupted before Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer could be completely installed”. Of course the message in the dialog isn’t particularly helpful, so what’s going on?

Taking a deeper look at the issue by enabling a log file, reveals the problem – if Setup detects that the App-V client installed, it will abort. Here’s what you’ll see in the log:

[quickcode:noclick]SoftGrid Action: SWGetProductVersion Details: Checking registry root = Software\Microsoft\SoftGrid\4.5\Client\Configuration
SoftGrid Action: SWGetProductVersion Details: Version = 4.5.0.1485
SoftGrid Action: SWGetProductVersion Details: Action ended
SoftGrid Action: SWISequencerLaunchConditions Details: Client is installed, rejecting sequencer install
MSI (c) (A8!00) [11:39:16:780]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding SWIClientInstalled property. Its value is ‘1′.[/quickcode]

Of course I shouldn’t have been attempting to you shouldn’t install the Sequencer and Client on the same machine. The best way to fix this is to start with a clean Windows install and then install the Sequencer.

App-V Sequencer fails to install is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

If you are deploying any of the Adobe CS3 application (such as Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign) suite in App-V 4.5, this knowledgebase article may come in handy: When launching applications from the Adobe CS3 suite using Application Virtualization 4.5 clients, you may encounter an error: 0xc0150002

When you start applications from the Adobe CS3 suite, such as Illustrator, using Application Virtualization 4.5 clients, you may encounter the following error: The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0150002). Click on OK to terminate the application.

Adobe CS3, App-V 4.5 and 0xc0150002 is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Ment e-mailed me the other day about the KEEPCURRENTSETTINGS property of the App-V 4.5 client setup and how when used on the command line, other properties are ignored. I hadn’t seen this behaviour – or so I thought until I found that my client install script was not setting the right virtual driver letter or enabling streaming from file.

It turns out, I was using the KEEPCURRENTSETTINGS property, but I did have it set to 0 – just the existence of KEEPCURRENTSETTINGS was enabling Setup to ignore the other command line parameters.

Of course, this behaviour is documented, in the release notes, in this document: Application Virtualization Client Installer Command-Line Parameters, and there’s even a knowledgebase article dedicated to this parameter: Client installer command line parameters are ignored when used in conjunction with KEEPCURRENTSETTINGS=1 in Microsoft Application Virualization 4.5.

Having tested this, I would recommend avoiding the KEEPCURRENTSETTINGS if you can. Use a WMI filter to prevent Group Policy from applying to workstations until they are all running the 4.5 client.

Now if only I’d read those documents more closely I would have saved myself an hour of running around in circles. Sometimes it pays to RTFM..

(Thanks to Ment for helping out with this one)

Sometimes it pays to RTFM.. is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

If you are managing a large number of applications with App-V you may experience a crash in the Microsoft Management Console when drilling down into the Application node.

Microsoft have addressed issues with the console previously with this knowledgebase article: When you use the SoftGrid Management Console, it may crash. That article discusses an issue the console has with asymmetrical icons; however in 4.5 there is a handy registry key that prevents the console from attempting to load application icons.

• x86: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SoftGrid\4.5\Management Console
• x64: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\SoftGrid\4.5\Management Console
• Name: LoadConsoleIcons
• Type: REG_DWORD
• Value: 0

Because the console never loads any application icons, it won’t have issues with non-standard icons and MMC won’t crash. Adding this key does not affect client functionality – users will still see the correct icons on their applications and file types.

To add this key on x86 Windows use this command:

REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SoftGrid\4.5\Management Console" /v LoadConsoleIcons /d 0 /t REG_DWORD /f

On x64 Windows use this command instead:

REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\SoftGrid\4.5\Management Console" /v LoadConsoleIcons /d 0 /t REG_DWORD /f

Workaround for crashing App-V Management Console is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

If you are deploying the App-V ADM Template to manage your App-V 4.5 clients you may need to consider the timing of deploying of Group Policy settings versus deployment of the client. The App-V ADM Template whitepaper recommends deploying the template after you have deployed the client.

