For those of you attending the Convergence conference in Copenhagen this week, join in on the MDOP fun. Come stop by the booth to see a demo of the upcoming Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization product, which is scheduled to release in the first half of next year. We will also be doing an interactive session on simplifying your IT. The talk will be from 3-4pm in room B5.3. The session title is IDAPP03 - Simplifying Your IT Environment using Microsoft Windows.
See you there!
As we blogged last time, AIS 1.5 was to be made available to customers in November. The Microsoft Asset Inventory Service (AIS) team is excited to announce that AIS 1.5 is ready ahead of schedule and is available to existing users starting today. AIS 1.5 offers new capabilities to help you better track your Microsoft Volume Licenses. Initially, AIS 1.5 will be in 'preview' form, which includes all of the new licensing features. So if you are a user of AIS today, you will notice over the coming days that you are seeing AIS 1.5 capabilities. You do not have to do anything to upgrade to version 1.5, which is one of the really cool things about subscribing to a service is that it is updated on the service side. As for the AIS agent, you can either update it yourself, or have it self-update through Microsoft Update. You can expect to see new areas on the AIS console when you next log in, and depending on how long it takes for all your clients to upgrade themselves (typically about 24 hours), you'll have a fresh inventory and will be able to start uploading your license agreement information. During the preview phase, we are inviting customers to try AIS 1.5 out and to provide their feedback and input on their experience. We hope to use this feedback to improve the service further before making the final release available. Note that this is not beta quality software, but is ready-for-primetime! To submit feedback on your 1.5 experience, please go to our feedback forum at http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ais/threads/. All current users of AIS will also be receiving an email directly from us to prompt them that this version of the service is now available.
TechEd EMEA was great this year! There were so many partners on the expo floor but one ISV that wasn't there but whom I did have a chance to talk to is Aspen Technology. I was lucky enough to talk to Al Cassista, Microsoft Alliance Director for AspenTech. AspenTech is one of the first ISV’s to issue their own declarative support statement for running their applications on App-V.
SeanDô – Hi Al, thanks for taking a few minutes to talk to me today. I’m keen to hear more aboutt AspenTech and your engineering suite.
AC - aspenONE™ Process Engineering, which is "Virtualization Ready", is an integrated lifecycle solution that helps companies optimize process designs and operations, leading to safer, competitive and more reliable process plants. It supports the entire engineering lifecycle – from conceptual design through to plant startup and operations support – providing a significant competitive advantage and sustained economic value. By using consistent models based on consistent data throughout the lifecycle, reliable insights are gained into plant behavior, enabling safer and smarter decisions with the greatest economic value. Companies are able to reduce capital and operating costs, increase engineering efficiency and quality, and accelerate time-to-market with payback in months instead of years.
SeanDô - So, as an application that runs on the desktop, how does aspenONE provide a business value in conjunction with App-V?
AC - Using Microsoft Application Virtualization, AspenTech customers can accelerate the deployment of aspenONE updates as well as enable customers to run multiple versions of our software simultaneously. Virtualization also transforms aspenONE into a centrally managed virtualized service, resulting in dynamic delivery of software that is never installed on the client device, never conflicts, and minimizes tedious application compatibility testing.
SeanDô – Sounds like a great story, running aspenONE on App-V. When can our customers get access to this “Virtualization Ready” product?
AC - aspenONE V7 is shipping now. For more information, contact Al Cassista, Microsoft Alliance Director, +1 781-221-5268, al.cassista@aspentech.com
Thanks for the information Al. I am thrilled to see an ISV such as AspenTech adopt this new technology and see such great success so quickly. I think you will start to see many more ISV’s following suit.
That wraps up our Partner series. I hope you've learned alot about the great solutions that are integrated with App-V, we're excited to partner with them to bring great technology to our joint customers!
Last week was a crazy week and the number of partners with App-V stories has been phenomenal, especially when compared to this time last year. As I was making way out of the Convention Center I saw Paul Schnell, CTO of App-DNA. I didn't get to post this in Spain but wanted to make sure I shared it with you now.
SeanDô – So Paul, AppTitude has seen some amazing success in the adoption of Vista. Can you give me the skinny on what AppTitude is doing for virtual applications?
PS - The AppTitude solution from AppDNA extracts and stores the application DNA from an application portfolio and automatically analyzes application compatibility, identifies any specific issues and provides a combination of automatic fixes and remediation advice required to resolve them. Virtualization Manager for App-V quickly highlights issues in advance of sequencing, and enables complex and difficult to identify dependencies to be identified early. This results in greater accuracy, time savings and success in sequencing. The AppTitude Production Manager allows applications to be automatically sequenced during import with or without interaction with the sequencer and automatically documents the sequencing process to support the creation of sequencing recipes.
