VMware ThinApp 4.7 Essentials

Book description

Learn how to quickly and efficiently virtualize your applications with ThinApp 4.7

  • Practical book which provides the essentials of application virtualization with ThinApp 4.7
  • Learn the various methods and best practices of application packaging and deployment
  • Save money and time on your projects with this book by learning how to create portable applications

In Detail

VMware ThinApp 4.7 is an application virtualization and portable application creator which allows users to package conventional applications so that they are portable.

"VMware ThinApp 4.7 Essentials" shows you how to deploy ThinApp packages in order to improve the portability, manageability and compatibility of applications by encapsulating them from the underlying operating system on which they are executed.

Application virtualization improves the portability, manageability and compatibility of applications by encapsulating them from the underlying operating system on which they are executed.

VMware ThinApp 4.7 is an application virtualization and portable application creator which allows users to package conventional applications so that they are portable. ThinApp eliminates application conflicts, reducing the need and cost of recoding and regression testing.

In this book you will learn about how application virtualization works and how to deploy ThinApp packages. You will learn how to update and tweak ThinApp Projects before distribution. This book will then cover design and implementation considerations for future ThinApp projects.

Table of contents

  1. VMware ThinApp 4.7 Essentials
    1. Table of Contents
    2. VMware ThinApp 4.7 Essentials
    3. Credits
    4. About the Author
    5. About the Reviewers
    6. www.PacktPub.com
      1. Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more
      2. Why Subscribe?
      3. Free Access for Packt account holders
      4. Instant Updates on New Packt Books
    7. Preface
      1. What this book covers
      2. What you need for this book
      3. Who this book is for
      4. Conventions
      5. Reader feedback
      6. Customer support
        1. Errata
        2. Piracy
        3. Questions
    8. 1. Application Virtualization
      1. Application virtualization
      2. ThinApp overview
      3. ThinApp architecture
      4. Common ThinApp vocabulary
        1. The capturing process
        2. The capture machine
        3. The project folder
        4. The package
        5. The data container
        6. The entry point
        7. Compiling or building your ThinApp package
        8. The build machine
        9. The ThinApp utilities folder
        10. The ThinApp runtime
        11. Read-Only data
        12. Read and write data
        13. Folder macros
      5. The sandbox
      6. Isolation modes
        1. Merged
        2. WriteCopy
        3. Full
          1. Example 1
          2. Example 2
          3. Example 3
      7. The virtual filesystem
      8. The virtual registry
      9. Application Linking (AppLink)
        1. AppLink conflict resolution for isolation modes
          1. Optional AppLink
          2. Required AppLink
      10. The ThinApp utilities folder and its content
      11. Summary
    9. 2. Application Packaging
      1. Packaging
      2. Running the Setup Capture wizard
      3. The capture and build environment
      4. Entry points and the data container
      5. The project folder
      6. The Package.ini file
      7. Isolation mode considerations
      8. Virtualizing Internet Explorer 6
      9. The recommended ThinApp capture process
      10. Some packaging tips
        1. 32-bit versus 64-bit
        2. Services
        3. Auto update
        4. Save your project folders
        5. Make sure you investigate the sandbox
        6. When capturing, make sure you are capturing!
        7. Make sure your application is 100 percent natively installed
        8. Never start with AppLink
      11. VB Scripting
      12. Packaging applications with dependencies
        1. Dependencies on runtimes
        2. Dependencies on locally installed applications
        3. Dependencies on another virtualized application
      13. Summary
    10. 3. Deployment of ThinApp Packages
      1. Different deployment scenarios
      2. Using streaming deployment
      3. Using MSI to distribute packages
      4. Using VMware Horizon Application Manager
      5. Using VMware View
      6. Using alternative media and methods
      7. Using thinreg.exe to register your applications
      8. Summary
    11. 4. Updating and Tweaking Your ThinApp Project
      1. Different categories of updates
      2. Recapturing an application
      3. Modifying the project folder
      4. Sandbox merge
      5. Updating the ThinApp runtime
      6. Sandbox considerations for updated packages
      7. Summary
    12. 5. How to Distribute Updates
      1. Different categories of updates
      2. Using MSI to distribute updates
      3. Using an in-place update method
      4. Application Sync (AppSync)
      5. Application Linking (AppLink)
      6. Deploying updated packages using VMware Horizon Application Manager
      7. Summary
    13. 6. Design and Implementation Considerations using ThinApp
      1. Protecting your packages
      2. Default isolation modes
      3. Sandbox considerations
      4. Implementing ThinDirect
      5. Designing for a physical client implementation
      6. Designing for a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) implementation
      7. Designing for a terminal server/Citrix XenApp implementation
      8. Designing for a mixed environment
      9. Sizing of your streaming file share
      10. Summary
    14. 7. Troubleshooting
      1. The theory behind troubleshooting
      2. Effective test procedures
        1. The Dirty Test
        2. The Washed Test
        3. The Clean Test
        4. The Production Test
      3. Common troubleshooting tools
        1. Process Explorer
        2. Process Monitor
        3. Dependency Walker
        4. Microsoft Event Viewer
        5. Error messages
      4. ThinApp Log Monitor
      5. Troubleshooting tips and tricks
      6. Your everyday capturing process
      7. Summary
    15. A. References
      1. Folder macros
      2. Package.ini parameters
      3. Environment variables and ThinApp runtime switches
        1. Changing the sandbox location
        2. ThinApp runtime switches
      4. Summary
    16. Index

Product information

  • Title: VMware ThinApp 4.7 Essentials
  • Author(s): Peter Björk
  • Release date: November 2012
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781849686280