If you deploy the 4.5 client settings to existing 4.2 clients, you may encounter this dialog box when upgrading to 4.5:

The message appears to be completely unrelated to the cause, but if you remove the registry settings from HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SoftGrid\4.5, the upgrade will complete successfully.

There are a couple of ways to avoid this scenario:

1. Add KEEPCURRENTSETTINGS=1 to the command line when installing the client, as recommended in the whitepaper. This will ensure that setup honours any pre-existing settings.
2. Use a WMI filter to ensure that the Group Policy object that manages the App-V 4.5 clients, does not apply until after the client has been installed.

Create a new WMI filter in the GPMC with this query:

[quickcode:noclick]SELECT * FROM Win32_Product WHERE (Caption = “Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client” AND Version = “4.5.0.1485″)[/quickcode]

Your WMI filter should look something like this and your GPO will only apply once the App-V 4.5 client has been installed:

Unable to set security descriptor on global package files on App-V client upgrade is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Ment van der Plas posted yesterday at the SoftGridBlog about what happens when the SCCM and the App-V client co-exist. Given that the SoftGridBlog doesn’t accept comments, here’s an extended reply to Ment’s post.

If you are deploying both SCCM and App-V in your environment, you will need to be aware of the interaction between the two clients. SCCM 2007 R2 supports virtualised applications and can deliver them via streaming or as a complete package much like installed applications are deployed (the App-V client is still required to execute the virtual apps). Using SCCM 2007 R2 to deliver your virtualised applications allows you to take advantage of the SCCM software distribution features such as centralised management, distribution points for automatically replicating packages around your network and BITS for trickle feeding application packages to clients.

However, in this scenario, SCCM takes over the role of the Management or Streaming Servers in App-V and becomes the only distribution method for your virtual applications. So you will need to plan SCCM/App-V integration carefully.

Ment’s post goes into detail about the changes to the client when the SCCM handles virtualised applications but here’s what turns the behaviour on:

To get there open the ConfigMgr Console, expand Site Database, Site Management, <Site Name>, Site Settings, Client Agents; then open the properties for Advertised Programs Client Agent. If you enable the option Allow virtual application package advertisement option, the SCCM client will become the default handler for virtual applications. You can see that in the registry settings that Ment has documented.

This is site specific, so depending on how you configure SCCM, you could have a mix of clients receiving virtual applications from either SCCM or the App-V Management Server.

Fortunately, if someone turns this option on by mistake, it is reversible – just remove the tick and when the clients next refresh (or if you kick off a Machine Policy Retrieval & Evaluation Cycle), the App-V client will become the default handler again.

Learning to live in harmony with the SCCM and App-V Clients is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

This was an open discussion session where customers were able to talk directly with some of the App-V team. There were some interesting details brought up in this session including:

• A couple of customers in the room were managing 3500 and 5000 applications respectively and one of them was even supporting applications dating back to 1982!
• Do you need to re-sequence your application when integrating App-V with SCCM 2007 R2? You can upgrade your existing sequences using the command line sequencer tool in 4.5 and this then generate the manifest XML file for use by SCCM. I get the impression that only 4.5 sequences are supported when managed with SCCM, however I’m sure that I’ve had 4.2 sequences working, but I could be wrong.
• Is Office 2007 supported in App-V? The release of Office 2007 Service Pack 1 brings this suite into proper support with App-V. Office 2007 does perform better under 4.5 that it did with 4.2.
• One of the points brought up by Gene Ferioli, was about sequencing applications on one OS and getting them to work on another. In most cases this works and this has been the general rule for us so far, but he used Communicator as an example. Communicator was sequenced on Windows Vista but it did not run correctly on Windows Server 2008. Even though these platforms are essentially the same, Vista had a specific DLL that 2008 is missing (he didn’t go into detail). The bottom line here is that you must fully test your applications on each of your client platforms – App-V doesn’t remove the need to test.

