Version 5.0
Trial Guide
Published: November 1, 2012
Feedback: Send suggestions and comments about this document to . Please include the guide name and published date with your feedback.
Important Notice
This document is provided “as-is.” Information and views expressed in this document, including URL and other Internet website references, may change without notice. You bear the risk of using it.
Some examples depicted herein are provided for illustration only and are fictitious. No real association or connection is intended or should be inferred.
This document does not provide you with any legal rights to any intellectual property in any Microsoft product. You may copy and use this document for your internal reference purposes. You may modify this document for your internal reference purposes.
Ó 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Active Directory, ActiveX, Excel, SoftGrid, SQL Server, Windows, Windows PowerShell, and Windows 7 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Important Notice 2
Introduction to the Trial Guide 4
Product Documentation 4
Trial System Requirements 7
Checklist of Tasks 10
Installing Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server and Publishing Server 11
Installing Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client 20
Installing Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer 22
Sequencing XML Notepad 2007 25
Sequencing Silverlight® for Internet Explorer 36
Publishing Office 2013 Preview 39
Offline Deployment Using the Sequencer-Generated MSI File 41
Troubleshooting 41
Accessing the Microsoft Support Knowledge Base 41
Contacting Microsoft Training 42
Microsoft Application Virtualization Official Documentation 42
Introduction to the Trial Guide
This Trial Guide is designed to help system administrators quickly set up a limited Microsoft® Application Virtualization (AppV) evaluation in a test environment. This guide details the steps necessary to install Microsoft Application Virtualization server components for both Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server and Microsoft Application Virtualization Publishing Server. The system administrator will be able to successfully install Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client, publish the shortcuts of sequenced applications, and then stream and run these virtual applications on App-V clients. The administrator will also learn to virtualize a select set of applications using the Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer.
To help this process flow as smoothly as possible, this guide should be read carefully before installing the Microsoft App-V platform.
Audience for This Guide
This guide was written for Microsoft Windows® system administrators. As an information technology (IT) professional, the user should have sufficient knowledge and experience to accomplish the following tasks:
· Set up operating systems and install applications.
· Add computers to domains.
· Set up and work comfortably with Active Directory® Domain Services and Microsoft Domain Name System (DNS).
Product Documentation
Comprehensive documentation for App-V is available on Microsoft TechNet in the App-V TechCenter at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=269780. The TechNet documentation includes online Help for the App-V Sequencer, the App-V Client, and the App-V Server.
Overview of Microsoft Application Virtualization
Microsoft Application Virtualization enables the administrator to deploy, update, and support applications as services in real time, on an as-needed basis. When App-V is used, individual applications are transformed from locally installed products into centrally managed services. Applications become available everywhere they need to be—no computer pre-configuration or changes to operating system settings are required. Microsoft Application Virtualization consists of the following components:
Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server
The App-V Management Server provides a centralized location to manage the App-V 5.0 infrastructure for delivering virtual applications to both the App-V Desktop Client and the Remote Desktop Services (formerly Terminal Services) Client. The App-V Management Server uses Microsoft SQL Server® for its data store, where one or more App-V Management servers can share a single SQL Server data store. The App-V Management Server authenticates requests and provides the security, metering, monitoring, and data gathering required by the administrator. The server uses Active Directory and supporting tools to manage users and applications.
The App-V Management Server has a Silverlight®-based management site, which enables administrator configuration of the App-V infrastructure from any computer. By using this site, administrators can add and remove applications, manipulate shortcuts, assign access permissions to users and groups, and create connection groups. The App-V Management Server is the communication conduit between the App-V Web Management Console and the SQL Server data store. These components can all be installed on a single server computer, or on one or more separate computers depending on the required system architecture. For more information on planning and App-V infrastructure review http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=269785.
Microsoft Application Virtualization Publishing Server
The App-V Publishing Server provides App-V Clients with entitled applications for the specific user and hosts the virtual application package for streaming. For the purposes of the Trial Guide, the Publishing Server will be installed on the same machine as the Management Server. In production these two roles can be separated providing greater scalability of the infrastructure.
Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client
The App-V Windows Desktop Client retrieves virtual applications, publishes the applications on the client, and automatically sets up and manages virtual environments at runtime on Windows endpoints. The AppV Client stores user-specific virtual application settings, such as registry and file changes, in each user's profile.
Microsoft Application Virtualization Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Client
The App-V RDS Client enables Remote Desktop Session Host servers to utilize the capabilities of the App-V Desktop Client for shared desktop sessions.
Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer
The App-V Sequencer is a wizard-based tool that administrators use to transform traditional applications into virtual applications. The Sequencer produces the application “package,” which consists of several files. These files include a sequenced application (APPV) file, a Windows Installer file (MSI) that can be deployed to clients configured for standalone operation, and several XML files including Report.XML, PackageName_DeploymentConfig.XML, and PackageName_UserConfig.XML. The UserConfig and DeploymentConfig XML files are used to configure custom changes to the default behavior of the package.
Trial System Requirements
The following section lists the computer systems used for this evaluation; detailed installation steps are provided later in the document. This document demonstrates setting up an App-V 5.0 infrastructure with Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2, and SQL Server 2008 R2 as they are the most common at the time this document was written. Look for updates to this document that include Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, and SQL Server 2012 at a later date.
Important: This trial is designed to explore the features of Microsoft Application Virtualization. This document was not designed for evaluating how Microsoft Application Virtualization should be implemented in a production environment. As such, it is strongly recommended that the trial is implemented in a test lab environment using non-production, physical or virtual machines, following the exact configurations described in this guide.
