Moving forward, Microsoft is wrapping its
new direction for packaging around another Microsoft
technology—SoftGrid—and its integration with Configuration Manager 2007.
1. What Is SoftGrid?
On
July 7, 2006, Microsoft completed the acquisition of a company called
Softricity. Softricity provided an application virtualization solution
that Microsoft has rebranded as Microsoft SoftGrid.
SoftGrid
provides the ability to virtualize applications running on a desktop.
The virtualized application does not install on the client system.
These applications are streamed to the client, requiring only SoftGrid
client installation to the client system. SoftGrid deployments exist in
situations where the application cannot run on the standard client
operating system, or where multiple versions of a single application
need to exist on the same system but cannot due to conflicts.
A SoftGrid Example
Consider
an environment that needs to run Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007 on the
same client system. There are several ways to accomplish this:
Have the users install the software locally on their system.
Use ConfigMgr to deploy both software packages.
Each of these approaches includes dealing with any potential conflicts between the applications.
Let SoftGrid virtualize the application.
This
results in both applications packaged and available to the users, but
not physically deployed to the client system. The client still sees the
icons for each of the programs, and they run as if installed locally to
the system—without actually going through the installation process.
How SoftGrid Works
SoftGrid
runs applications in a siloed environment using virtualized versions of
the operating system components, including the Registry, files, fonts,
INI settings, COM configurations, embedded services, and environment
variables. This siloed approach means that applications do not install
directly into the client system. If the user were to open up the
Registry on his or her workstation, there would not be any Registry
settings for Microsoft Word, even though there is an icon for Word on
the desktop and Word runs as if it was a locally installed application.
SoftGrid
provides this functionality through a client- and server-based
configuration. The SoftGrid architecture uses a SoftGrid Virtual
Application Server for delivering applications, and it uses a client
that installs on those systems that will have applications deployed.
SoftGrid-defined applications use a process called sequencing. Sequencing defines how a standard application will install and function as a virtualized application.
When using virtual applications with ConfigMgr, you must deploy both the ConfigMgr client and the App-V client to those client systems for the virtual applications to work on these systems.
App-V 4.5
Microsoft
released the first Microsoft-branded version of the product formerly
known as SoftGrid in 2008, naming it Microsoft Application
Virtualization 4.5 (App-V 4.5 for short).
You can get App-V 4.5 several ways:
Through the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/mdop.aspx)
As part of Microsoft Application Virtualization for Terminal Services (http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/appv/terminalsvcs.mspx)
You
can take applications sequenced using App-V 4.5 and deploy them as
virtual applications with ConfigMgr 2007. Additional information on
App-V 4.5 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/appv/default.mspx, and the App-V 4.5 FAQ is located at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/appvirtualization/cc664494.aspx.
Integration with SMS/Configuration Manager
When Microsoft added SoftGrid to its product line, the functionality crossings between SMS and SoftGrid were significant:
Configuration
Manager 2007 Release 2 (R2) provides integration between these two
programs such that you can manage App-V virtualized applications from
Configuration Manager 2007.
