Situation

Microsoft needs a more efficient and centrali$ed method to manage application deployment, updates, and remo%al'

Solution
Microsoft "pplication #irtuali$ation &'( with *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2 pro%ides an efficient and cost.effecti%e way to manage application tas-s through the entire application.management life cycle'

Architecting the Virtual Application Infrastructure at Microsoft

Published: June 2010

Benefits Microsoft Information Technology

ne%er installs %irtual applications on a client, which minimi$es compatibility issues' Microsoft targets %irtual applications to clients, and ma-es them a%ailable automatically by publishing application shortcuts and file.type associations' Integrating *onfiguration Manager with "pplication #irtuali$ation pro%ides additional scalability and a%ailability options for application.%irtuali$ation clients'

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) helps Microsoft provision, distribute, and manage applications in its global network infrastructure Application Virtualization reduces costl! applicationmanagement processes, accelerates application and operating s!stem deplo!ments, and creates a foundation for a software-services and management infrastructure

Situation
To increase efficiency and lower costs associated with the application management life cycle, Microsoft Information Technology Microsoft IT! uses Microsoft "pplication #irtuali$ation %ersion &'( and Microsoft )ystem *enter *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2 to deli%er %irtual applications to networ- clients' "pp.# is part of the Microsoft /es-top 0ptimi$ation Pac- M/0P!, and deploys and manages %irtual applications on client computers' #irtual applications do not install application files or ma-e changes to the local registry' 0nce Microsoft IT deploys a %irtual application, it runs in an isolated en%ironment that pre%ents application conflicts and significantly reduces costs associated with application.compatibility testing and troubleshooting' 1sing "pp.# and *onfiguration Manager together centrali$es management processes that relate to pro%isioning, deployment, upgrading, updating, and remo%al of software applications on a client' "n organi$ation that integrates "pp.# with *onfiguration Manager can utili$e the inherent deployment infrastructure that the *onfiguration Manager architecture pro%ides, which enables the organi$ation to continue reali$ing its return on in%estment ,0I! for its e2isting infrastructure' "dditionally, the organi$ation will benefit from a single management solution for both physical and %irtual applications, which scale throughout an enterprise networ-' This case study describes the challenges that organi$ations often face when managing applications using traditional application management processes' It also details, for IT professionals and technical decision ma-ers T/Ms!, how Microsoft is addressing these challenges by implementing an application.%irtuali$ation solution that includes "pp.# &'( and *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2 integration' "dditionally, this case study discusses implementation considerations that pro%ide the foundation for a successful application. %irtuali$ation solution'

Products & Technologies Microsoft "pplication #irtuali$ation &'( Microsoft )ystem *enter *onfiguration
Manager 200+ ,2 )P2

"ote# This case study assumes that readers have a general understanding of Configuration Manager 2007 architecture concepts. Readers that do not have this prerequisite knowledge should refer to the ystem Center Configuration Manager TechCenter at http!""technet.microsoft.com"en#us"configmgr"default.asp$.

Identifying the Situation

The application management life cycle has many phases, and there are specific tas-s that incur either indirect or direct costs that an organi$ation should consider when calculating the total cost of owning a software application' These phases include:

%cquiring or developing the application' 3or both traditional and %irtual application solutions, ac4uiring or de%eloping the application incurs licensing and de%elopment costs that an organi$ation must figure into the total cost of ownership' %pplication packaging' Pac-aging an application for deployment often is a timely process that can be costly, depending upon the application5s comple2ities' Many of the traditional pac-aging costs are due to the time and resources that it ta-es to pac-age an application, troubleshoot installation and compatibility issues for standard users, and ensure that a pac-age is portable between operating.system %ersions' "n organi$ation also may ha%e to repac-age applications to support specific deployment mechanisms' 3or e2ample, one deployment mechanism may re4uire Microsoft installer M)I! files, whereas another deployment mechanism may use standard )etup'e2e installation files' %pplication provisioning' Preparing and pro%isioning an application for deployment includes ensuring that the application includes all re4uired features' This may include pro%iding default configuration settings, and enabling or disabling specific functionality' 6ith traditional pac-aging, if a specific feature must be added to an application, the application typically has to be repac-aged' "ote# &uring the Microsoft 'T %pplication (irtuali)ation pilot* Microsoft determined that the costs of packaging and provisioning an application for the %pp#( environment were appro$imately + percent lower than packaging a traditional application. This was due to a decrease in application#compati,ility issues* which reduced the num,er of times a package had to ,e resequenced.

