The App-V team is excited to make available a RC version of our App-V 4.5 ADM template. It has just been posted over on the Microsoft Connect site (http://connect.microsoft.com).
The template focus is on registry settings that are well suited to controlling via ADM Template/Group Policy infrastructure and are the most likely to be customized. The ADM Template covers over 40 registry settings, including many of our newest features. For example, the ADM Template includes:
- New flags that allow overriding the location configured in the Open Software Description (OSD) file for the Application Source Route (ASR), the Icon Source Root (ISR), and the OSD Source Root (OSR) with the registry value located on the client
- New Auto Load settings including when to target apps and what will start an Auto Load
- New Reporting Configuration options
- New Client Logging settings like maximum log size and number of copies to keep
- All permissions settings visible through the App Virtualization Client
- Disconnected Operation configuration
- Client user interface settings that control how the Tray behaves
Our ADM Template allows controlling Preferences (not enforced policies). For an explanation of the difference, please see the Group Policy Team Blog. When you import the template, you need to go through the following steps to see it in the Group Policy Editor.
1. Click on Administrative Tools
2. Client View on the menu bar. Click Filtering.
3. Uncheck the “Only show policies that can be fully managed” check box.
4. Click OK
We hope this template will make it easier to manage App-V 4.5!
- The App-V Product Team
Hi all,
Just a quick post to let you know that we updated the version of the Management Server and Desktop Client that we have available over on the Connect site (connect.microsoft.com). The new build number for each component is 4.5.0.1308.
What’s changed?
- For the Desktop Client:
o We fixed an issue that makes sure the integration with the recently-released RC of SCCM 2007 R2 works as expected after an upgrade of the App-V client.
o We fixed a problem that was causing some applications to launch slower than expected when the client was installed on a system that also had CA’s eTrust Antivirus product installed and performing real-time monitoring.
- For the Management Server:
o We fixed an issue that caused Publishing Refresh to fail if a user was a member of a large number of Active Directory groups.
How do I install the new version?
- If you have not previously installed any version of the Desktop Client or the Management Server:
o You may use the new version for a clean install by running the self-extracting archive for each component (available on the Connect site) to begin the installation.
o You do not need to install any previous version first.
- If you have previously installed version 4.1 or higher of the Desktop Client or the Management Server:
o You may upgrade your previous installation by running the self-extracting archive for each component (available on the Connect site) to begin the upgrade.
o You do not need to uninstall any previous version of the client.
- If you have previously installed a version of the Desktop Client or the Management Server older than version 4.1:
o You must uninstall the previous version and then perform a new installation as above.
If you are not affected by these issues, there is no need to upgrade from the previous RC version (4.5.0.1305).
Thanks,
The App-V Product Group
The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) product team just announced their new blog and considering that App-V is part of MDOP you'll probably want to check it out. They'll be posting on topics such as Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), Asset Inventory Service (AIS), Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM) and Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V). Whew, that's a lot of acronyms even by Microsoft standards. Anyway, their first post went live today so if you've got some extra time today you might stop by and take a look. I've posted the intro and a link below:
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Welcome all to The Official MDOP Blog, your official source for all things related to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack! This blog is published and managed by the MDOP Product Management Team and is will be packed with information on updates, releases, tips & tricks, and important news that surfaces about our offerings.
To keep reading see http://blogs.technet.com/mdop/.
Enjoy!
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
A faithful reader recently forwarded me a link to this cool overview of App-V 4.5 so I figured I would post it here for your enjoyment. It's written by Ruben Spruijt and hosted at brianmadden.com. The intro and link are below:
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Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 is the new name for Microsoft SoftGrid and is Microsoft’s application virtualization solution. In this article, Ruben Spruijt explains what the essential advantages of application virtualization are, and more specifically, what the new functionalities and application scenarios of Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 4.5 are. Sooner or later, everyone will be using this form of virtualization. Ruben is enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge with you and exclaims, “Application Virtualization is the way to go!”
To continue reading visit http://www.brianmadden.com/blog/RubenSpruijt/Microsoft-Application-Virtualization-Virtual-Fantasy-or-Actual-Reality.
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Of course this document is not produced by Microsoft and the views and opinions contained do not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft Corporation, etc, etc but anyone who claims "It's a must have for any organization!" is OK in my book.
