4.5
Table Of Contents
- ThinApp User’s Guide
- Contents
- About This Book
- Installing ThinApp
- Capturing Applications
- Phases of the Capture Process
- Preparing to Capture Applications
- Capturing Applications with the Setup Capture Wizard
- Create a System Image Before the Application Installation
- Rescan the System with the Installed Application
- Defining Entry Points as Shortcuts into the Virtual Environment
- Set Entry Points
- Set User Groups
- Defining Isolation Modes for the Physical File System
- Set File System Isolation Modes
- Storing Application Changes in the Sandbox
- Customize the Sandbox Location
- Send Anonymous Statistics to VMware
- Customize ThinApp Project Settings
- Defining Package Settings
- Customize Package Settings
- Opening Project and Parameter Files
- Build Virtual Applications
- Advanced Package Configuration
- Guidelines for Packaging Microsoft Office 2007
- Deploying Applications
- ThinApp Deployment Options
- Establishing File Type Associations with the thinreg.exe Utility
- Building an MSI Database
- Controlling Application Access with Active Directory
- Starting and Stopping Virtual Services
- Using ThinApp Packages Streamed from the Network
- Using Captured Applications with Other System Components
- Performing Paste Operations
- Accessing Printers
- Accessing Drivers
- Accessing the Local Disk, the Removable Disk, and Network Shares
- Accessing the System Registry
- Accessing Networking and Sockets
- Using Shared Memory and Named Pipes
- Using COM, DCOM, and Out-of-Process COM Components
- Starting Services
- Using File Type Associations
- Sample Isolation Mode Configuration Depending on Deployment Context
- Updating and Linking Applications
- Application Updates That the End User Triggers
- Application Sync Updates
- Using Application Sync in a Managed or Unmanaged Environment
- Update Firefox 2.0.0.3 to Firefox 3 with Application Sync
- Fix an Incorrect Update with Application Sync
- Application Sync Effect on Entry Point Executable Files
- Updating thinreg.exe Registrations with Application Sync
- Maintaining the Primary Data Container Name with Application Sync
- Completing the Application Sync Process When Applications Create Child Processes
- Application Link Updates
- View of the Application using Application Link
- Link a Base Application to the Microsoft .NET Framework
- Set up Nested Links with Application Link
- Affecting Isolation Modes with Application Link
- PermittedGroups Effect on Linked Packages
- Sandbox Changes for Standalone and Linked Packages
- Import Order for Linked Packages
- File and Registry Collisions in Linked Packages
- VBScript Collisions in Linked Packages
- VBScript Function Order in Linked Packages
- Storing Multiple Versions of a Linked Application in the Same Directory
- Using Application Sync For a Base Application and Linked Packages
- Application Sync Updates
- Application Updates That the Administrator Triggers
- Automatic Application Updates
- Upgrading Running Applications on a Network Share
- Sandbox Considerations for Upgraded Applications
- Updating the ThinApp Version of Packages
- Application Updates That the End User Triggers
- Configuring Package Parameters
- Package.ini File Structure
- Parameters that Apply to Package.ini or ##Attributes.ini Files
- Configuring the ThinApp Runtime
- Configuring Isolation
- Configuring File and Protocol Associations
- Configuring Build Output
- Configuring Permissions
- Configuring Objects and DLL Files
- Configuring File Storage
- Configuring Processes and Services
- Configuring Sizes
- Configuring Logging
- Configuring Versions
- Configuring Locales
- Configuring Individual Applications
- Configuring Dependent Applications with Application Link
- Configuring Application Updates with Application Sync
- Configuring MSI Files
- Configuring Sandbox Storage and Inventory Names
- Locating the ThinApp Sandbox
- Creating ThinApp Snapshots and Projects from the Command Line
- ThinApp File System Formats and Macros
- Creating ThinApp Scripts
- Callback Functions
- Implement Scripts in a ThinApp Environment
- API Functions
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting ThinApp
- Glossary
- Index
VMware, Inc. 37
Chapter 3 Deploying Applications
TheThinAppruntimeclientisasmallpartoftheexecutablefilepackage.WhenThinApploadstheruntime
client,itsetsuptheenvironmentandstartsthetargetexecutablefile.Thetargetexecutablefileaccessesother
partsoftheapplicationstoredinthevirtualoperatingsystem.Theruntimeclientinterceptssuch
requestsand
servesthembyloadingDLLsfromthevirtualoperatingsystem.
Theloadtimeoftheruntimeclientacrossanetworkisafewmilliseconds.AfterThinApploadstheruntime
clienttomemoryontheclientcomputer ,theend‐usercomputercalculateswhichblocksofdataarerequired
fromthe
serverandreadsthembasedonapplicationactivity.
Whentheapplicationmakessubsequentreadrequestsforthesamedata,theWindowsdiskcacheprovides
datawithoutrequiringanetworkreadoperation.Iftheclientcomputerrunslowonmemory,Windows
discardssomeofitsdiskcacheandprovidesthememoryresource
tootherapplications.
Figure 3-2. Application Streaming
Requirements and Recommendations for Streaming Packages
ThinAppdoesnotrequirespecificserversoftwaretoprovidestreamingcapability.AnyWindowsfileshare,
NASdevice,orSMBsharecanprovidethiscapability.Theamountofdatathatneedstotransferbeforethe
applicationcanbeginrunningvariesforeachapplication.MicrosoftOfficerequiresthatonlyafractionofthe
packagecontentsstreambeforeanapplicationcanrun.
VMwarerecommendsthatyouuseThinAppstreaminginaLAN‐basedenvironmentwithaminimumof
100MBnetworks.ForWANandInternetdeploymentsthatinvolvefrequentorunexpecteddisconnections,
VMwarerecommendsoneofthefollowingsolutions:
UseaURLtodeploytheapplications.
Useadesktopdeploymentsolutiontopushthepackagetothebackground.Allow theapplicationtorun
onlyaftertheentirepackagedownloads.
Thesesolutionsreducefailuresandeliminatesituationsinwhichtheapplicationrequiresunstreamed
portionsduringanetworkoutage.Acompanywithmanybranchofficestypicallydesignatesoneapplication
repository
thatmirrorsacentralsharedfolderateachbranchoffice.Thissetupoptimizeslocalperformance
forclientmachineslocatedateachbranchoffice.
packaged executable
local PC
64KB (Block 1)
decompressed
(Block 1)
decompressed
(Block 2)
64KB (Block 2)
64KB (Block 3)
64KB (Block 4)
64KB (Block 5)
compressed file
128KB read request
VMware ThinApp VOS
virtual registry
Ethernet