CLI09-IS: Microsoft Application Virtualization discussion is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

This was a session to demo the new features in App-V 4.5, mainly aimed at those people already familiar with App-V. It was presented by Gene Ferioli, a senior program manager on the App-V team. Gene worked with the SCCM team on the App-V integration for SCCM 2007 R2.

This session was pretty straight-forward but the most interesting part was when Gene demonstrated automatic loading of virtualised applications from a USB thumb drive. The App-V team have written a proof of concept utility (SFTMON) that runs in the background and monitors for the insertion of removable media. It then parses the device for manifest XML files created for 4.5 sequences and uses those to automatically add the applications into the local cache.

This is all achieved with SFTMIME commands, so there’s nothing stopping anyone else from creating a utility like this. The team may post this code on the App-V blog or make it available as a resource kit tool, but no firm plans have been made so don’t expect to see this soon.

This was a pretty cool demo which has great use cases. Essentially you could take all of your applications with you, plug in the thumb drive and way you go. A couple of the other app-virt vendors support this scenario today, but this is great news for App-V users.

Another interesting note is that there is currently a design change in to create a notification bubble that let users know when their applications have finished loading to 100%. Whether this actually makes it into the product some time in the future is another story.

CLI02-PD: New features in App-V 4.5 is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Microsoft posted a knowledgebase article yesterday titled: With Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 you are unable to Sequence Adobe Reader 7.x or 8.x due to NETOP FEAD Installer error. Essentially the NETOP FEAD installer is not compatible with the 4.5 Sequencer (or perhaps that’s the other way around).

Based on the issue described in the article, it appears that people are encountering this specific issue as a result of not performing a scripted installation of Reader during sequencing (i.e. not extracting the setup file and using a custom transform for installation).

So why are scripted installations important? Here’s my three top reasons:

1. Your documentation might be rock solid, but we’re only human and we make mistakes. Scripted installs provide a predictable and repeatable installation process that is far less susceptible to error. 
2. Scripted installs, in turn, make documentation easier. Rather than building a process illustrated by screen shots, a script will fill out that document in far more detail.
3. Finally, a scripted installation will also make sequencing faster. No having to type commands or click through Explorer windows.

In the case of Adobe Reader, if you’ve used my articles on deploying Reader 8 and Reader 9 via a custom transform and script, you won’t have issues and should be able to sequence those applications successfully.

OK, shameless plug there

Issues Sequencing Adobe Reader 7 or 8 in App-V 4.5 is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

A number of useful App-V (resource kit) tools have been released which look very useful:

Application Virtualization Application Listing Tool

The App-V Application Listing Tool (ListVApps) is a tool which lists all the virtual processes that are running at a specific time on a specific computer. You can use the tool to get information about the priority and owner of each process, the size of its virtual memory, its session identifier and processing time. User with administrator privileges will see all running virtual applications.

Application Virtualization Cache Configuration Tool

The App-V client cache tool (AppVCacheSize) allows administrators to increase the Microsoft Application Virtualization client cache size through a scriptable command line interface. AppVCacheSize uses the specified parameters to configure the desired cache size, as well as toggle between using a free disk space threshold or set a maximum cache size.

Application Virtualization Client Log Parser Utility

You can use the fields and values contained in the output file to filter information obtained from the log files. The output file generated by the application log parser utility contains the following fields: System, OS, Build, Date, Time, Module, Log Level, hApp, App, User, Thread, and Message. The information contained in the output file can also be imported into Microsoft Excel for subsequent evaluation. This log parser simplifies the task of looking through log files, being able to filter by log level, build report, launch failures, mini-dumps, minimum disconnected operation mode entries and more. Afterwards, the appropriate party can import the data for analysis and/or utilization.