Enjoy!
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
Every now and then I run into folks looking for case studies on SoftGrid/App-V so I thought I would post a link to a couple here. Some not only have docs but videos as well.
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New Case Study:
Kent School District
Kent School District (KSD) is recognized throughout Washington for using technology to enhance education. With 10,000 workstations already in use and a new initiative that will provide all secondary school students with their own laptops, KSD will be adding about 2,500 more computers to its infrastructure each year for the next several years. It needed a way to support a growing, changing computer base while ensuring teachers and students could get needed applications in a more timely fashion. Using Microsoft® Application Virtualization, KSD cut district-wide application deployments from months to less than two days, simplified break/fix, improved license metering, and is easing migration to the 2007 Microsoft Office system. It provides a more flexible environment where teachers and students get applications wherever and whenever needed--and does it all with the same IT staff levels.
For more information see http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000002269.
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Case Studies with Video:
BASF IT Services
BASF IT Services supports networks and computers for nearly 60,000 users worldwide. The company followed an expensive certification process to ensure flawless operation of the applications it makes available—but the careful certification process was delaying the delivery of applications. BASF IT Services needed a way to shorten application deployment time while still keeping certification at the same high level of quality. The IT service provider found a solution in software virtualization technology. Microsoft® SoftGrid® Application Virtualization accelerates the certification process and reduces overhead considerably by delivering applications to customer PCs dynamically. Virtualization is invisible to users, who receive their new applications and updates sooner than before and can remain confident that the new software is compatible with their existing applications.
For more information see http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000001313.
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The State of Indiana
In 2005, the state of Indiana embarked on an optimization of its core IT infrastructure to dramatically improve service levels while reducing cost. The state replaced a highly decentralized series of e mail solutions running on 100 server computers with Microsoft® Exchange Server software running on two 4-computer clusters. Hundreds of desktop applications—including many older applications that were causing conflicts with current software—were virtualized using Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack. And software deployments, security updates, asset inventory, and remote help-desk support were enabled by a move from Altiris Notification Server to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007. The state has saved U.S.$14 million by optimizing its infrastructure, while boosting IT availability and enabling a range of new services to improve the lives of people throughout the state.
For more information see http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000001697.
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All Microsoft Application Virtualization (SoftGrid and App-V) case studies can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/search.aspx?ProTaxID=3123.
Enjoy!
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
I came across this article and thought you might find it interesting. The title is Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Nears Release and it discusses how the State of Indiana and the Fairfax County School District in Virginia are looking at how they can cut management headaches by expanding their use of Microsoft Application Virtualization. To read the article visit:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/server_virtualization/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208700671&pgno=1&queryText=&isPrev
It's definitely worth a quick read.
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
Please note that due to changes to the Release Candidate (RC) version of Microsoft Application Virtualization, Process Monitor users will need to download the latest version of ProcMon (v1.34) available at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx . Earlier versions of the tool will continue to work but will no longer capture virtualized registry access.
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
I came across this the other day and thought that a lot of you would find it useful so here you go. If you haven't seen this before, it's part of a series of planning and design guides that clarify and streamline the planning and design process for Microsoft infrastructure technologies.
There are quite a few different guides available and each guide in the series addresses a unique infrastructure technology or scenario. These guides include topics such as:
- Defining the technical decision flow (flow chart) through the planning process.
- Describing the decisions to be made and the commonly available options to consider in making the decisions.
- Relating the decisions and options to the business in terms of cost, complexity, and other characteristics.
- Framing the decision in terms of additional questions to the business to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the appropriate business landscape.
The guides in this series are intended to complement and augment the product documentation.
The App-V or SoftGrid guide can be found at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897450.aspx.
All of the other guides can be found at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc196387(TechNet.10).aspx.
Enjoy!
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
The Microsoft Application Virtualization team is very excited to announce that our version 4.5 Release Candidate is now available! We’ve been working incredibly hard since the Beta release to bring you the best version of the product to date and we think we’ve achieved that goal! Since the Beta release, we have added several new features, fixed bugs and made sure the product was ready to scale for enterprise deployments. Our TAP customers (selected customers who work closely with us to deploy the product into production prior to its final release) will be expanding their deployments to thousands of production users with this release in order to help us validate the product’s full feature set, as well as performance and scalability.
