System Center Configuration Manager 2007 : Integrating Virtual Applications (part 3) - Creating Adobe Reader as a Virtual Application in ConfigMgr R2

3. Creating Adobe Reader as a Virtual Application in ConfigMgr R2

Prior to creating a virtual application in Configuration Manager 2007 R2, you must activate Application Virtualization, as discussed in the previous section. The second requirement is to have an application sequenced with App-V 4.5.

Preparing a Sequenced Application for Packaging

Before creating the package, place the sequenced application on the site server. Perform the following steps:

1.	Store the sequenced application and the manifest.XML file in a unique folder structure. On the primary site server, create a folder (SoftGrid). Under that folder, create an additional folder (Adobe). Copy the sequenced application files, including the manifest.XML file, into this folder (Adobe, in this case).
2.	Create and share out a folder to be used later with the New Virtual Application Package Wizard. Create a folder called Adobe on the site server (this could be Bluebonnet in the SCCMUnleashed environment) under a folder called VirtualApps, and share it with permissions to allow everyone read-level access. Give ConfigMgr administrators full access.

When sequencing your next application, create a new folder under the SoftGrid folder for the new application (say, Microsoft Office) and then create a new folder under \VirtualApps for the new application as well. This approach provides a consistent way to locate the various shared folders under the \VirtualApps top-level folder.

Creating the Virtual Application

After storing the sequenced application in one folder, and creating and sharing a destination folder, you are ready to start the wizard to create the virtual application! Perform the following steps:

1.	Open the ConfigMgr console -> Computer Management -> Software Distribution -> Packages. Right-click Packages and choose New -> Virtual Application Package to start the New Virtual Application Package Wizard.
2.	This wizard looks for the files created when the Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer sequences an application. The wizard starts with defining the package source information. For this example, specify the Adobe_Reader_Adobe_9_MNT_manifest.xml file stored in the e:\SoftGrid\Adobe folder structure, as displayed in Figure 3. Figure 3. Configuring the package source for the Adobe Reader virtual application Tip: Each Sequenced Application Requires Its Own Folder During initial testing, a single folder stored each of the sequenced applications (the e:\softgrid folder). It was determined that if you attempt to store multiple sequenced applications in the same folder, the New Virtual Application Package Wizard will fail with an error that there are multiple sequenced applications in the same folder, and the wizard will not continue.
3.	The next screen provides the general settings for the new virtual application. The Name field prepopulates based on the manifest.XML file. Specify the version, manufacturer, and language, and leave the Comment field blank for this example, as shown in Figure 4. The option “Remove this package from clients when it is no longer advertised” is checked so that the package is removed if it is not advertised. Figure 4. Configuring the General settings for the Adobe Reader virtual application
4.	The Data Source screen is next. Here, you will specify the data source configuration for the Adobe Reader virtual application. The destination directory is the empty folder previously shared, specified with the UNC path (\\bluebonnet\adobe) as displayed in Figure 5. The package source and destination directories cannot use the same folder. These folders can exist on the same server and the same drive, just not the same folder. Figure 5. Configuring the Data Source settings for the Adobe Reader virtual application
5.	Specify the Security settings associated with the new virtual application. The default security rights shown in Figure 6 should be sufficient. Figure 6. Configuring the Security settings for the Adobe Reader virtual application
6.	The wizard process completes through the Summary page, which shows the information defined for this new virtual application. The Progress screen shows the state of the virtual application as it is created, and the Confirmation screen shows the success (or failure) of the virtual application creation process. Figure 7 displays the successful creation of the Adobe Reader virtual application. Figure 7. The successful creation of the Adobe Reader virtual application
7.	Configuration Manager lists virtual applications in the same folder structure as nonvirtual applications (Computer Management -> Software Distribution -> Packages). Figure 8 shows an example of a regular packaged application (the ACME Service Pack) and a virtual application (the Adobe Reader just created).

Figure 8. ConfigMgr console with a virtual application created

The integration of virtual application packaging into ConfigMgr 2007 R2 is a large step forward in providing a single platform to package and deploy software, regardless of whether it is deployed as a software package or a virtual application.

Tip: Prepackaged Virtual Applications Available for Download

The website http://www.instantapp.net has a number of applications prepackaged as App-V-enabled applications that are freely downloadable and instantly usable. These applications not only provide functional virtual applications without sequencing them, but also provide a great way to validate your ConfigMgr environment’s ability to distribute virtual applications prior to testing your own virtual applications.