Application Virtualization SFT Parser Tool

This one looks interesting, but a PKG Parser would be nice too:

You can use the Application Virtualization SFT Info utility to extract the following information from SFT files:

• Validation of SFT files—Process corrupted SFT files, and recover information from corrupted SFT files.
• XML export of contents of SFT—Export the contents of an existing SFT file. You can evaluate SFT segments or SFT metadata and construct a textual tree view of all file information SFT file.
• Listing of all of the files in the SFT—Identify and print the files contained in the SFT with their full paths. This is a good method to quickly identify the contents of a package.
• Statistics about properties of the SFT metadata—Identify statistical information, such the largest file contained in a package. This can be very useful for identifying packages that are too large in size and are causing issues loading on the client.
• Get relevant information on a file in the package—Display size, timestamps, attributes, and version information associated with the package.
• Ability to skip processing of file data if using functionality that requires only the metadata—Allows working with very large packages quickly.

and finally:

Application Virtualization Dynamic Suite Composition Tool

This is a GUI tool for managing DSC.

Dynamic suite composition is a Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) feature that enables applications to be sequenced separately from the plug-ins and middleware applications they rely on, while still being able to utilize the virtual resources such as file system and registry settings, in the virtual environment. The packages will run and interact with one another as if they were all installed locally on a computer. The primary package will also assume the secondary packages entire virtual environment, including the virtual file system. If there is an installer associated with a virtual application package, the installers will be automatically updated.

As is the case with most tools released like this, official support channels are only via the App-V forums on Microsoft TechNet.

App-V Resource Kit Tools Available is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

I don’t know why I keep getting involved with Java. I know I’ve written about it more than a few times before, but it’s not because I like Java… So before I get into a tirade about it, here’s yet another post on the subject..

Introduction

We’ve had some issues taking an existing sequence of the Sun JRE created in 4.2 and running it on a 4.5 client (maybe more on that at a later date), so I’ve gone back to drawing board to get version 1.3.1_10 working in the bubble, while 1.6.0._03 and 1.6.0_07 exist on our client machines.

Justin Zarb has a post on running different versions of the JRE which works great, but I would prefer to get it working without resorting to scripting. To do that I’ve taken advantage of behaviour of the sequencer that takes registry keys deleted during the sequencing process, and hiding them from the resulting bubble when the application is executed on the client.

To achieve separation between the JRE in the bubble and the JRE installed on the system, I’ve followed this basic process:

1. Configure a sequencing virtual machine that does not have (or ever had) any version of the JRE installed
2. Add the registry keys for the version or versions installed on your client machines
3. During sequencing, delete those keys added in the previous step and create dummy entries for other keys and folders you want to fully virtualise
4. Install the older version of the JRE

By implementing steps 2 and 3 you essentially create the anti-JRE which enables you to completely hide the versions of the JRE installed on workstations in your environment – no scripting at runtime required.

Here’s an example of this process in play: the first image below shows some of the HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID keys, added by 1.6.0_07, seen in the real (non-virtualised) registry:

By adding those keys to the sequencer machine and deleting during sequencing, we end up with only the keys added by the 1.3.1_10 installer. Here is the same HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID key seen inside the bubble:

Building the Pre-sequencing Environment

All sequencing was performed on a clean installation of Windows where no versions of the JRE had ever been installed. This was done to ensure complete control over the sequencing environment and to ensure

To capture the keys that are installed by 1.6.0_03 and 1.6.0_07, I sequenced those versions and opened the resulting package in the most excellent SFT Explorer. From there you can export the registry keys created by the installer.

From that exported registry file I’ve created a script that will add those keys to the sequencing machine (keys only, values are not required):

Download the pre-sequence script here

This script is then run before sequencing takes place so that the same keys can be deleted before installing the older version of the JRE, and those deletions are then picked up by the sequencer.