Focus Areas
In case you are not familiar with our focus areas for App-V 4.5, this is what we chose to focus on for the release as a whole:
· Dynamic Virtualization allows the flexibility to control virtual application interaction. Administrators wanting to consolidate virtual environments, and enable faster, easier administration, can use the product’s Dynamic Suite Composition, which sequences and manages middleware and plug-in applications separately from the main application.
· Extended Scalability through new deployment options, including deployments that leverage MSI-based package deployment, our new Streaming Server component, file streaming and HTTP streaming.
· Internationalization, including support for packaging non-English language applications (except for complex script languages), using the product on non-English language operating systems and the localization of the product into several additional languages.
· Support for Microsoft Security Standards following the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle. This includes support for secure internet-facing scenarios and provides Secure by Default configuration out of the box.
What’s New
A lot has happened since our Beta release and we’re excited to share it with you! Here’s some new features that we’d like to highlight:
· HTTP streaming. We now support streaming virtual applications from an IIS server (version 6 or 7). This will provide dramatic performance and scalability improvements for customers with large App-V deployments. In addition, the use of a more familiar protocol will make some deployments easier and more straight forward.
· New Sequencer UI. We have greatly simplified the use of the Sequencer. There is now a single wizard for creating a new package and advanced settings have been put into an optional screen. In addition, enhancements have been made that will make editing packages even easier.
· Dynamic Suite Composition (DSC) for MSI packages. We introduced two great features with our Beta release – Dynamic Suite Composition and the ability to create MSI packages directly from the Sequencer. DSC allows the flexibility to control virtual application interaction. Creating MSI packages directly from the sequencer eliminates the need for a server environment when deploying virtual applications. But, it was a little difficult to use both DSC and MSI together with the Beta release. With the RC release, you can now dynamically suite two MSI packages together by following a few simple steps.
· Improved integration with SCCM 2007 R2. With the upcoming release of the Release Candidate version of SCCM 2007 R2, the ability to deploy virtual applications via SCCM will be seamless for SCCM administrators. Virtual applications can now be streamed via HTTP so that deployments can scale. Also, a new wizard will make the process of sending out package upgrades to users simple and straightforward.
· Reporting. Application usage information is now recorded locally on each client and then sent to a App-V Management Server during Publishing Refresh. This means that offline usage of applications or usage of applications when streaming from different sources is now all accounted for properly in the App-V database. We are also providing new guidance so that customers can run their own customized reports.
· New Manageability tools. We’ve added a OpsMgr 2007 Management Pack to improve the monitoring capabilities of your App-V servers. We’ve added a ADM template to make it simpler to manage common client configurations via group policy. Finally, we’ve created a VSS Writer so that backups of the App-V server can leverage the latest technology.
· Client cache improvements. The maximum size of the client cache has been increased to 1 TB. We also introduced a feature that allows for least recently used applications to be removed from cache should it become full and a user is trying to add a new application. Also, we’re created some perfmon counters to make it easier to monitor the state of the cache.
· New MSI package capability. As mentioned above, the ability to create MSI packages directly from the Sequencer was introduced in our Beta release. However, the application was required to be used in an “offline” way, such that no connectivity to servers was needed. Customers told us they like the ability to do just the publishing of application shortcuts, icons and file type associations via the MSI, but they wanted the ability to still stream applications to their clients and to deliver package updates this way, too. With the RC release, this is now possible via a new command line parameter that does just this publishing activity.
· Accessibility. The product is now Section 508 compliant, bringing App-V in line with other Microsoft products.
· Documentation. As part of the RC, we have updated the online help that is included with the product. In addition, we are releasing a Planning and Deployment Guide and a FAQ for Upgrading to Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5.
How to download the RC
Anyone may download the RC via the Microsoft Connect site (http://connect.microsoft.com). If you are not already signed in with your Windows Live ID once you are at the site’s homepage, click Sign In. If you have previously visited the Microsoft Connect site for the “Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Public Beta”, look in the Activity in All Connections Since Your Last Login section under Your Dashboard and then click Microsoft Application Virtualization. If you have not previously visited the Microsoft Connect site for the “Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Public Beta”, click Connection Directory and then click Apply Now next to the Application Virtualization 4.5 Public Beta listing. In the left navigation bar, click Downloads and then look for the link to the RC release download. Please make sure to read the Release Notes and Known Issues documents before installing the product.
