Help, my package is too big!
If you sequence enough applications in either SoftGrid or MS App-V you'll eventually run into the issue where your sequenced package is too large to be saved. We're limited to a 4GB file size so if you have an application that is large enough, or if you package many applications together, chances are you'll eventually run into this. So how to you get around it? Well, there's no getting around the 4GB file size limitation so what we're left with is reducing the size of the package. To do this you could possibly break out your package into two different linked packages using DSC, you could sequence your combined applications separately, you could use compression (mentioned briefly here) or you could simply remove unneeded things from the package to reduce the size.
To give you an example of how removing unnecessary files and folders can reduce the size of your package, let's say you want to sequence Visual Studio 2005 and the associated patches for it. If you do this then by default you'll probably end up with a package too large to be saved. So what we can do to workaround this is to take a look at the package and see if there's anything we can exclude. In this case there are a large number of files in the hidden folder C:\windows\installer\$patchcache$ that are not used by the application, thus we can safely exclude it from the sequenced package. Here's how we would do that when we sequence the app:
1. Start the SoftGrid Sequencer.
2. On the File menu, click New Package.
3. Click No when you are prompted for help.
4. On the Tools menu, click Options.
5. Click the Exclusion Items tab.
6. Click New.
7. In the Exclusion Item dialog box, type %CSIDL_WINDOWS%\Installer\$PatchCache$ in the Exclude Path box.
8. In the Exclusion Item dialog box, click VFS in the Mapping Type list.
9. Click OK to close the Exclusion Item dialog box.
10. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.
11. On the Tools menu, point to Sequencing Wizards, and then click Package Configuration. The Package Configuration Wizard starts.
Then simply continue with the steps for sequencing in Visual Studio 2005 listed in http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=946343
Of course this is just one example but the same method can be used for any application that includes files that are not necessarily needed by the virtualized app later on. What those files are and whether they even exist will depend on the app so you may need to consult your vendor for additional details, but if you run into the issue where your package is too large to be saved there's a chance that excluding certain files can get your in under the limit.
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