Thanks Paul, I look forward to seeing even more from App-Dna in the coming year.
It just keeps getting better and better. I saw Steve Schmidt, VP Product Management, Acresso Software as I made my way over to the coffee station on the last day and told him that the excitement generated by their recent announcement for AdminStudio and App-V was amazing.
SeanDô – Steve, your recent announcement that AdminStudio would soon start to generate App-V packages in the same way it does MSI’s was big. Can you give me the high level details of the solution?
SS - For years, AdminStudio has helped thousands of IT teams prepare and manage their applications for error-free deployment. Now our customers are asking us to help them with one of their biggest challenges – rolling out virtualized applications. This can be a daunting task that requires intense coordination of resources and time to plan and test. AdminStudio, with expertise in application readiness, will help Microsoft App-V customers simplify the rollout by allowing them to leverage the work that they have already done. AdminStudio can confirm which applications are appropriate for virtualization and enables rapid deployment to the new App-V SFT virtual format.
SeanDô – OK. So I have heard from customers for the better part of 5 years now reluctance to learn and use a different packaging solution like the App-V Sequencer. Is there more business value to this than solving the packager concern?
SS - The key value that AdminStudio offers is to eliminate tedious and time consuming steps in planning for, creating, and managing virtualized applications (as well as MSI applications). When dealing with thousands of applications at one time, IT teams are looking for a way to save time and money to keep on track with the reality of tightened budgets in today’s economy. In recent third-party studies, AdminStudio demonstrated up to 60% time savings in preparing applications for virtualization, compared to natively provided tools by virtualization technology vendors. AdminStudio also provides a management infrastructure for cataloging, tracking and reporting on all the applications and the process around their preparation. In addition, all of this functionality is provided via the familiar interface used by thousands of customers today to create MSI packages, further increasing their efficiency and the reliability of the output.
SeanDô – Sounds great Steve. When do you expect this to be available?
SS - A beta version of the new AdminStudio Virtualization Pack will support App-V at the end of 2008. Our early adopter customers can apply to participate in the Beta program now. General release of the updated Virtualization Pack is expected in early 2009. You can get more information at http://www.acresso.com/pl/adminstudio-appv-beta.htm
Thanks for the information Steve. This will be a fundamental change in how people virtualize their applications.
Phew! Day 2 was a whirlwind of activity here at Tech EMEA in Barcelona. And day 3 promises to be even more so. The tapas and cerveza are as good as the sessions, filling and refreshing. On my way out of the expo floor this morning as I was headed to my presentation I had a chance to pull aside Bob Gilbert, Director of Marketing for Riverbed Technology, Inc. for a very brief conversation.
SeanDô – So, Bob, integrations around App-V are happening as fast as a WAN accelerator this year. What has Riverbed been doing on the App-V delivery front?
BG – Riverbed Technology is the pioneer and, with over 5000 customers, the worldwide technology and market share leader in wide-area data services (WDS). Riverbed provides the first and only comprehensive WDS solution to a host of severe problems that have effectively prevented enterprises from sharing applications and data across wide areas. By wide area, we mean anywhere in the world. Between Chicago and New York. Or between Moscow and London.
SeanDô – Bob, one of the things that I have been most excited about in App-V 4.5 is the diversity of deployment options available, especially when compared to the SoftGrid versions of the product. How do you see Riverbed providing your customers with a new business value in this new diverse model?
BG - With the combination of Riverbed Steelhead appliances and Steelhead Mobile software with the App-V application platform, customers can deliver applications at near LAN-like performance to remote locations, including branch offices and mobile workers.
SeanDô – Sounds like some pretty interesting results from your testing Bob. When will Steelhead be available for customers of App-V?
BG - The solution is available today from Riverbed and App-V resellers and partners worldwide. If people want to learn more they can visit our web site at http://www.riverbed.com or read our Riverbed blog at http://www.wdsforum.org
Another great day in Barcelona and the expo floor opened a short time ago for the day. I was trolling the expo floor again trying to get more of those rubber bouncing balls that flash colored lights when you bounce them. Anyone with small kids will know that you have to bring home enough for each kid. I caught up with Thorbjörn Sjövold , CTO of Special Operation Software and asked him a few questions about Virtual Deploy.
SeanDô – So Thorbjörn, you and I met for the first time last year at this event. Tell me what Specops has developed in that year for App-V.