Support for the RC
The RC release is intended for lab use only by non-TAP customers and it is not supported by the typical Microsoft Product Support Services team. However, there is a forum on the TechNet site where you can ask questions and a members of the App-V community can help. Here’s the link to the forum: http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=1971&SiteID=17
To Learn More
Monitor this blog for future posts that will go into more depth on these product enhancements. In addition, to learn more about Microsoft Application Virtualization in general, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/softgrid/default.mspx
All of us here on the product team are very happy to make this RC release available to you! Thanks for your interest and feedback! Please remember to post any issues you are seeing to the TechNet forum mentioned above!
Ever since Softricity was acquired by Microsoft back in 2006 there's been a lot speculation as to what the name of the SoftGrid product would eventually be - Will it be called Microsoft SoftGrid, MSAV or will Microsoft come up with something completely new? Well, I imagine you already figured out that starting with version 4.5 the official name will be Microsoft Application Virtualization, but there will also be a new official short name: App-V.
So App-V is in, and SoftGrid is out, but you're probably wondering how all of this affects you or why you should even care. Really it only matters to you because from now on we're going to do our best to stop calling this product SoftGrid and start calling it App-V. Or Microsoft Application Virtualization if we're feeling formal. This blog will eventually go from being the SoftGrid blog to the App-V blog, the SoftGrid forums will probably become the App-V forums, etc. and I want to make sure all of you are ahead of the curve just so there's no confusion when you start seeing this name thrown around more and more over time.
And while we at Microsoft get into the habit of using the new name, you should try to get in the habit as well. I know old habits die hard and it'll be tough for you SoftGrid veterans to start calling it something new but sooner or later the SoftGrid name will be no more.
Happy Sequencing,
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
Here's an interesting issue that Paul Freitas ran across the other day that you might find interesting. I hadn't seen this one before but if you're sequencing using one drive letter and your clients use another then chances are you'll hit it eventually.
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Problem: Launching help within a virtualized (sequenced) version of Microsoft Office 2007 returns Windows Installer error 1305.
Cause: This is a known issue with MS Office and any other product built using Visual Studio 2005. The Visual Studio 2005 build process results in products that hard code the help file path in a binary file. Because of this, other products built with same version of Visual Studio could be effected.
Resolution: Obviously the best resolution is to be sure that when you sequence your applications you use the same drive letter you standardized on when you rolled out your clients. If it's too late for that, you can either resequence using the clients drive letter or you can use the subst command to create a Q: drive (or whichever drive the application was sequenced to) redirected to whichever drive your clients use. For example, if you sequenced Office to the Q drive but your clients use a T drive for their virtual drive you would run a command like this:
SUBST Q: T:\
You would run this command only once and run it prior to launching the affected application. And of course you have to be sure that the drive your substituting (the Q drive in our example) is not already in use on the client.
To avoid this you should always follow the best practice of sequencing your apps using the same drive letter that your clients use for their virtual drives but if a one time issue pops up you may be able to work around it using the example above.
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
Here's a cool issue recently uncovered by Paul Freitas, one of our Support Engineers for MS App Virtualization. I hadn't come across this error before but if you see it this may be a good thing to check.
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Issue: When an application is installed locally it runs fine, although when it's virtualized (sequenced) it generates the following error when launched:
Resolve Partial Assembly failed
Cause: This may occur if the same version of .NET Framework is installed locally as well as virtualized along with the application in the same package.
Resolution: The resolution is pretty obvious but I'll spell it out anyway - You need to either remove .NET Framework from the sequence or remove it from the client. Either way will work.
Links: Just in case you're looking for the .NET Framework packages you can find them here:
Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package
Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x86)
Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x64)
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Redistributable Package
Hopefully you won't run into this issue during your sequencing adventures but if you do be sure to check this out.
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
There’s been a lot of interest in whether we are releasing a supported Group Policy Administrative (ADM) Template file with Application Virtualization 4.5. Happily, the answer is “yes”! Our ADM Template will be made available with the 4.5 Release Candidate.