%pplication deployment' *osts that relate to application deployment depend on the infrastructure and tools that an organi$ation uses to deploy and install the application on client wor-stations' If end users e2perience problems with the application installation, help.des- interaction increases the deployment5s total cost, including additional administrati%e costs for the help des- to maintain necessary documentation and -nowledge.base articles' In many cases, applications may cause unforeseen compatibility issues with other applications or operating.system components, which can result in costly user downtime while IT addresses the issues'

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"ote# %t Microsoft* users typically find* install* maintain* and remove applications on their workstations. Microsoft also encourages users to test new applications ,y participating in ,eta programs* which Microsoft employees refer to as -dogfooding.Microsoft.s costs of deploying an application tend to ,e higher ,ecause of this user self# reliance and ,ecause 'T has to address the resulting compati,ility issues. %pplication (irtuali)ation addresses ,oth of these issues ,y providing targeted application deployment and ena,ling multiple versions of applications to run in isolated environments.

%pplication servicing' )er%icing a traditional application typically results in an organi$ation ha%ing to repac-age and test the application to ensure that the update does not affect the application negati%ely' The organi$ation also must deploy the application update to e2isting installations, which often means that users ha%e to reboot their wor-stations so that updates ta-e effect' In addition to the time and resources it ta-es to repac-age updated applications, reboots can incur direct costs to an organi$ation' 3or e2ample, if a typical application update re4uires an operating system reboot that ta-es fi%e minutes, then deploying the application to 1,000 clients e4uals appro2imately 78 hours of lost producti%ity' "ote# %pplication (irtuali)ation ena,les an updated application to deploy seamlessly to users* who can continue working while application updates occur. /sers no longer have to wait for an installation to finish or have to wait while re,ooting after the updated application installs.

%pplication removal' ,emo%ing a traditional application can be %ery time consuming and costly' "dministrators often must de%elop or ac4uire comple2 remo%al scripts to ensure complete remo%al of the application5s files and registry settings' In e2treme cases, administrators ha%e to rebuild entire wor-stations to remo%e remnants of applications fully' "ote# % virtual application is never installed on a client workstation* so when a client no longer needs* or has permission* to run it* an administrator simply modifies client permissions to remove access to it.

Solution
Microsoft implemented an "pp.# &'9 and *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 pilot pro:ect to address the challenges that traditional application management poses, and to determine the benefits and %alidate the tas-s of application %irtuali$ation' "n organi$ation can deploy "pp. # &'9 in se%eral architectural scenarios, which depend primarily on the organi$ation5s business re4uirements, si$e, networ- re4uirements, and a%ailability of a *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 infrastructure or other third.party application.distribution system' 6ith, the release of "pp.# &'( and *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2, the infrastructure and client were upgraded to the latest releases to support ;(& bit 0perating systems and 6indows +'

Overview of Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5

"pp.# &'9 pro%ides infrastructure and ser%ices to support both small and large organi$ations, and includes se%eral implementation options, such as the 3ull Infrastructure, the )tand.alone

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option, or "pp.# &'9 integration with *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2' The following sections describe these implementation scenarios'