TS - Specops Virtual Deploy gives the medium and small size organizations the ideal solution to benefit from Microsoft App-V without heavy investment in infrastructure and education. Specops Virtual Deploy extends Group Policy to natively, i.e. not through the Windows Installer wrapper, to deploy and un-deploy App-V packages, with full feedback on the exact error messages if anything fails. Specops Virtual Deploy also automatically installs the Microsoft App-V client, all needed prerequisites, and adds a full UI inside the Microsoft group policy management tools to configure all aspects of the Microsoft App-V client. Specops Virtual Deploy introduces the same Target mechanism as in Group Policy Preferences, adding a very fine granular approach to the way App-V packages are being deployed. By using Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), also included in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) together with App-V, it is possible to add version control and workflow management to App-V Package Deployments with Specops Virtual Deploy.
SeanDô – That sounds really interesting. So, these organizations may not have SCCM deployed and could use Specops to fill that gap. Is that the only business value in Virtual Deploy?
TS- By leveraging the customer’s existing investment in infrastructure and training, the additional investment to gain the benefits of application virtualization with Microsoft App-V is drastically reduced. Using only Active Directory and Group Policy, sequenced applications can be deployed to any computer without even having to consider the prerequisites of the Microsoft App-V client, using tools and techniques that are already in place in the organization. Since Specops Virtual Deploy is a Group Policy extension, the investment in MDOP is also leveraged even further since AGPM will enable the management of the Specops Virtual Deploy enabled Group Policy Objects to be both version controlled and managed in a workflow fashion.
SeanDô – I love the added tie in to Advanced Group Policy Management as well, Thorbjörn. When is Virtual Deploy going to be available?
TS - Specops Virtual Deploy 1.0 is generally available from October 11th 2008 from www.specopssoft.com/products/specops-virtual-deploy and will be showcased at Microsoft TechEd:IT Professionals in Barcelona, Spain 3-7 2008 October. Contact sales@specopssoft.com for more information.
Thanks for a great chat Thorbjörn and for the details on Virtual Deploy.
Sean Donahue is a Sr. Program Manager in System Center Alliances. If you are an ISV who has an integration point with App-V or MDOP please contact Sean
Well, it certainly has been an exciting start to the TechEd EMEA show this year. The sessions are well underway and the buzz surrounding the show is really hot. One of the hottest topics was actually announced last week at the PDC show in Los Angeles. Microsoft Windows Azure. Sean was fortunate enough to catch Danny Kim, CTO of FullArmor and ask him about PolicyPortal. In case you missed my first blog from this show, PolicyPortal is one of the applications being used on Windows Azure.
SeanDô: - So Danny, can you give me a brief description of PolicyPortal?
Danny: - With PolicyPortal, organizations can manage their remote end-points by extending their directory-based policies and applications over the Internet. A small piece of software resides on the client PC to communicate with the PolicyPortal application. Then, from a central location, administrators can manage PCs, set up user policies using Group Policy, distribute virtual applications and updates via App-V, monitor the health of specific PCs, manage PC inventories, and enforce security policies.
Hello from TechEd EMEA in sunny Barcelona! Sean Donahue from the App-V Partner Program has been working hard to create strong partnerships with various ISVs to create add-on solutions for App-V to meet your business needs. This marks a significant (and really inspiring!) change in the year since IT Forum 2007 where most ISV’s had barely heard of SoftGrid, and were waiting to see what Microsoft was going to do in the application virtualization space. Here at TechEd EMEA, we’re proud to announce partnerships with the following ISVs:
Intel continues to demonstrate how its current vPro technology complements the recently released SCCM R2 and App-V 4.5 to achieve IT’s objectives of Green Computing and reduced TCO. Through the management console with SCCM R2, vPro’s unique Remote Wake technology can power up a client computer and dynamically deploy App-V advertised virtual applications. vPro can then shut the machine down again to help organizations, save costs, conserve energy, and provide an enhanced end-user experience.
Makers of the most popular packaging product, “AdminStudio”, Acresso will announce that their packaging product will soon be able to take a physical application and create both an MSI and App-V Virtual application packages simultaneously. In addition, at release time, AdminStudio will be able to read an existing MSI and from its content, generate an App-V SFT file. This feature promises to save customers significant time when moving their applications to the virtualized format. One tool, one process for your physical and virtual application packaging needs.
www.acresso.com
AppTitude is an application compatibility platform which rapidly identifies application issues based on a comprehensive import of each application’s “DNA”. AppTitude Virtualization Manager for Microsoft App-V highlights properties and behaviours which make applications unsuitable or problematic for virtualization and identifies co-dependent resources. Additionally, AppTitude production manager facilitates the creation of App-V sequences using the App-V Sequencer as part of its import process.
