Gene pinged me the other day about a cool little video up on channel 9! Its a really cool deep dive into App-V that John did.
Here’s a good overview of our Application Virtualization product our Architect, John Sheehan, presented a few weeks ago.
Here, John Sheehan, the primary architect of SoftGrid (formerly the chief architect of Softricity) digs into the details of how application virtualization (as implemented in SoftGrid) works. It's an incredibly interesting technology with a very promising future. There are many possibilities for using application virtualization to solve problems affecting not only the enterprise, but standard users and developers as well. Just use your imagination. This is a deep dive and John told me he'd like to go even deeper next time he's in Redmond. For now, this conversation should suffice as a technical introduction to the world of application virtualization and how Microsoft is innovating in this space.
Check it out!
http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/Going+Deep/John-Sheehan-Inside-Application-Virtualization/
The above leads us into a number of topics for 4.5 which i will go into next week when i am back from holiday!
Now if your like me you all be watching the forums and seen some of the problems that some peps have been experiencing with the first RC release. Well the Product Group have just released an updated up on connect.
Andrew posted a quick post up on the App-V blog.
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 System Center Configuration Manager team would like to announce that the following has been released and available for download:
R2 Release Candidate build 6335
Get on http://connect.microsoft.com and download it today (All the lovely App-V 4.5 RC integration is there!!! HTTP streaming come on!!!!!) ……..
16/07/08 Updated with Correct picture :o)
It was a weekend when Natalie (My better half) was away, and an email arrived from Paul Norris (Director in PFE) asking for people to help a good cause! This cause meant do 420km cycle ride in 4 days across Madagascar all for Charity!!!!……. so I explained this to Natalie over the phone…… and her only reaction to me was “Justin, You’ll die!”…… a sentiment that I look back and agree with her! Obviously I am not as fit as I use to be!
Anyway, 
One of my good friends Jane Lewis has finally gone bonkers and anyone who knows her personally knows what a determined tenacious person she is. On September 27th 2008 Jane will be partaking in a Computer Aid International Event across Madagascar. So what is this amazing event.
She is taking part in the computer aid Madagascar Cycle Challenge in September 2008 to raise money for Computer Aid International (http://www.computer-aid.org/madagascar.htm) and would really appreciate your support. For those of you that have already contributed – THANKYOU – to those who have been meaning too, here’s how you can help :)
She has agreed to cycle, with 14 Premier Field Engineers of Microsoft from the entire EMEA region, 420km in only 4 days across Madagascar, one of the most ecologically rich and unique countries on the planet, whilst helping Computer Aid International deliver vital IT education to communities in real need. All the money donated by you will help us to provide professionally refurbished PCs to schools throughout the developing world – where IT skills are now just as important to school-leavers as they are here in Europe. They will visit a school in Madagascar and see at first hand the very real and positive impact of IT education on these disadvantaged children.
By completing the challenge they aim to have personally raised enough money to provide an entire 10-machine computer lab to a school in need – and with it IT education to 1,000 children who would otherwise be denied this opportunity.
She and the PFE team cannot do this alone, And THEY NEED YOUR HELP NOW in form of an online, secure donation – however large or small – EVERYTHING you donate will go directly to the computer-aid charity involved, and the children who need it most. Plus also Microsoft in the U.K. will match your donation.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP – follow the link at the bottom of this email and make a donation, we each have a huge target to hit before September, so EVERY donation counts towards the final group total.
Please Sponsor the PFE team who are cycling across Madagascar for Computeraid @ http://www.justgiving.com/msmadagascar2
I will also be putting a little gadget to the left of the Blog to keep you up to date on progress and if you would like to contribute further in the future!
So it looks like all change at the top of VMware.
“VMware's Board of Directors ... has made a change in the leadership of the company with the departure of Diane Greene as President and CEO. VMware's Board of Directors has appointed Paul Maritz as President and CEO of VMware effective immediately."
The Hyper-V affect! I would like to think so :)
More information and background can be found here. What does this mean? What will be the affect? Would love to here your thoughts?
Kevin Sullivan is one of our great TSPs state site! well Kevin pingedVs a mail that had a greatarticle about Fairfax County's implementation. Good InformationWeek article on MAV 4.5 and State of IN and Fairfax County PS implementations...but here is a nice article on MAV 4.5 and current/future use plans at State of IN and FCPS…
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/server_virtualization/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208700671&pgno=1&queryText=&isPrev
How Microsoft IT does server Virtualization and Hyper-V So you want more evidence on Hyper-V, our friends at TechNet Edge have just posted this great interview. Worth a watch.
In this interview we met up with Devin Murray (Group Manager) and David Lef (Technology Architect) who are in charge of implementing virtualization within Microsoft. They've been running Hyper-V since it was in Beta in 2007 and have been running Hyper-V in production since January 2008. In this interview, we cover the following topics:
- History behind why and when we started implementing virtualization in the environment and what challenges we had.