Installing and Capturing the JRE

I’ve scripted the install process to make things simple, so here’s the process the occurs during sequencing:

1. Delete the keys created during by the pre-sequencing step. The JRE installer does recreate some of those keys, but with different values, and the sequencer will pick them up and virtualise correctly;
2. Install version 1.3.1_10 of the JRE using an unattended script (SETUP.ISS created using SETUP –R, before sequencing);
3. A dummy registry key is created under HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID, but this step isn’t completely necessary;
4. A dummy file is created in the default install location of the Sun JRE (%ProgramFiles%\Java%). This will allow the default install folder to be fully virtualised, hiding the real folder from the bubble;
5. The Control Panel applet for the just installed JRE is run, so that the sequencing engineer can check settings, such as Internet Explorer integration, is enabled.

Here’s a copy of the install script:

Download the install script here

After installation and capture is complete, a few steps must be completed in the Sequencer before saving:

• Remove the JAVAW.EXE application item that the sequencer picks up;
• Add a shortcut to IEXPLORE.EXE. You can then copy and customise the resultant OSD file if you are using this process for web applications;
• Ensure that CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\Java is set to ‘Override Local Directory’;
• Ensure the registry key USER\%SFT_SID%\Software\JavaSoft is set to ‘Override Local Key’;

Testing the Package

Once you have completed the sequence and are running the package on your client, you should see the virtualised JRE as the default Java machine in Internet Explorer inside the bubble:

Whilst running Internet Explorer normally, the installed version of the JRE will be the default:

Juggling Sun Java Runtimes in App-V is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Now this looks good: Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Pack for Systems Center Operations Manager 2007. If you’re deploying applications via any virtualisation/streaming solution, monitoring is essential.

The Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 (App-V) Management Pack enables IT professionals to use Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 to monitor App-V server systems. The Management Pack is designed to maximize Application Virtualization Server availability for handling Application Virtualization Client requests. This component delivers an enterprise-level solution to proactively monitor Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 server systems.

Feature Summary

• Monitor and detect Application Virtualization service failures. 
• Monitor connectivity errors with external App-V dependent services such as SQL and Active Directory Domain Services. 
• Monitor when the backlog of queued requests crosses thresholds. 
• Monitor the general health state of the App-V Server. 
• Monitor machine-wide health metrics as related to App-V Server components. 
• Visually monitor trends in the backlog of queued requests on App-V Servers. 
• Monitor the number and type of alerts across the App-V infrastructure. 
• Monitor response time when communicating with external services. 

App-V Management Pack for OpsMgr 2007 is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Security configuration roles for Application Virtualisation 4.5, which makes the Security Configuration Wizard in Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 App-V aware, have been released to the Downloads Centre.

The Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Security Configuration Roles (SCW) can be used to help protect and harden your Application Virtualization environment on Windows Server 2003 and 2008 by closing or disabling unnecessary ports and services reducing the overall attack surface.

Feature Bullet Summary:
The Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 SCW Roles contain hardening definitions for:

• Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Management Server
• Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Streaming Server
• Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Management Service

You’ll first need to register these roles with the SCW to use them. This script will register the files on Windows Server 2003 (after you’ve first installed the roles on the Management or Streaming server):

[quickcode:noclick]@ECHO OFF
PUSHD “%USERPROFILE%”
scwcmd register /kbname:AppVirt45 /kbfile:”%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft System Center Application Virtualization 4.5 Security Configuration Wizard Roles\Windows Server 2003\AppV_Management_Server.XML”
scwcmd register /kbname:AppVirt45 /kbfile:”%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft System Center Application Virtualization 4.5 Security Configuration Wizard Roles\Windows Server 2003\AppV_Management_Server.XML”
scwcmd register /kbname:AppVirt45 /kbfile:”%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft System Center Application Virtualization 4.5 Security Configuration Wizard Roles\Windows Server 2003\AppV_Management_Server.XML”
POPD[/quickcode]

You’ll then see the App-V roles in SCW:

Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Security Configuration Roles is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