www.app-dna.com
Makers of AspenTech Engineering Suite have already issued a declarative support statement, best practices document and prescriptive guidance around using AES with App-V. They have also worked with Microsoft on a joint case study on how they had a customer win at BASF in Germany by using their applications on App-V. AspenTech is a great example of how a mainstream ISV has enabled their application to be optimized for both physical and virtual environments.
www.aspentech.com
PolicyPortal allows for turn-key management of remote users, servers or home based computers connecting to a corporate LAN all over an internet connection. By teaming with Microsoft Cloud Services PolicyPortal can scale to any number of devices seamlessly. In a project with the Government of Ethiopia, FullArmor will start to deploy a custom application to the Educators of this developing country by leveraging Windows Azure, Vista and App-V for the streaming delivery and updates of this application. Initially this will start with 30,000 teachers and after successful deployment their goal is to expand it to the rest of the teachers in Ethiopia.
www.fullarmor.com
Makers of the Steelhead appliance WAN accelerator, Riverbed will announce the results of their testing efforts with App-V. By using Steelhead in a branch office scenario Riverbed’s results show that streaming applications can be improved by a factor of 9x. Over a T1 link with 100 ms latency PowerPoint was taken from an initial stream of 68 seconds down to 26 seconds. This streaming result is focused on the cold hit user, that user that performs the initial stream in the branch office. Users their after will stream via a warm hit.
www.riverbed.com
Special Operations Software’s Specops Virtual Deploy allows for the distribution and management of native Microsoft App-V packages through existing Group Policy infrastructures. Specops Virtual Deploy is a great solution for medium and small sized organizations. Using only their existing infrastructure, organizations will not only benefit directly from the management of Microsoft App-V packages, they can also, using the same Group Policy infrastructure, manage the deployment and configuration of the actual App-V client itself. Specops Virtual Deploy, being a full Group Policy Extension, is fully manageable from MDOP’s Advanced Group Policy Management (Advanced Group Policy Management) which also enhances the organizations investment in MDOP.
www.specopssoft.com
Next Up: Daily Partner Q/A on the above solutions. Have an ISV solution or application that you’d like to see integrated with App-V? Email Sean, and let him know what you’re looking for!
I mentioned last week that we would have some announcements posted to the blog. Well, as you heard today at TechEd IT Pro in Barcelona, Spain - Application Virtualization (App-V) will support 64-bit applications and platforms in H1 2010, with TAP availability expected in late 2009. By adding 64-bit support, we’re helping to IT administrators take full advantage of new, faster hardware and provide a higher level of service, security and flexibility to their businesses. 64-bit support will be included for both App-V client and server infrastructure components and fully compatible with Microsoft’s 64-bit operating systems. This support will apply across all existing App-V offerings, which include:
• App-V for Desktops which is purchased through the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
• App-V for Hosters, which is purchased via Microsoft’s SPLA licensing program
• App-V for Terminal Services which is purchased via the App-V for Terminal Services CAL
In addition to App-V, we’re also gearing up to include a second virtualization technology, called Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V), into the MDOP suite. MED-V is the culmination of months of work from the product team following the acquisition of Kidaro, and we’re proud to let you know that a beta of MED-V will be available in Q1 2009. By adding MED-V as the pivotal “Sixth man” in MDOP, we will enable IT professionals to optimize their desktop infrastructure by providing management capabilities for Virtual PCs, streamlining OS deployments, and easing application compatibility issues. Look for registration for beta at https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=665, where you could also nominate for early adoption even before Q1. The product is targeted for final release in the first half of 2009.
So, why are today’s virtualization announcements so important? As part of MDOP, both App-V and MED-V are key technologies for driving an optimized desktop infrastructure, in which physical and virtual resources are centrally managed by IT, and seamlessly deployed to users via technologies like App-V and MED-V. This enables you, as the IT managers, to maintain complete control over user desktops, which results in higher uptime and levels of performance company-wide, but also drives end-user productivity by giving them great performance and flexibility on a computer that doesn’t feel “locked down”. In short, the Optimized Desktop eliminates the historic “tug-of-war” that exists between IT and end-user needs in a traditional desktop infrastructure.
As Karri mentioned in her last post, we are planning on having a big presence at TechEd EMEA next week. Here is a list of all of the team’s activities including breakout sessions, product demos, instructor led labs, and interactive sessions. We will also be making some announcements next week so stay tuned to the blog. If you are attending the conference, we hope you will stop by, say hello, and let us know that you are an avid reader of the MDOP blog.
Breakout Sessions:
CLI305 MDOP: Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization, formerly from Kidaro.