- [6:22] - Number of servers virtualized in Microsoft's environment and goals of what percentage desired to be virtualized
- [8:07] - Net business impact and how the team manages this area of the business
- [9:54] - Current high availability stats (how many 9's) and how to make this higher
- [12:45] - Configuration of virtualization environment
- High availability with Hyper-V
- Why they determined the sweet spot was an 8 node cluster
- [18:18] - Decision points between using VHDs versus Pass-through disks
- [19:45] - What workloads he wouldn't recommend using one disk type versus another in regards to performance
- Downtime they're seeing with quick migration
The wait is over Windows 2008 Hyper-V is RTM’d. Justin beat me!! again.. As the news sweeps across the industry I am watching with interest. So far I like this this article on ZDNet by Jason Perlow gives a good summary.
I do like the image within the article (Note not an Microsoft image)
As announced by Everyone! Its Shipped! Hyper-V is now officially released and available from Windows Update.
Microsoft reaches a significant milestone for customers and partners with the release of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, the hypervisor-based virtualization feature included in select versions of Windows Server 2008. Those who have already deployed the x64 versions of Windows Server 2008 can receive Hyper-V from Windows Update beginning July 8, while new customers and partners can download Hyper-V later today (12:00 pm PT). The Windows Virtualization team will be counting down the days to download from Windows Update, so be sure to visit the Windows Virtualization Team blog to see daily spotlights on specific features and benefits of Hyper-V technology, as well as to read about customer stories and see postings from guests.
Since the beta release of Hyper-V in February, more than 250 customers have participated in Hyper-V’s early adoption program. Microsoft’s own deployment and results with Hyper-V is showcased today in Rob Emanuel’s guest blog and video on the Windows Server Division blog, specifically on customers using Hyper-V and partner benefits, visit the Microsoft PressPass site.
Also, check out the new Hyper-V videos on TechNet Edge:
TechNet Edge Interview: Hyper-V Overview with Mike Neil
TechNet Edge Interview: Hyper-V Program managers interview Part 1
TechNet Edge Interview: Hyper-V Program managers interview Part 2
Other Resources:
Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit
Virtualization Solution Accelerators
The 15 minutes is worth the watch though with some great soundbites from Jeff Raikes, Bill’s dad, Ray Ozzie and Steve Ballmer.
Overview
On June 27, 2008, Bill Gates will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates will remain Microsoft’s chairman and will be involved in select projects based on direction from Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer and the leadership team. Microsoft will continue to be led by a deep leadership team, led by CEO Steve Ballmer, Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie and Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie.
The Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) is open to any vendor who delivers a virtualization machine solution that hosts Windows Server 2008, Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 4 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 and subsequent service packs. The virtualization solution can either be hypervisor-based or a hosted solution. The program enables vendors to validate various configurations so that customers of Windows Server can receive technical support in virtualized environments. Customers with validated solutions will benefit from the support provided by Microsoft as a part of the regular Windows Server technical support framework.
The Server Virtualization Validation Program is not a logo program, rather a reference that companies and customers will be able to use in conjunction with their validated solutions.
Validated Configurations Submissions Open in June 2008
The upcoming list of validated configurations will enable customers to identify what scenarios have been tested and validated to work with Windows Server, similar to a support matrix for hardware devices. A validated configuration will consist of a specific version of third-party server virtualization software, a specific version of Windows Server, and a specific WHQL-certified hardware configuration. Additional information will be listed with the respective hardware configuration to enable customers to obtain support for their virtualization configuration.
More information at http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp/default.aspx.
Now this will start some discussions out on the field! Bob Muglia discussed the future of a stateless application for the server infrastructure, Server App-V. Infoworld put a article up on this subject that I just wanted to highlight and get your minds thinking about the potential and the future of Application Virtualization.
Check the infoworld article here http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/29/Microsoft-designing-application-virtualization-on-server_1.html or just carry on reading :o)
================================
Microsoft is working on application virtualization technology for the server that is designed to provide administrators the flexibility to quickly deploy infrastructure and even stream applications on-demand.
The capabilities would be similar to the application virtualization capabilities available in the client side via Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid).
SoftGrid, which Microsoft acquired when it bought Softricity in May 2006, lets users package applications into "containers," store them on a server where they can be centrally managed, and then stream those containers to desktops, devices or shared PCs. It also can be used for on-demand delivery of patches and upgrades.
The benefit is that each application has a properly configured operating environment tailored to its needs. It also ensures applications don't interfere with each other, such as running different versions of Office on the same desktop.
"We are working to move server applications into stateless environments so applications don't need to go through the install process; they can be copied on top of the operating system," said Microsoft senior vice president Bob Muglia in his keynote address at the company's annual Microsoft Management Summit.
The effort is part of Microsoft's expanding virtualization strategy ahead of the shipment of Hyper-V, the server virtualization add-on to Windows Server 2008 expected to ship this summer.
Microsoft wants to bring application virtualization capabilities to the datacenter so users can quickly roll out infrastructure (middleware and operating systems) and then deliver applications either directly to the server or streamed on-demand when needed.
