Creating Package Accelerators with the App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer (Part 2)

GrayAndYellowGearsYesterday we talked about what App-V Package Accelerators were and how the process worked, and today we’re going to continue that theme and show how Package Accelerators are vehicles for sharing within the App-V community. We’ll even walk through a couple scenarios on how to create. Then when an expert user (most likely an MVP or ISV) sequences an application, they will be able to generate a Package Accelerator for that application and the Package Accelerator can be shared with the rest of the App-V community.

In these walkthroughs, the GUI will be used to create the Package Accelerators. Part 3 of this series will cover the Command Line Interface (CLI) Sequencer workflow.

It is important to note the information and disclaimer that the Package Accelerator creation wizard displays:

Important: App-V Package Accelerators can contain user or computer specific information.

Disclaimer: Application Virtualization Sequencer does not give you any license right to the software application you are using to create a Package Accelerator. You must abide by all end user license terms for such application. It is your responsibility to make sure the software application’s license terms allow you to create a Package Accelerator using Application Virtualization Sequencer.

NOTE: The only way to test if a Package Accelerator was created successfully is to create a package from the Package Accelerator and then test the resulting package. Please test your Package Accelerator before sharing publicly or with your customers.

 

Walkthrough: Creating a Package Accelerator with Installation Media

In this walkthrough, we will create a Package Accelerator for Deep Zoom Composer. A Package Accelerator can be created immediately after Sequencing, but the steps below assume the workflow for a previously sequenced package.

Requirements:

· A previously sequenced Deep Zoom Composer package.

o Download and Sequence Deep Zoom Composer, if necessary.

· Installation Media for Deep Zoom Composer

· App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer

Steps:

1. Revert your Sequencer to the original, clean snapshot.

2. Create a "Packages" folder and an "Installers" folder on C:\.

3. Copy the Deep Zoom Composer package to the "Packages" folder.

4. Copy the "Deep Zoom Composer.msi" installation media to the "Installers" folder.

5. Launch the Sequencer

6. Select TOOLS>CREATE PACKAGE ACCELERATOR

7. On the SELECT PACKAGE screen, browse to the Deep Zoom Composer package.

a. C:\Packages\Deep Zoom Composer\Deep Zoom Composer.sprj

8. Click NEXT

9. Select "Original Installation Files" and browse to C:\Installers

10. Click NEXT

11. The Package Accelerator is created by examining the package and the installation media.

12. Click NEXT

13. The VERIFY APPLICATIONS screen lists all the applications that should be included in the package.

a. Verify Deep Zoom Composer is listed.

b. If necessary, edit the Application Name, Publisher, Version, and Language on this screen.

14. Click NEXT.

15. On the SELECT GUIDANCE screen select a .TXT or .RTF file that includes special instructions for successful deployment or package creation.

a. Example: Pre-requisites on the client

b. This is a mandatory step, so a new file may have to be created outside of the sequencer at this point with Notepad or Wordpad.

i. Included version of the media used, OS Sequenced, any special instructions required.

16. Click NEXT.

17. On the CREATE PACKAGE ACCELERATOR screen, the default save location is the same folder as the package files.

18. Click CREATE.

19. Click CLOSE.

20. Copy the entire "Deep Zoom Composer" folder back to the content share, or just the "Deep Zoom Composer.cab" to the package's location on the Management Server's content share.

 

Walkthrough: Creating a Package Accelerator Using a Local Installation

In this walkthrough, we will create a Package Accelerator for Deep Zoom Composer. A Package Accelerator can be created immediately after Sequencing, but the steps below assume the workflow for a previously sequenced package.

The option to use a locally installed application greatly increases the number of applications that can have Package Accelerators successfully created.

Requirements:

· A previously sequenced Deep Zoom Composer package.

o Download and Sequence Deep Zoom Composer, if necessary.

· Deep Zoom Composer installed to the default location on the App-V Sequencer machine.

· App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer

Steps:

1. Revert your Sequencer to the original, clean snapshot.

2. Create a "Packages" on C:\.

3. Copy the Deep Zoom Composer package to the "Packages" folder.

4. Launch the Sequencer

5. Select TOOLS>CREATE PACKAGE ACCELERATOR

6. On the SELECT PACKAGE screen, browse to the Deep Zoom Composer package.

a. C:\Packages\Deep Zoom Composer\Deep Zoom Composer.sprj

7. Click NEXT

8. Change the selection on the INSTALLATION FILES screen to "Files Installed on Local System"

9. Specify "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Expression\Deep Zoom Composer" as the directory.

10. Click NEXT

11. On the Gathering Information screen, "Deep Zoom Composer\VFS\CSIDL_WINDOWS\Installer\8e0b7.msi" is listed as a missing file. MSI files are not required for virtual application packages since no installations should be occurring in a deployed package.

12. Check REMOVE THESE FILES and click NEXT.

13. The next screen lists all the files in the Package Accelerator. This is where the due diligence with the software vendor comes into play. Uncheck any files to remove them for licensing or other reasons. If you are not planning on sharing this Package Accelerator publicly, leave all the files checked.

14. Click NEXT.

15. Verify the listed application is "Deep Zoom Composer."

16. Click NEXT.

17. On the SELECT GUIDANCE screen select a .TXT or .RTF file that includes special instructions for successful deployment or package creation.

a. Example: Pre-requisites on the client

b. This is a mandatory step, so a new file may have to be created outside of the sequencer at this point with Notepad or Wordpad.

i. Included version of the media used, OS Sequenced, any special instructions required.

18. Click NEXT.

19. On the CREATE PACKAGE ACCELERATOR screen, the default save location is the same folder as the package files.

20. Click CREATE.

21. Click CLOSE.

22. Copy the entire "Deep Zoom Composer" folder back to the content share, or just the "Deep Zoom Composer.cab" to the package's location on the Management Server's content share.

Coming up next, I’ll show you how to do the same thing using the Command Line Interface (CLI).

Steve Bucci | Support Escalation Engineer

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