Application Virtualization (App-V) Overview:
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The concept of software virtualization, in some form or another, has been around since the 1960s. However, it has taken the IT industry decades to begin to realize the potential of application virtualization. People are now catching on, and major developments are being made.
Microsoft threw some weight behind Application Virtualization when it acquired Softricity back in July 2006. From this acquisition comes Microsoft Application Virtualization, a solution for application virtualization. With App-V, applications are served from a datacenter or another network location and run locally on remote clients in a virtual environment. The virtualized applications run in silos and operate independent of the operating system and other applications on the local desktop.
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Application virtualization is at the heart of Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V). It decouples applications from the operating system and enables them to run as network services. Application virtualization can be layered on top of other virtualization technologies—network, storage, machine—to create a fully virtual IT environment where computing resources can be dynamically allocated in real-time based on real-time needs. App-V's patented application virtualization, dynamic streaming delivery, and centralized management technologies make everything from deployments and upgrades to migrations and business continuity initiatives easier and faster with better agility:
Application virtualization: Enable applications to run without the need to visit a desktop, laptop, or terminal server. Applications are no longer installed on the client—and there is minimal impact on the host operating system or other applications. App-V virtualizes per user, per application instance, as well as key application components. As a result, application conflicts and the need for regression testing are dramatically reduced.
Dynamic streaming delivery: Applications are rapidly delivered, when needed, to laptops, desktops, and terminal servers. In most cases only a small percentage of the application is needed to launch the application. Additional components are delivered when transparently requested by the application. This results in faster delivery of the application when needed.
App-V Platform Components:
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Figure: Dynamically streaming software as a centrally managed service.
At the highest, most abstract level the platform provides the following capabilities:
Application Sequencing and Virtualization
Application Virtualization is the ability to abstract any applications’ dependencies, except for the OS, from Windows so that even though the application is running by using the resources of the PC or the Terminal Server, the application is not installed onto the OS. It appears to the user just like any other application. Sequencing is the process of taking a physical application and turning it into a virtual application.
Centralized, policy-based management
Virtual Application deployments, patches, updates, and terminations are more easily managed via policies, and administered through the App-V console or via your ESD system. Use App-V Application Virtualization to help reduce the complexities inherent in enterprise application management. With App-V you can reduce challenges and transform your computing environment into a dynamic, services-oriented infrastructure.
Flexible Infrastructure with Multiple Delivery Options
Multiple delivery options exist to meet your business needs.
• For customers wanting a separate infrastructure for app-v or who don’t have an existing PC Lifecycle Management Solution (ESD) App-V offers a Full Infrastructure to meet your needs.
• For customers who have an existing SCCM or a 3rd part solution installed App-V integrates seamlessly and can be integrate into your existing infrastructure and process workflow.
• For customers who also need offline or rarely connected users, App-V provides the MSI Standalone Solution.
Application Virtualization Client
The App-V client is installed on the user desktop and provides the intelligence for interpreting the virtual application package or sequence and loading the virtual environment for the application to run in.
Application Virtualization Architecture:
Application virtualization can best be described as running an application using a workstation or terminal server without installing the application on the client operating system. Instead of loading files into the program files directory and adding entries into the local registry, the application is loaded into an isolated virtual environment on the client.
The process of delivering virtualized applications to users via streaming is composed of two parts: The first part involves publishing the application, which consists of delivering the shortcuts and file type associations, package definition information, and content source location to each computer where the Application Virtualization Client has been installed. In the second part, the packaged virtual applications are deployed to the workstation or terminal server. Alternatively, in an MSI deployment, the publishing information and deployment are combined in to a single step. The potential components of the App-V Architecture are shown in Figure.
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Figure: App-V Architecture
Virtualized application environments enable each application to bring its own set of configurations and run without any installation within a virtual run-time abstraction layer on the client, so dependencies or effects on the configuration of the operating system are minimized. However, since applications execute locally, they run with full performance, functionality, and access to local services—including cut and paste, OLE, printing, network drives, and attached devices.
The table below illustrates how application virtualization interacts with the operating system and other virtualized applications.
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Standard Operating System Environment:
In standard OS environments, applications install their settings onto the host operating system, hard-coding the entire system to fit that application's needs. Other applications' settings can be overwritten, possibly causing them to malfunction or break.
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The Virtual Application Environment:
With application virtualization, each application brings down its own set of configurations on-demand, and executes in a way so that only it sees its own settings.
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Side-by-Side Virtualization:
Each App-V enabled application brings down its own set of configurations and can run side by side without the settings conflicting with each other—or the host operating system. Despite this separation, inter-application communication with other App-V applications and those installed locally is preserved, allowing for cut and paste, OLE, and all other standard operations.
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