Images of applications and infrastructure would be stored in an online library, and deployed dynamically ensuring that the middleware's configuration is aligned with the needs of the application, but also allowing different versions of server applications to run on the same box.
The strategy, however, is a green field for Microsoft.
"There is nothing in market today from Microsoft to deploy this capability so this would be something new," says Dai Vu, director of virtualization products and solutions in Microsoft's server and tools division. "We are doing a lot of learning on the client side to accelerate what we want to do on the server side."
The prize for IT would be simplified deployment, such as eliminating recurring regression testing when rolling out applications.
While Vu did not discuss future plans or a road map for rolling out server virtualization, he did say that Microsoft was "actively investing in the technology."
But he added it is not a 12-month plan and would take some time. Vu said part of the difficulty is that in general server applications are much more intertwined with the operating system than on the client side and separating the two can be tricky.
Muglia said in his keynote address that the goal was to get to the point where separation between the operating system, the middleware and the applications means that the only traditional installation IT will have to do is laying down a hypervisor on physical server hardware.
For those that review connect often you may have already spotted this. But for others that check it out once in a blue moon “I have a recommendation for you”. There is a tool called the “Terminal Services Application Analyzer” which is a Beta tool on connect.
This tool came up in a recent conversation that I was having with Madelinde Walraven (one of our EMEA GTSC App-V Legends! also lovingly nicknamed “Sheila!”) .
We were all discussing the use of some well known Global Objects and how windows checks and also the “create global object” field. As you can see it was a real hum digger of a conversation that would have sent my better half off to sleep! Anyway I spotted it a few nights before on connect and thought that this tool may assist!
Anyway the core issue was that a customer wanted to have a single user mode application that was not TS aware working on App-V on a Terminal Server and when it didn’t work it was “App-V’s” fault :o) tut tut tut ……. so for a lot of customers the question must be, how can I even test or have a test pass that an application may be acceptable to use on my terminal servers.
Well……..On this note you may now want to look at the “TS Application Compatibility” tool on connect. Its located in the “Connections Directory” at the top of the page.
Application Compatibility is the term given to the collection of issues which prevent an application from executing satisfactorily in a given environment. In this specific instance, the environment is the Windows Terminal Services (TS) Platform. TS is deployed for a variety of reasons such as reducing total cost of operation (TCO), better security & compliance, enabling mobility, etc.
Following are the different types of Problems faced by client applications on a TS environment:
- It is observed that client applications are generally written for a single user. TS server being a multiuser system, may cause synchronization problems.
- Some of the applications are written with the assumption that the binaries are running with administrator privileges. On TS, a normal user is rarely given administrative privileges.
- Behaviour of some of the APIs is different in TS server environment than a client OS environment, this may cause the program to get unexpected results from some of the OS calls.
TS Application Analyzer
TS Application Analyzer is a runtime program analysis tool to enable administrators/users to determine if they can deploy an application on TS with a degree of confidence. It provides a summary of TS incompatible behavior of an application and provides recommendation indicating the confidence level for deploying the application on TS. The classes of App Compat issues that are being targeted for detection are:
- Shared resources – Files/registries
- Access/Privilege issues
- Windows API calls with special cases for TS
The tool does the following:
- Enables the administrators to analyze test runs on the given binary
- Decides whether the binary will face any problems when deployed on TS. If yes, finds out the type of the problem and its severity.
- Presents this information in a readable format and summarizes the findings along with a recommendation.
- The findings can be exported and analyzed viewed at some other machine.
- The tool can be deployed on a set of user machines or test machine (running the client OS OR the TS server OS) seamlessly. The findings can be gathered at the administrators machine. The administrator goes through the findings on all the machines and then makes a decision whether the application can be deployed on TS or not.
Again its a great freeby tool, and its in Beta so you can test and add feedback on the forums to how the tool is working for you! Seriously this is a dead handy tool to see how your applications from your desktop estate may transition to a terminal server platform. Download this and get it in your tool box for that rainy day!!!
For those of you that I have had the pleasure to meet, one thing you would have noticed is that I love the company I work for Microsoft. I am glad that I share the same slightly ‘strange’ passion and obsession with my good friend Justin Zarb. This said I enjoyed the BBC programme “Gates from the beginning”, a little short! However I would say that.
Now for some more good news! Channel 9 have post yet another interview with Bill Gates where he discuss his transition from full time at Microsoft full time at his global philanthropic foundation. Watch it now :)
Microsoft's Surface touch operated "coffee table" computer will make its debut in the entertainment world at Harrah's casino in Las Vegas.
So what is Microsoft Surface?
Its a WPF application or a number of WPF applications using some specialist hardware. Now the the interface is cool. Check out this cheesy advert for an application in a casino.
This is all well and good however, what really is the potential for this type of technology. I been looking into this for a customer and came across this excellent blog post by Steve Clayton and video. The video quality is not that good, however it demonstrates the potential for future applications for the surface platform.
Applcaitons of Microsoft Surface
Note the rolling coke cans and the images being left on the surface. The face imprint is of course interesting also :)
