Improvements in the App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer Command Line Interface (CLI)

Article
05/03/2011

The Command Line Sequencer, or CLI, has been improved with the App-V 4.6 SP1 release of the Sequencer. The Sequencer now has the ability to define Feature Block 1, create Package Accelerators, and create packages from Package Accelerators. The CLI is closer in feature parity to the GUI sequencer.

As with any Command Line Interface, there is a much greater potential for automation. The rule for automating with the CLI Sequencer is that the Sequencer does not need to be reverted as long as monitoring has not occurred. In the App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer, there is no "Begin Monitoring" button anymore. Monitoring occurs in the "Configure Software" phase. From the CLI, this would occur when creating a package via Sequencing or potentially creating a Package from a Package Accelerator. For all other scenarios, the CLI provides a method to automate several sequencing tasks.

Known issues with the App-V 4.6 SP1 CLI Sequencer are found in this KB article: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2497312 .

The Command Line Sequencer has built-in help that displays all of the available usage syntax. Below are the commands displayed when SFTSequencer [/? | /Help] is typed in a Command Prompt in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer directory. For the purposes of this article, the commands have been labeled with their purpose.

Sequence Application

SFTSequencer /INSTALLPACKAGE:installpackage /INSTALLPATH:installpath /OUTPUTFILE:outputfile [/FULLLOAD | /LAUNCHALL [/UPTIME:seconds] | /LAUNCH:executable1.exe,... [/UPTIME:seconds] | /LAUNCHSCRIPT:scriptpath] [/PACKAGENAME:packagename] [/BLOCKSIZE:4|16|32|64] [/COMPRESS] [/MSI] [/DEFAULT:defaultproject]

Open Package to Edit

SFTSequencer /OPEN:packagetoopen [/PACKAGENAME:packagename] [/MSI] [/COMPRESS]

Open Package for Upgrade

SFTSequencer /UPGRADE:packagetoupgrade /INSTALLPACKAGE:installpackage /OUTPUTFILE:outputfile [/DECODEPATH:path] [/FULLLOAD | /LAUNCHALL [/UPTIME:seconds]| /LAUNCH:executable1.exe,... [/UPTIME:seconds] | /LAUNCHSCRIPT:scriptpath] [/PACKAGENAME:packagename] [/COMPRESS] [/MSI]

Create Package Accelerator (Installation Media)

SFTSequencer /INPUTFILE:SprjFile /INSTALLMEDIAPATH:InstallMediaPath /PACKAGEACCELERATORFILE:PackageAcceleratorCabFile [/REMOVEMISSINGFILES]

Create Package Accelerator (Locally Installed Application)

SFTSequencer /INPUTFILE:SprjFile /LOCALINSTALLPATH:LocalInstallPath /PACKAGEACCELERATORFILE:PackageAcceleratorCabFile [/REMOVEMISSINGFILES]

Create Package from Package Accelerator (Installation Media)

SFTSequencer /PACKAGEACCELERATORFILE:PackageAcceleratorCabFile /INSTALLMEDIAPATH:InstallMediaPath /OUTPUTFILE:SprjFile [/PACKAGENAME:Package Name] [/COMPRESS] [/MSI] [/TRUSTPACKAGEACCELERATOR]

Create Package from Package Accelerator (Locally Installed Application)

SFTSequencer /PACKAGEACCELERATORFILE:PackageAcceleratorCabFile /LOCALINSTALL /OUTPUTFILE:SprjFile [/PACKAGENAME:Package Name] [/COMPRESS] [/MSI] [/TRUSTPACKAGEACCELERATOR]

Expand to Local System (DSC)

SFTSequencer /EXPAND:SprjOrSftFile

Defining FB1

Users will now have greater control over defining Primary Feature Block contents. The CLI Sequencer will build the Primary Feature Block using a similar method as the GUI Sequencer: by starting a virtual environment and then launching applications to identify the essential bits to stream to the client cache first. This phase of the sequencing process will be completely hands-off. The CLI Sequencer will sequentially launch each application and then shut it down as gracefully as possible before launching the next one.

Feature Block is optional for sequencing or upgrading a package, not for Package Accelerators.

Option	Argument	Comments
Do not put anything in FB1	None	Default behavior if no FB1 arguments are passed. Same as current CLI Sequencer.
Add entire package to FB1	/FULLLOAD or /F	Same as current CLI Sequencer. Still useful for mobile scenarios where admins want package fully loaded before app starts
Launch only these files for FB1 optimization. Files must be linked to shortcuts	/LAUNCH: executable1.exe [, filename2.xyz …]	Each filename is separated by commas. Filenames with spaces should be enclosed in “quotes.” Filenames only; partial or full paths will not be accepted. Command line arguments for each executable cannot be passed.
Launch all shortcuts for FB1 optimization	/LAUNCHALL	Equivalent to Launch All in GUI Sequencer: serially launch each application.
Run each application for exactly this amount of time	/UPTIME:seconds	Allows user to override default heuristics for how long an application will run before being shut down. [min: 5; max: MAX_INT]

Steve Bucci | Support Escalation Engineer