App-V 4.5 Full Infrastructure

The "pp.# 3ull Infrastructure contains se%eral ser%er.based components and options for supporting networ- clients' Table 1 pro%ides an o%er%iew of the ser%er and client components' Table 1. App-V Full Infrastructure
Infrastructure Components "pplication #irtuali$ation )e4uencer

o!ponents
"escription

This component monitors an application5s installation to create a se4uenced %irtual application pac-age that is deli%ered to the user' It contains the necessary information that the "pp.# client re4uires to run the application in a %irtual en%ironment' This component streams se4uenced content to client computers by using the ,eal.Time )treaming Protocol ,T)P<,T)P)!' It also publishes the shortcuts and configuration data file.type associations, etc'! to clients through an ;M=.based configuration file, and pro%ides features such as "cti%e 1pgrade and =icense management' This component hosts "pp.# se4uenced pac-ages and pro%ides streaming functionality to clients in branch offices that may not ha%e an ade4uate wide area networ- 6">! connection to the office that contains the "pp.# Management )er%er' This component does not contain the "pp.# Management *onsole or the "pp.# Management 6eb ser%ice, or the /es-top *onfiguration )er%ice, and it cannot publish shortcuts to "pp.# clients' It also uses ?TTP<?TTP) for streaming' " Microsoft )@= )er%erA database that stores information, including application records, application assignments, and the groups that are responsible for managing the "pp.# en%ironment' This is a Microsoft Management *onsole MM*! 8'0 snap.in administration console, which an administrator installs in the "pplication #irtuali$ation )er%er or on a separate administration wor-station' This Internet Information )er%ices II)!Bbased component manages communication between the Management *onsole, "pp.# Management )er%er, and the /ata )tore' This component is a%ailable as "pp.# /es-top *lient or "pp. # Terminal )er%ices *lient' Coth clients create and manage the %irtual en%ironment in which %irtuali$ed applications run'

"pplication #irtuali$ation Management )er%er

"pplication #irtuali$ation )treaming )er%er

"pplication #irtuali$ation /ata )tore

"pplication #irtuali$ation Management *onsole

"pplication #irtuali$ation 6eb )er%ice "pplication #irtuali$ation *lient

"ote# %pplication streaming also can use the server message ,lock 0 M12 protocol from a standard file server or the 3TT4"3TT4 protocol from a server that contains the '' 5e, server role.

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App-V 4.5 Stand-Alone

The "pplication #irtuali$ation )e4uencer pro%ides an option to create a stand.alone M)I pac-age that contains all of the metadata and files that a %irtual application re4uires to run on a stand.alone "pp.# client' "n administrator can pro%ide the M)I.wrapped application pac-age to the "pp.# client %ia /#/ or a uni%ersal serial bus 1)C! flash dri%e, or can integrate it with an enterprise software deli%ery system' If an organi$ation chooses to use a stand.alone %irtual application, the "pp.# ser%er infrastructure components are not necessary'

App-V 4.5 Integration #ith Manager $%%& '$

onfiguration

*onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 pro%ides built.in support for %irtual application deployment' "n administrator ad%ertises se4uenced %irtual.application pac-ages to collections of users or systems, and then deploys them using the standard *onfiguration Manager architecture' Cenefits for integrating *onfiguration Manager and "pp.# &'9 include:

"dministrators can manage both physical and %irtual applications using a single management console and management infrastructure le%eraging -nown wor-flows' This results in reduced comple2ity and the need to learn a new system' The inherent scalability of *onfiguration Manager distribution points pro%ide more efficient distribution of %irtual applications, without ha%ing to use "pp.# management or streaming.ser%er components' *onfiguration Manager clients, by default, download %irtual applications from a /istribution Point and run them from the local cache' "dministrators also can configure %irtual applications to stream to the client from a nearby distribution point using ?TTP<?TTP)' "n administrator can target %irtual.application deli%ery to specific collections that contain users or computer systems, and can schedule application deli%ery to ensure that applications are a%ailable after a specific time' "dministrators can le%erage standard *onfiguration Manager features, such as distribution.point failo%er, data throttling using Cac-ground Intelligent Transfer )er%ice CIT)!, enhanced reporting, and support for internet.facing clients and branch.caching scenarios' "dministrators can collect in%entory and asset intelligence information about the %irtual application5s %ersion, to which machines or users it is deployed, and how often it is used' "dministrators can le%erage the automated operating.system deployment capabilities of *onfiguration Manager to deli%er %irtual applications as part of their operating.system deployment and upgrade efforts'

