EMEA Endpoint Management and Mobility Group (EMM)

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Best Practice for preparing packages for Virtualization and Streaming 

Jun 13, 2013 12:40 PM

You can use the following guidelines to determine what you can and should not virtualize:

What you can virtualize

Most applications can be virtualized. Typical applications include office suites, Internet browsers, media, and spyware utilities.

Applications function normally when virtualized by the Workspace Virtualization Agent.

What you should not virtualize

  •  Windows operating system components
  •  Windows operating system patches
  •  Most drivers that are low level kernel drivers
  •  Applications that have dedicated drivers (example: Client firewalls)
  •  All management agents including antivirus software, security scanners, encryption agents, or any Symantec Management Platform Agent
  •  Data files that you plan to encrypt
  •  Utilities that are designed to run only in safe mode

Best Practices for creating virtual applications

  • Create virtual captures of MSI installations without advertised shortcuts (MSI Property: DISABLEADVTSHORTCUTS)
  • Reset a layer before compiling the XPF package.
  • Keep 'Active On System Startup' enabled only for the most common applications and applications with drivers. Otherwise disable 'Active on System Startup' and use the SLAM option of the streaming agent instead)
  • Clean up layers - remove user data when possible
  • Add application specific excludes for known file types

In addition, there are 2 clear, concise Connect articles on Virtual Packaging Best Practices:

http://www.symantec.com/connect/articles/symantec-workspace-virtualization-packaging-best-practices-part-1

http://www.symantec.com/connect/articles/symantec-workspace-virtualization-packaging-best-practices-part-2

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Jun 20, 2013 02:38 PM

Just for information:

When you create a application package in Virtual Composer, it sets the Activate on System Startup on the layer. It do not matter if you select a allready existing layer or create a new.

You have to open virtualization admin from virtual composer and remove the tick from Activate on System Startup and then press save in virtual composer before you compile the package, or else the package will have the Activate on System Startup enabled.

Kind Regards
Martin Ringblom Hunderup

Jun 17, 2013 12:30 PM

@Jospeh_Carson,

Okie doke.  Thanks for writing back so promptly and answering that question.  I look forward to seeing that implemented!

Jun 17, 2013 05:10 AM

Hi

@Palvaran,

At this time it is not possible to modify the Layer properties once provisioned on the Streaming Server, once provisioned it is only possible to modify the streaming layer properties like Offline, OS Plaltforms etc...  To modify the Layer Properties you would need to do this via Virtual Composer and recompile.

That is a great idea for a future feature and I am currently creating that feature request for a future release.  Many thanks for raising that .

@ateamrh,

That is a good point that for those who start with SMP before moving to streaming you would need to recompile anyway to creae the xpf which is used for streaming.  As part of the next release of SMP Virtual Composer will now be included so the for future virtual application creation it would be good to start with Virtual Composer.  I will be creating a few short video demo's for both New Packager and Advanced packager best practices.

Many thanks for the feedback thus far and please do keep them coming.  It is greatly appreciated.

Joseph Carson - Product Manager

Jun 14, 2013 12:42 PM

I would also like to know that, since a lot of customers uses both streaming and SMP to push out packages.

Normally they start with SMP and then move the package to Streaming, which means we have to recompile the package before upload to streaming.

Jun 14, 2013 12:28 PM

Jospeh, that is great information.  I just figured out that I was not consistently removing the active on system startup from all of our layers that we were publishing.  Thanks for that tip.

On a side note, once a package has been imported into the Streaming Server, is there a way to modify that setting or is the only option to recompile and republish?

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