Note: Do not lock down any components of the computers, and do not try to reuse standard operating system images.
A list of the machines and software requirements for the Trial Guide, including links to prerequisite installers, is provided in the table below. Detailed step-by-step instructions are provided in the document, including links to known steps for specific tasks.
Machine Role / Operating System / Requirements / Additional Software /Domain Controller
Provides authentication to clients, and App-V Server. / Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 with all current patches / · 1.4 GHz or faster processor (64-bit)
· 1 GB of RAM
· 40 GB of disk space
· Network Card / Roles and Features
· Active Directory Domain Services
· Microsoft DNS
App-V Server*
Hosts App-V Management, Publishing, and Database Server / Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit with all current patches*** / · 1.4 GHz or faster processor (64-bit)
· 2 GB of RAM
· 80 GB of disk space
· Network Card / External Software
· Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Extended
· Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package for 64-bit
· Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package for 32-bit
· Microsoft Silverlight
· PowerShell 3.0
Roles and Features
· Application Server
· Web Server (IIS)
SQL Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
· Database Engine Services
App-V Client / Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate (32-bit or 64-bit) with Service Pack 1 and all current patches*** / · 1 GHz or faster processor
· 1 GB of RAM
· 40 GB of disk space
· Network Card / External Software
· Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Extended
· PowerShell 3.0
App-V Sequencer** / Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate (32-bit) with Service Pack 1 and all current patches*** / · 1 GHz or faster processor
· 1 GB of RAM
· 40 GB of disk space
· Network Card / External Software
· Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Extended
· PowerShell 3.0
* The core roles for managing the App-V 5.0 environment are all hosted on the same machine in the Trial Guide, as it is intended for testing only. In production environments, it is recommended to split these roles between several different hosts.
**Always sequence 32-bit applications on a 32-bit operating system (OS). This includes sequencing 32-bit applications for delivery to 64-bit clients. When sequencing 64-bit applications, they must be sequenced on a 64-bit OS and can only be delivered to 64-bit clients. This guide will use Windows 7 Enterprise SP1 (32-bit).
***Do not install Silverlight or .Net 4.0, these applications will be installed in the Trial Guide.
All computers must be members of a common domain (Figure 1). Virtual machines can be used on a single physical computer that meets the system requirements of this trial. Ensure that the minimum hardware requirements for each operating system are met for each system.
Figure 1: Application Virtualization trial in an isolated network
In this trial, it is important to set up Microsoft Application Virtualization in a test lab, completely separate from a production network. The purpose of this evaluation is to acquire basic experience with the App-V platform. Any questions relating to integration into a production environment, such as security concerns and enterprise-level design should be addressed later. In addition, this guide covers only basic platform functionality to simplify the procedures and focus on proof of concept.
Checklist of Tasks
The following table lists all the tasks that need to be completed. The tasks must be completed in the order they are presented for the desired outcome of a working App-V infrastructure. Completion of all tasks listed under “Basic Tasks” will result in a successful basic system evaluation. To continue with evaluating other system components, refer to the list of tasks under “Additional Information.”
Basic Tasks
Area / TaskServer Setup / Set Up the Active Directory Domain Services Domain Controller
Set Up the Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server
Install Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
Install the App-V Management Server and Publishing Server
Client Setup / Installing Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client
Sequencer Setup / Installing Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer
Sequencing XML Notepad 2007
Sequencing Silverlight® for Internet Explorer
Application Deployment / Publish the Applications
Application Test / Stream and launch the Applications
Office® 2013 Preview / Publishing Office 2013 Preview
Additional Information
Area / TasksStandalone MSI / Offline Deployment Using the Sequencer-Generated MSI File
Troubleshooting / Troubleshooting App-V
Installing Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server and Publishing Server
The section details the step-by-step process of installing Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server and Publishing Server.
Note: The software and operating system versions listed in the following section must be used to ensure that the instructions and screen shots are accurate for testing and evaluation.
Set Up the Active Directory Domain Services Domain Controller
The following items must be configured on the domain controller computer:
· Active Directory Domain Services
· DNS
Note: Step by step instructions for setting up Active Directory Domain Services is available at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc755059(v=ws.10).aspx. This guidance assumes a test environment and will create a new forest.
Configure the Active Directory Groups and Accounts
Perform the following steps on the Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Domain Controller.
Active Directory
Before installing the App-V Management Server, the following objects in Active Directory must be created:
· Organizational Unit (OU): Create an OU in Active Directory for Microsoft Application Virtualization–specific groups and for the necessary Microsoft Application Virtualization domain account. For this trial, call the OU “AppVTrial.” Create all new Active Directory objects in this OU throughout the trial.
· Microsoft Application Virtualization Administrative Group: Microsoft Application Virtualization requires selection of an Active Directory group to use as an App-V administrators group for controlling administrative access to the Management Console. Create a global security group named “AppV Administrators,” and add to this group every user who needs to use the Management Console, by default add the built-in administrator.
Note: For the purposes of this guide, only a single-domain setup is described in this test lab environment. If groups are created, create them as global groups. Multi-domain and multi-forest scenarios are supported but are outside the scope of this guide.
· Microsoft Application Virtualization Users Group: The Trial Guide assumes that every user account that accesses Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server functions is a member of a single group for general platform access. Create a group named “AppV Users.”
· Microsoft Application Virtualization Computers Group: The Trial Guide assumes that every computer account that accesses Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server functions is a member of a single group for general platform access. You can use an existing group (such as Domain Computers) or create a new group. Create a group named “AppV Computers.” Add the App-V Client computer to the AppV Computers group.