Application Virtualization Sequencing

The "pplication #irtuali$ation )e4uencer monitors a standard application installation and captures the setup process so that it can reproduce the application within the "pp.# client5s %irtual en%ironment' 6hen the "pp.# )e4uencer se4uences an application, it generates se%eral files' Table 2 describes these files'

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Table $. Se(uenced )ac*age Files

Infrastructure Components ')3T 3ile "escription This file contains all of the application files, dependencies, and configuration information, and may contain more than one application such as application suites!' This file can be 4uite large' This file pro%ides the shortcuts on the "pp.# client' This file configures and controls how a %irtual application launches and runs' This pro:ect file describes the applications that the se4uenced pac-age contains' This ;M= file contains pac-age information that enterprise software.deployment solutions use'

'I*0 3ile '0)/ 3ile ')P,J 3ile Manifest 3ile

"fter the se4uencing process is complete, the administrator imports and configures the se4uenced pac-age files to pro%ide %irtuali$ed application functionality in the "pp.# 3ull Infrastructure scenario or the *onfiguration Manager integrated scenario' "ote# Microsoft 'T determined that an organi)ation can minimi)e sequencing costs significantly if the application owner is involved directly in the sequencing process. The application owner contains e$tensive information a,out how the traditional application should work* and can provide valua,le insight on necessary dependencies. 'f a package has comple$ or unknown dependencies* an organi)ation must remediate each dependency to ensure a positive user e$perience with the virtual application.

Microsoft's App-V Solution Strategy

In )eptember 200+, Microsoft began a phased pilot pro:ect to implement "pp.# &'9 beta within the production en%ironment' Microsoft wanted to %alidate the "pp.# &'9 functionality, and had additional goals, including:

/eploy the "pp.# client to &0,000 systems by the release.to.manufacturing ,TM! date' /eploy at least &0 applications by the ,TM date' Dnsure that for 70 percent of %irtuali$ed applications, the launch time is no greater than three times how long it ta-es to launch the local.application e4ui%alent' /ocument bug issues and submit design.change re4uests to include in the "pp.# &'9 release' Integrate *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 when it becomes a%ailable'

"ote# 1efore the pilot pro6ect* Microsoft implemented a proof#of#concept using Microsoft oft7rid8 9.2 technology* which Microsoft acquired with its acquisition of oftricity* 'nc. Microsoft updated this configuration and infrastructure to the newly ,randed Microsoft %pp# ( 9.:* and used it for su,sequent phases of the pilot pro6ect.

)hase 1 - App-V 4.5 Full Infrastructure

Microsoft began the "pp.# pilot pro:ect by implementing the 3ull Infrastructure model' Table 8 pro%ides a summary on the hardware that Microsoft used initially'

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Table +. App-V 4.5 ,ard#are

App-V Component /ata )tore )@= )er%er! ,ard#are onfiguration

?P /=879: 122! "M/ 0pteron<2'2 gigahert$ E?$!F 2 gigabyte EC! random access memory ,"M! eachF (7'7 EC total hard.dri%e capacityF 17 EC utility storageF integrated lights out i=0!F redundant power suppliesF and redundant fans' 0perating )ystem: 6indows )er%erA 2008

6eb )er%ice II) )er%er role!

?P /=879: 122! "M/ 0pteron<2'2 E?$F 1 EC ,"MF (7'7 EC total hard.dri%e capacityF 17 EC utility storageF i=0F redundant power suppliesF and redundant fans' 0perating )ystem: 6indows )er%er 2008

Management )er%er 3ile )er%er!