Our focus was on registry settings that were well suited to controlling via ADM Template/Group Policy infrastructure and were the most likely to be customized. The ADM Template covers over 40 registry settings, including many of our newest features. For example, the ADM Template includes:
· New flags that allow overriding the location configured in the Open Software Description (OSD) file for the Application Source Route (ASR), the Icon Source Root (ISR), and the OSD Source Root (OSR) with the registry value located on the client.
· New Auto Load settings including when to target apps and what will trigger an Auto Load.
· New Reporting Configuration options.
· New Client Logging settings like maximum log size and number of copies to keep.
· New Require Authorization configuration to specify if already cached apps still require user authentication and authorization in order to launch.
· All permissions settings visible through the App Virtualization Client.
· Disconnected Operation configuration.
· Client user interface settings that control how the Tray behaves.
We’ve also documented nearly 100 registry settings that will be posted as a Knowledge Base article titled “Description of the Application Virtualization Client 4.5 Registry Entries” shortly. The ADM Template is for the values that will be most commonly manipulated. The KB article will document the next most likely keys to be modified, in order to increase understanding of what the configuration settings include.
Our ADM Template allows controlling Preferences (not GP Policies). For an explanation of the difference, please see the Group Policy Team Blog. A new, optional Application Virtualization Client install switch is available that makes Preferences simpler to manage: /KEEPCURRENTSETTINGS. If present, setup will not overwrite registry settings in the area that the ADM Template Preferences are placed. Specify that setup switch to ensure the client will not overwrite any Preferences that are set prior to client installation. Existing registry configuration is respected by default in the case of an upgrade so no switch is needed.
Michelle Escalante | Program Manager | Microsoft Application Virtualization
This isn't something specific to MS Application Virtualization but it's pretty cool nonetheless. It was a long time coming but both MSDN and TechNet got a much needed make-over last week so if you haven't stopped by lately you'll want to check it out and see what's new. Andrew Bennett over on the Virtual World blog already posted a couple screen shots yesterday and Al Valvano (Group Manager) and Dan Ledrick (Senior Lead PM) created a great video walkthrough of their handiwork over on the Channel9 blog at http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Charles/MSDNTechNet-Site-Redesign-More-Useful-Better-Experience-and-Search-Really-Works-/.
To check out Microsoft Application Virtualization's updated site click here.
Enjoy!
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
I was reviewing some of the SoftGrid Microsoft Application Virtualization issues that came in over the past couple weeks I found a good one that was worked by Paul Freitas, one of our Support Engineers out in Boston. This is a troubleshooting tip that should apply to any scenario in which you notice that your usrvol_sftfs.pkg file keeps growing and growing and you want to figure out why.
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Issue: Over time you may notice that the usrvol_sftfs.pkg file keeps growing.
Cause: The application you virtualized is creating and storing data within the user package.
Resolution: The first thing you need to do is figure out which application is creating this excess data. If you're virtualizing a single application then this is easy, but if you're working with a suite of apps then it can be a little more difficult. In a case like this, a good way to identify the offending app is to modify the OSD so that it uses a prelaunch script that opens a CMD prompt window so we can do some checking. There's an example of how to do that here but I also included the script example below:
SCRIPT TIMEOUT="0" TIMING="PRE" EVENT="LAUNCH" WAIT="TRUE" PROTECT="TRUE">
<SCRIPTBODY>%systemroot%\system32\cmd.exe</SCRIPTBODY>
</SCRIPT>
Once you modify the OSD file, launch the application. Prior to the application actually starting you should see a CMD Prompt window open. From the open CMD Prompt window run a DIR command similar to the following so that we can view a list of files within the virtual package:
Q:\AppInstallDir> "DIR /s > C:\Windows\Temp\virtdrive.txt"
In the example above, AppInstallDir is the directory on the virtual Q drive where the offending application is installed and all we're doing is piping the output of our DIR command to a text file named virtdrive.txt on the C drive so we can look at it later.
Once you have your virtdrive.txt file, search it for any files that were recently modified. In Paul's case he found that the recently modified file was ARCHIVE.PST which told him that Outlook was auto-archiving old email to this file and that's why the package kept growing in size. The resolution here was to specify a different location for the archived data using this KB article, although your exact resolution will ultimately depend on the app you find creating the data.
This isn't an issue isolated to Outlook so if you run into any issue where you find the usrvol_sftfs.pkg growing in size over time you can use the same procedure to figure out why.
Hope this helps!
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
