Using Software Delivery › Delivering Virtual Applications › How Virtual Application Deployment Works › Preparing a Target Computer for Deployment of a Microsoft App-V Virtual Application

Preparing a Target Computer for Deployment of a Microsoft App-V Virtual Application

Before you can deploy a Microsoft App-V virtual application package to a target computer, you need to verify that the target computer is ready for the virtual application. The following description explains the preparation of the target computers.

Dependencies—For virtual application packages created from a Microsoft App-V image, certain dependencies are required. The following table identifies these dependencies based on the type of virtual application package you want to deploy.

The infrastructure components must be available on the target servers and clients in order for the virtual application to work. You can use your own local procedures to make these components available on the target computers, or you can use CA ITCM to create software delivery packages for the infrastructure components of Microsoft App-V. (Microsoft provides these components as MSI-based installation images.) These infrastructure packages can then be imported into the Software Package Library using existing software delivery methods.

Note: You can create the infrastructure packages on your own, or you can use the software delivery infrastructure package templates (included on your DVD kit). For more information on the infrastructure package templates, see the description in Virtual Application Infrastructure Package Templates.

Server configuration for streaming communications—For virtual applications that are streamed to target computers, the target computer must recognize the name of the streaming server. The DSM scalability server acts as the App-V streaming server. Therefore, the App-V streaming server must be installed on the DSM scalability server.

The Microsoft App-V streaming server uses two protocols for streaming communications: RTSP (not secured) and RTSPS (secured). The default protocol and port for the Microsoft App-V streaming server are RTSP and port 554. If you want to use the secured RTSPS protocol with port 322, you must configure the streaming server. If you are using the CA-provided infrastructure package templates, you must configure the streaming server before including it in the template. For information about configuring the Microsoft App-V streaming server, see the Microsoft product documentation.

Client configuration for streaming communications—The default protocol and port for the Microsoft App-V client are RTSP (not secured) and port 554. If you want to use the secured RTSPS protocol with port 322 (for example, to match the streaming server configuration), you can set the Deploy Virtual Applications Policy Group accordingly and apply it to the agents. (See the DSM Explorer online help for more information on the Deploy Virtual Applications Policy Group.) Then, if a new Microsoft App-V virtual application package is registered and deployed with the default protocol and port, the agent replaces the default settings with the protocol and port specified in the policy. For an existing application installation on the target computer, you must deploy the Streaming package again using the procedure "reinstall", which is part of the Streaming package. This procedure uses the new protocol and port when the user launches the application. Also, the shortcuts on the target computer are updated the next time the user logs onto the computer.

Notes:

You can deploy virtual application packages on target scalability servers and target computers running the Windows operating system, but not UNIX or Linux operating systems.

The Microsoft App-V sequencer does not support Windows 2000. Thus, Windows 2000 cannot be supported as a client for running App-V virtual applications.

Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client Version 4.51 does not support 64-bit Windows operating systems. Thus, computers with 64-bit Windows cannot be supported for running App-V virtual applications (Standalone and Streaming packages).

Authorization—The end user on the target computer needs authorization to access a virtual application, which is located on a network drive on the scalability server. Authorization can be achieved by a trusted connection between the target computer and the server. If a trusted connection does not exist, the end user will be prompted for a user name and password.