?P /=879: 122! "M/ 0pteron<2'2 E?$F & EC ,"MF (7'7 EC total hard.dri%e capacityF 17 EC utility storageF i=0F redundant power suppliesF and redundant fans' 0perating )ystem: 6indows )er%er 2008

"ote# ;or additional information on si)ing the %pp#( infrastructure for your organi)ation* see the %pplication (irtuali)ation 9.: &ocumentation at http!""technet.microsoft.com"en# us"appvirtuali)ation"cc<9=>>9.asp$. The initial pilot pro:ect had 800 %olunteer users accessing appro2imately 19 applications, including "dobe "crobat, Microsoft 0ffice #isioA drawing and diagramming software, and internal Microsoft utilities' Microsoft controlled application access by creating an "cti%e /irectoryA /omain )er%ices security group for each application' 1sers then had to add their user accounts to the appropriate security groups to access applications' 0nce the "pp.# 6eb ser%ice recogni$ed the security group permissions, it deployed shortcuts and file.type associations to the client computer automatically' Phase 1 grew from 800 users to more than 1,200 %olunteer users by 3ebruary 2007, and at this phase5s end, Microsoft mo%ed the Management )er%er and 6eb )er%ice components to two separate %irtual machines on a single host ser%er' This ga%e Microsoft a significant cost benefit by minimi$ing the necessary physical hosts for the "pp.# implementation' The )@= )er%er data store remained on a physical host ser%er'

)hase $ - Integration #ith Manager $%%& '$

onfiguration

The beta release became a%ailable in 3ebruary 2007, and Microsoft mo%ed into the pilot5s second phase, which saw ma:or changes in application deli%ery to the client' Integrating *onfiguration Manager with "pp.# does the following:

>o longer re4uires the use of "pp.# infrastructure components, including the "pp.# Management )er%er, the "pp.# )treaming )er%er, the "pp.# 6eb )er%ice, or the "pp.# Management *onsole' "dministrators perform all "pp.# management from the *onfiguration Manager console and can completely le%erage the e2isting *onfiguration Manager infrastructure'

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Dnables application deli%ery using *onfiguration Manager download and e2ecute capabilities, or streaming from enabled distribution points using ?TTP<?TTP)' /eli%ers applications through a GpushG rather than a GpullG method'

Phase 2 targeted a specific *onfiguration Manager site containing appro2imately 9,000 clients' Microsoft used the following high.le%el process to update and migrate clients ta-ing part in the %irtual application pilot: 1' 2' *reated a 4uery.based collection for computers that were ta-ing part in the pilot' Targeted a mandatory ad%ertisement to install the "pp.# %irtuali$ation client to the collection' Microsoft limited this ad%ertisement to 82.bit 6indowsA ;P or 6indows #istaABbased computers with at least 9 EC of hard.dis- space a%ailable' The 9.EC limit minimi$ed the ris- that a client would ha%e low dis- space and not be able to recei%e critical updates' Dnabled the Allow virtual application package advertisement feature on the Advertised Programs Client Agent' Dnabled the e2isting /istribution Points to support "pplication #irtuali$ation' Imported a se4uenced application into the *onfiguration Manager en%ironment, and deployed the %irtual application to clients' "s a proof.of.concept, Microsoft deployed "dobe ,eader as a mandatory application to users'

8' &' 9'

"ote# 5hen an organi)ation ena,les the Allow virtual application package advertisement option* Configuration Manager controls the %pplication (irtuali)ation client* and removes all virtual#application packages that were deployed previously. 't is important to prepopulate collections and preconfigure virtual#application packages ,efore ena,ling the virtual# application package advertisement option. %dministrators then can ensure that applications deploy as quickly as possi,le to clients after the initial cache clears. 6hen the Phase 2 pilot was complete, appro2imately 10,000 to 19,000 users had access to %irtual applications from the *onfiguration Manager en%ironment'

)hase + - App-V 4.5 and onfiguration Manager $%%& 'TM 'eleases

Phase 8 incorporated the ,TM releases of "pp.# &'9 and *onfiguration Manager 200+, and the user base recei%ing the mandatory "pp.# &'9 client and "dobe ,eader pac-age increased to appro2imately &+,000 users'

pgrading to App-V !"#

In July 200H, Microsoft began a phased pilot pro:ect to implement "pp.# &'( beta within the production en%ironment' Microsoft wanted to %alidate the "pp.# &'( functionality, and had additional goals, including:

#alidate "pp.# client support for (&.bit 6indows 0)Is /eploy the "pp.# client to &0,000 systems by the release.to.manufacturing ,TM! date'

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/ocument bug issues and submit design.change re4uests to include in the "pp. # &'( release' Integrate *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2

$ote% Microsoft updated the e2isting "pp.# &'9 and *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 configuration and infrastructure to the newly branded Microsoft "pp.# &'(, and used it for subse4uent phases of the pilot pro:ect'

App-V 4.- - Integration #ith

onfiguration Manager $%%& '$ S)$

"pp.# &'( introduced support for (&.bit clients' The beta release became a%ailable in July 200H, and Microsoft implemented a phased pilot to include as many as &0,000 machines by ,TM' The pilot included upgrade of a percentage of e2isting &'9 clients plus additional 82. and (&.bit 6indows 0) clients, integrating with *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2 beta' Microsoft used the following high.le%el process to update and migrate clients ta-ing part in the %irtual application pilot: 1' 2' *reated a 4uery.based collection for computers that were ta-ing part in the pilot' Targeted a mandatory ad%ertisement to install the "pp.# %irtuali$ation client to the collection' Microsoft included 82.bit and (&.bit 6indowsA ;P, 6indows #istaA, and 6indow +ABbased computers with at least 12 EC of hard.dis- space a%ailable' The 12. EC limit minimi$ed the ris- that a client would ha%e low dis- space and not be able to recei%e critical updates' Dnabled the Allow virtual application package advertisement feature on the Advertised Programs Client Agent' Dnabled the e2isting /istribution Points to support "pplication #irtuali$ation' Imported a se4uenced application into the *onfiguration Manager en%ironment, and deployed the %irtual application to clients' "s a proof.of.concept, Microsoft deployed "dobe ,eader as a mandatory application to users'

8' &' 9'

"ote# There was no significant change made to the %pp#( 9.: infrastructure for this pilot. The purpose was to validate +9#,it support in the client* and integration compati,ility ,etween %pp#( 9.+ and Configuration Manager 2007 R2 42.

App-V !"# and Configuration &anager '(() *' SP' *T& *eleases
"t ,TM releases of "pp.# &'( and *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2, the user base recei%ing the mandatory "pp.# &'( client and "dobe ,eader pac-age increased to appro2imately 122,000 users'

Configuration Manager

esign Consi!erations

/uring the *onfiguration Manager integration phase, Microsoft considered two methods for deli%ering %irtual applications to clients: streaming deli%ery, and download and e2ecute deli%ery' Dach method pro%ides ad%antages and disad%antages for effecti%e application %irtuali$ation' The following sections describe the two methods'

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Strea!ing "eli.ery
)treaming deli%ery occurs when the "pp.# client streams %irtual applications from a distribution point that an administrator enables to support application.%irtuali$ation streaming' 6hen an administrator targets a client to recei%e a %irtual application, the *onfiguration Manager client recei%es the ad%ertisement and passes it to the "pp.# client' The "pp.# client then creates the program shortcuts and registers the file.type associations' The application does not stream until the user clic-s one of the program shortcuts to start the application' "fter the user clic-s the program shortcut, the "pp.# client streams the application pac-age to the client5s "pp.# client cache in a set of feature bloc-s' "fter the first feature blocstreams to the local "pp.# client cache, the application starts' The application continues streaming in the bac-ground until it caches fully' /uring the "pp.% &'9 pilot, Microsoft disco%ered that streaming deli%ery wor-s well when clients ha%e a strong connection to *onfiguration Manager /istribution points' "dditionally, application.deli%ery and %irtual.application updates were seamless from the client5s %iewpoint, since the distribution point streams pac-ages dynamically' ?owe%er, streaming re4uired additional storage space on the distribution point' "pplication streaming re4uires two copies of the ')3T file, one to support the streaming feature and the second to support updates'