This came out of the blue (or perhaps I haven’t been paying attention). Here’s the Microsoft Application Virtualization Best Practices Analyzer:

The Application Virtualization (App-V) Best Practices Analyzer is a diagnostic tool that verifies configuration settings for a computer running a Microsoft Application Virtualization Streaming Server version 4.5 or Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server version 4.5.
Feature Bullet Summary:

• Scans Microsoft Application Virtualization Streaming Server
• Scans Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server
• Reports warnings and guidance for configuration settings that should be adjusted
• Produces an HTML report with all errors and warnings

It’s a command line tool that you’ll need to install and run on your Management or Streaming Server. To use this, you’ll first need to install the Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer.

The Microsoft Application Virtualization Administrative Template (ADM Template) has also been released to the Downloads Centre, so if you haven’t been able to get a hold of it previously, now you can.

Microsoft Application Virtualization Best Practices Analyzer is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

A podcast that gives you can overview of Microsoft Application Virtualisation 4.5 has been posted that is worth checking out if you’re new to App-V or want to find out what version 4.5 is all about: Windows Springboard Series: AppV™ Application Virtualization

Karri Alexion-Tiernan, Director in the Windows Client division, unveils the latest version of this technology for virtualizing applications to reduce application-to-application conflicts and improve manageability.

The postcast is only 9m 20sec long so it won’t take long to listen to (it should take you 9m 20sec in fact..) The first couple of minutes cover what application virtualisation is all about:

“The technology is really used for managing application conflicts and proving the ability to run mutiple versions of an application on the same OS. We do not focus on application to operating system incompatibility. We’re really focused on running two applications two versions of Office for example, side by side, currently today you can’t do that. The install will override itself. So we allow you to run two versions also in some cases you’ll have third party applications where they share the same DLLs and they override each other. Which means that you can’t run them side by side. We allow each of those applications to reside in their own virtual environments so they can run side by side and they don’t conflict.”

Application Virtualization 4.5 Podcast is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

This was a great question, at this evenings talk,  about deploying virtualised applications via ConfigMgr 2007 R2 – are virtualised applications delivered to clients in the same manner as installed applications?

There are several parts to this answer. First up virtual applications are imported, added to distribution points and advertised, just like installed applications. There are two differences to installed applications here:

1. Virtual applications are imported using the manifest XML which describes the virtual application package and individual applications in that package
2. Just like the existing Virtual Application/Management Server in App-V, SCCM 2007 R2 supports application versions, so that you can upgrade and rollback on the fly

If you choose to deliver the whole application instead of stream it, applications are downloaded into the SCCM cache just like installed applications. Here’s a virtualised Adobe Reader 9 in the SCCM cache:

You can also take advantage of all the deployment features of SCCM like branch deployments and BITS transfers. Here are some links worth reading about App-V and SCCM integrations:

• About Virtualised Applications
• Beta SCCM R2 – Virtual Application Server
• Beta 4.5 and Beta SCCM R2 – How to get a Quick Test Lab for SCCM R2
• TechNet Webcast: Optimizing Desktop Management with System Center Configuration Manager and Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization (Level 300)

App-V and SCCM 2007 R2: Are Virtualised Applications Delivered The Same Way? is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

The WMUG meeting was well attended tonight and my talk went better than expected considering that most of what I plan to say goes out the window as soon as I stand at the front of the room (I’m still new to this speaking malarkey).

Gordon asked if I could post my slide deck, so you can download that here. The deck is pretty raw so here’s some links to more information if you’re new to SoftGrid/App-V:

• To find out what App-V can do start here

You can get more detail about some of the stuff I went over at that page, including:

• Continuity
• Migrations
• Terminal Server silos

There were some interesting questions and discussion points that came up, so I’ll try to cover those over the next few days.

App-V Talk Slide Deck is post from stealthpuppy.com. Except as noted otherwise, this work is ©2005-2010 Aaron Parker and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.