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How Roaming Works with Virtual Applications

Virtual applications that are streamed to a target computer need to have their corresponding Staging packages installed on the scalability (streaming) server connected to the target computer. If a target computer roams (moves) to a new location and a new scalability server, the Staging packages for all streamed virtual applications must be installed on the new scalability server before the applications can run on the target computer.

To avoid problems with running streamed virtual applications on roaming computers, the CA ITCM agent on the target computer performs some checks before changing the computer’s streaming server. These checks do not affect the switch to the new scalability server. The target computer does roam to the new scalability server. The checks determine whether the new scalability server also functions as the streaming server. If the result of the checks is successful, the streaming server is changed to the new scalability server. If the result of the checks is not successful, the original scalability server continues to function as the streaming server.

Different checks and procedures are performed depending on the technology that was used to create the virtual applications. In the case of VMware ThinApp, for example, the check for roaming is carried out with the user login. These checks are run each time the user logs into the target computer.

Note: For Microsoft App-V virtual applications streamed to roaming computers, the switch to the new streaming server needs to be performed by reinstalling the streamed virtual application packages on the target computer.

The following sections describe the process of checking a new scalability server for VMware ThinApp and Microsoft App-V virtual applications.

VMware ThinApp

1. CA ITCM checks if the scalability server has changed when the user logs into the target computer.
2. CA ITCM connects to the new scalability server if it has changed.
3. CA ITCM searches the new scalability server for the Staging package that corresponds to each virtual application that is deployed on the target computer.
   1. CA ITCM uses the new scalability server as a streaming server for all applications that have corresponding Staging packages on the new server.
   2. CA ITCM uses the original scalability server as a streaming server for all applications that do not have corresponding Staging packages on the new server.

Microsoft App-V

In the case of roaming, the switch to the new streaming server needs to be performed by reinstalling the streamed virtual application packages on the target computer.

No further checks are performed for Microsoft App-V, since the technology does not currently permit them.

Note: As a best practice, deploy the Staging package for each virtual application on all scalability servers (running the Windows operating system) in your network.

1. CA ITCM allows adoption to a new scalability server in case it has changed.
2. CA ITCM connects to the new scalability server if it has changed.
3. CA ITCM uses the new scalability server as a streaming server for all virtual applications that are deployed on the target computer.