"o#nload and /0ecute "eli.ery

"nother option for deploying %irtual applications is to use the /ownload and D2ecute deli%ery method' 6hen an administrator targets a client to recei%e a %irtual application, the *onfiguration Manager client recei%es the ad%ertisement, and then downloads the %irtual application pac-age to the local *onfiguration Manager *lient *ache' The *onfiguration Manager also registers the application with the "pp.# client, which then creates the program shortcuts and file.type associations' 6hen a user clic-s on a program shortcut, the *onfiguration Manager client calls the "pp.# client to launch the application' The "pp.# client streams the application from the local *onfiguration Manager cache into the "pp.# client cache, and then starts the application' The primary ad%antage of the /ownload and D2ecute deli%ery option is that a targeted client system always has the full application in its *onfiguration Manager client cache' This ensures that when a user launches an application while wor-ing offline, all of the application5s feature bloc-s are a%ailable locally' This also supports Internet.facing clients, unreliable networconnections, and clients that do not connect consistently to the networ-' The main disad%antage to this deli%ery option is that the client may store three copies of the ')3T file' 3or e2ample, the "pp.# client places a copy of the ')3T file in the *onfiguration Manager client cache, and loc-s or pins the cache as long as the client ad%ertisement e2ists' " second copy of the )3T file goes into the "pp.# client cache for use during the application5s launch' 6hen an application update occurs, and while the "pp.# client creates a new ')3T file to incorporate the updates, it also creates a third copy of the ')3T file temporarily'

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"ote# ;or more information a,out integrating %pp#( and Configuration Manager* refer to -(irtual %pplication Management with Microsoft %pplication (irtuali)ation 9.: and ystem Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2- at http!""download.microsoft.com"download"f"7"<"f7<9a?>7#7=,e#9<ff#<=da#9?02c0:a+d99"%pp# (@and@ConfigMgr@5hitepaper@;inal.doc$.

1enefits
The "pp.# pilot pro:ect helped Microsoft understand the benefits of application %irtuali$ation' Most tas-s within the application.management life cycle e2perience either direct or indirect cost sa%ings because application deployment and remo%al are relati%ely simple' Microsoft reali$ed the following benefits:

1sing a targeted approach to application deployment and management remo%es an organi$ation5s reliance on the end user' 0rgani$ations can deploy applications that perform a specific :ob role 4uic-ly, and update them efficiently' "pp.# ne%er installs applications on the local wor-station, which minimi$es application. compatibility issues with other applications and operating.system ser%ices' ?owe%er, administrators can configure applications to interact with the local system or other applications' 1sing "pp.# to deploy or remo%e access to a %irtual application is significantly faster than the traditional installation processes' 6hen a user has permissions to access a %irtual application, it is a%ailable immediately and does not re4uire a system reboot' 6hen a user no longer has permission to access a %irtual application, an administrator can remo%e all permissions and shortcuts :ust as 4uic-ly' #irtual applications may increase beta testing by users for new %ersions of applications, without impacting their e2isting application installations, operating.system settings, or producti%ity' "n organi$ation can deploy a beta application %irtually, without interfering with production applications and causing user downtime' #irtual applications also minimi$e the hardware that an organi$ation re4uires to support %irtual machines and alternate operating.system configurations' "pplications that an organi$ation deploys within a %irtual en%ironment do not re4uire client reboots, and an administrator can update them seamlessly on the client' 6hen an organi$ation integrates "pp.# with *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2, it reali$es all benefits of application %irtuali$ation without an additional management infrastructure' The fle2ibility of using either a streaming deli%ery method or the Gdownload and e2ecuteG deli%ery method pro%ides organi$ations options for supporting both internal and offline user scenarios'

onclusion
/eploying "pplication #irtuali$ation ga%e Microsoft the ability to e%aluate the tas-s and de%elop the processes that a more efficient application.management process re4uires' Integrating with *onfiguration Manager 200+ ,2 )P2 allows an organi$ation to le%erage the e2isting software.deployment en%ironment, and it pro%ides additional a%ailability and scalability options for %irtual application re4uirements'

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For More Infor!ation

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