Wednesday, November 5 10:45 - 12:00
Primary Speaker(s): Ran Oelgiesser
Track(s): Windows Client
Additional Track(s): Management and Operations, Virtualization
Level: 300 - Advanced
Session Type: Breakout Session
The Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization enhances deployment and management of Virtual PC images on a Windows Desktop while also providing a seamless user experience on a Virtual PC environment independent of the local desktop configuration and operating system. Application-to-OS compatibility issues are minimized, OS migrations are accelerated. Delivery and reconstitution of corporate desktops are made easy, simplifying support tasks, business continuity and incorporation of heterogeneous IT environments.
CLI306 MDOP: Application Virtualization 4.5 Features
Monday, November 3 16:00 - 17:15
Primary Speaker(s): Lidiane Souza
Track(s): Windows Client
Additional Track(s): Management and Operations, Virtualization
Level: 300 - Advanced
Session Type: Breakout Session
Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 is an exciting update for Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization. It includes Dynamic Suite Composition, Extended Scalability, Globalization and compliance with Microsoft Security Standards. All of these features will help you scale application virtualization across the Enterprise.
CLI315 MDOP: Asset Inventory Services (AIS) will count your software and your licenses
Thursday, November 6 08:30 - 09:45
Primary Speaker(s): Marc Shepard
Track(s): Windows Client
Additional Track(s): Management and Operations
Level: 300 - Advanced
Session Type: Breakout Session
Asset Inventory Services is an online service that collects information about your installed software applications, compares them to a central software knowledgebase and translates the results into easily used business information. The service can also retrieve your volume license agreement information and compare it to installed quantities which greatly simplifies license management activities.
CLI317 MDOP: Managing GPOs with Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) 3.0
Wednesday, November 5 15:45 - 17:00
Primary Speaker(s): Mark Gray
Track(s): Windows Client
Additional Track(s): Management and Operations, Security
Level: 300 - Advanced
Session Type: Breakout Session
See AGPM 3.0 in action: Group Policy is a great way of managing your desktops while at the same time there are many challenges in doing it well. AGPM, part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, is called "advanced" because it allows you to work in a safe, offline environment and add workflow and other levels of control. 3.0 is improving the archive, logging and integration within the total concept of Group Policy.
CLI407 MDOP: Microsoft Application Virtualization, Package and Data Management
Thursday, November 6 13:00 - 14:15
Primary Speaker(s): Lidiane Souza
Track(s): Windows Client
Additional Track(s): Management and Operations, Virtualization
Level: 400 - Expert
Session Type: Breakout Session
In depth session about how a file becomes part of the Virtual File System (VFS); how application data and user data are differentiated; where package files go on the Client; what happens when files are modified; and what are all those .PKG and .TMP files are. This session will provide you with insight into managing virtual applications
MGT315 Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid) management and System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2
Thursday, November 6 13:00 - 14:15
Primary Speaker(s): Gene Ferioli
Track(s): Management and Operations
Additional Track(s): Virtualization, Windows Client
Level: 300 - Advanced
Session Type: Breakout Session
This session will review the new Application Virtualization Management capability recently released in Configuration Manager R2. This new enhancement to the existing capability list in Configuration Manager adds powerful virtual application support to the existing robust software distribution technology. The live demonstrations will also showcase areas where the integration between Configuration Manager 2007 R2 and MDOP Application Virtualization 4.5 provides a truly "Better Together" experience. The session will also cover Event logging improvements, surfacing information through WMI, support provided by the Operations Manager Management Pack, Virtual Shadow Copy Services, back-up, compliance and much much more.
Product Demo Sessions:
CLI01-PD MDOP: Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack revealed
Tuesday, November 4 12:20 - 13:10
Primary Speaker(s): Jameel Khalfan
Track(s): Windows Client
Additional Track(s): Management and Operations, Security, Virtualization
Level: 200 - Intermediate
Session Type: Product Demo
Check out what we have to offer in this largely demo driven, all up MDOP session where we will provide a quick overview of each of the components.
CLI02-PD MDOP: not for first timers - we'll demo the new features in App-V 4.5 (formerly Softgrid)
Thursday, November 6 11:50 - 12:40
Primary Speaker(s): Gene Ferioli
Track(s): Windows Client
Additional Track(s): Management and Operations, Virtualization
Level: 200 - Intermediate
Session Type: Product Demo
Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 is an exciting update for Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualizaiton. It includes Dynamic Suite Composition, Extended Scalability, Globalization and compliance with Microsoft Security Standards. All of these features will help you scale application virtualization across the Enterprise.
CLI03-PD MDOP: Managing GPOs with Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) 3.0
Friday, November 7 12:20 - 13:10
Primary Speaker(s):