Do more with SWV. Get yourself SMART

When administrators deploy SWV to the endusers, they often struggle with ways of activating the applications for the endusers. There are a few settings to keep in mind when using SWV on the client.

If an enduser needs applications to be activated, there are several ways to achieve this:

• VBscripts at login. The VB script uses svscmd.exe and activates the application. The way to set it up is by creating values for the application. It is not very easy to set it up.
• SVS logon hook. SVS logon hook does a great job to activate applications at logon by creating an XML sheet to manage the applications and tie them to an AD group. SVS logon hook is not supported with SWV.
• Notification server
• Own created apps

Each of these have their own unique challenges, respectively:

• VBscript is difficult to build, but works great. The applications can be activated at logon time. Best way is to create AD groups and use existing variables to do this.
• SVS logon hook does not work on Vista and also has problems with SWV. The logonhook will not be followed up by a new version.
• Notification server is a very good way to do this. It works with collections and every member of a collection will have a layer activated.
• Own created apps. Several administrators build their own AutoIT application to perform the corresponding action. It is not an easy way but can be done very well if you have a more than basic understanding of AutoIT.

Still there are issues with all of these applications and tools.

The basic reason for this is that SVS and SWV need users to be power-user or even administrator to perform the required actions. Basic users have no control on activating or de-activating applications.

The SVS and SWV admin consoles also have another issue that prevent administrators from adding the console to the users profile and give users permissions on the console. This functionality is called "export layers". If users have permissions to activate layers, they also have permissions to export layers. Exporting layers enables users to use software with the company's license key on their own computers that do not belong to the company. There are numerous cases where company license keys and the corresponding software were found on illegal download sites. Exporting layers with license keys therefore should be prevented.

With SWV pro this behavior was not possible, and it also adds a new method to license software for a specific amount of days. If you say 20 days, the software could be used 20 days and then it is deleted or stopped automatically.

Despite these features in SWV pro, a lot of companies do not use it. Installing and configuring the console is not the easiest task, and it needs maintenance. Still, end users do not have the functionality to perform the actions themselves.

Then there is another group of customers that have other challenges. These customers are schools, universities and others that deploy software to laptops that do not belong to them. Students bring their own laptops with their own software and they are given the offer to use the school's and/or university's software. Deploying this software to the students by using SVS or SWV is a great method. The software is packaged in a general manner and the student laptop will not be damaged. If a laptop has a software problem you simply reset the layer and the laptop is functional again. But again, this way of using SVS and SWV is not much used because students are full admin on their laptops and are therefore able to export the layer.

So they have a couple of possible solutions:

• Use SWV pro (Higher license costs, more complex, but also much better security for layers, and streaming instead of waiting until the layer is copied completely)
• Use scripts (more complex. Not secure, and how to trigger when they do not logon to the network?)

Is there another solution? Yes, there is: DinamiQs has developed an application called DVS S.M.A.R.T, where S.M.A.R.T stands for

    Simplified

    Management

    Application

    Repository

    Tool

DVS S.M.A.R.T is something similar to what Trinket was in the past, but now it adds a very cool feature. End users can Activate, De-activate, Reset and Auto-activate applications from the taskbar. There is no Export or Import functionality available. This tool will help administrators to deploy layers, and give users control on the layers without enabling them to steal virtual layers for non company purposes.

DVS S.M.A.R.T is an application that is installed on the client, and adds local management to the client.

Symantec has two ways of managing layers on the clients.

Local with SWVadmin

• easy to use
• Free for personal and private use
      - User needs poweruser or admin rights
      - Also enables export so that endusers can use layers on non company computers
      - freezes the computer when performing actions with large layers

Centralized with SVS pro

• centralised management
• License control
• version control on applications
      - partial layer needed for activation
      - adds streaming to the client

DVS S.M.A.R.T Free is local functionality, just like SVS admin.

It enables users to perform the following tasks:

    Activate
    De-activate
    Auto Activate
    Reset

DVS S.M.A.R.T basic needs a license and it adds:

    Centralized management username based
    Easy to use for Helpdesk and Administrators
    Integrates with Windows fileserver for deploying layers automatically
    Compatible with SVS and SWV.
    Locally installed software management with repair, install and uninstall of locally installed software.
    Start and stop functionality of services.

DVS S.M.A.R.T Enterprise contains the same functionality as DVS S.M.A.R.T free and DVS S.M.A.R.T Basic, and it adds:

    User and Computer based functionality.
    Grouping functionality to perform SVS and SWV actions on multiple computers.
    DVS logon hook that replaces the SVS logon hook with added functionality.
    Full automatic software deployment at logon, and logoff without administrator interference.
    Relay functionality to monitor computers over VPN, multiple Lans and Multiple subnets.

The free for personal use software of DVS S.M.A.R.T and the installation and administration guide is available for download on www.dinamiqs.com

The Basic and Enterprise versions including the management console with a 45 day trial license can be downloaded shortly thereafter from the same download-site