App-V 4.6 SP1 and MED-V 2.0 are available as part of MDOP 2011!
Hello, I’m Dave Trupkin, Senior Product Manager for App-V and MED-V, the two Desktop Virtualization products in MDOP. Today is a very special day for everyone on the MDOP team here at Microsoft, and especially those who work on App-V and MED-V. This morning we announced the general availability of MDOP 2011!
You can access App-V 4.6 Service Pack1 and MED-V 2.0 as part of MDOP 2011 through the Microsoft Volume Licensing website, MSDN or TechNet.
App-V 4.6 SP1: Application Virtualization Made Easy, Fast and Predictable
As businesses deploy App-V, they convert their traditional applications to App-V virtual applications through a process known as sequencing. In this release, we’ve redesigned the sequencing process to make it even easier for new users to get started quickly. We provide step-by-step guidance for common packaging tasks, like creating a new package, updating a package, or packaging add-ins or middleware. We’ve also added diagnostics to help alert packagers to potential issues before they become problems. App-V 4.6 SP1 is our easiest to use release ever.
“Even people with absolutely no virtualization experience can sequence applications.”
– Holger Brink, Managing Consultant, Login Consultants
Check out more App-V case studies !
Up until now, the predominant way for App-V customers to share how they’ve packaged particular applications with App-V is with text-based “recipes.” These recipes can be time-consuming to document and to follow. In App-V 4.6 SP1, we’re introducing a new way to create App-V packages and to share packaging knowledge. App-V Package Accelerators allow App-V administrators to automatically create App-V packages from application installation files. App-V Package The sequencing learning curve is eliminated and sequencing time for large, complex applications is slashed. App-V administrators can easily share App-V Package Accelerators instead of recipes.
We will release Package Accelerators for several of our own products, starting today with Microsoft Project 2010. We’ll release others, including Microsoft Office 2010, in April. We’ve also partnered with Adobe to offer a Package Accelerator for Adobe Reader 9.4. There’s more to come.
We’ve also taken many of the App-V sequencing best practices and built them right in to the new Sequencer. We’ve made other things, like sequencing to old-style “8.3” directory names, a relic of the past. Finally, I’m pleased to announce that we are extending support for the App-V read-only shared cache to include RDS as well as VDI scenarios. With this new support, you can save storage space no matter which desktop virtualization technology you choose for server-based computing.
MED-V 2.0: Solving the last mile of application compatibility
Businesses around the globe are adopting Windows 7 and enjoying its rewards. The recent release of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 will accelerate deployment plans. As companies plan their deployment, they'll find that many existing applications will “just work” in Windows 7. Other applications may require upgrades or compatibility shims. Some older applications will be retired or replaced. For those applications that remain – the ones that simply must run on Windows XP – there’s MED-V. MED-V bridges the “last mile” of application compatibility between Windows XP and Windows 7, allowing older applications to run inside Windows XP compatibility workspaces, but still integrate seamlessly into users’ Windows 7 environments.
Don’t confuse MED-V with Microsoft’s consumer and small business compatibility tool, Windows XP Mode. MED-V expands on the capabilities in Windows XP Mode by adding enterprise features, such as the ability to use a custom Windows XP image, automating first time setup and controlling URL redirection for Internet Explorer.
With MED-V 2.0, there’s no dedicated infrastructure. MED-V workspaces are distributed and managed with existing systems, such as System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 or higher.
We’ve also made changes that let you allow your users to save their Windows passwords for seamless sign-on to their MED-V workspace. MED-V 2.0 also supports USB devices, including Smartcard readers.
“MED-V 2.0 is simple to use and fast. Its performance is great, and because it doesn’t require a separate server infrastructure, it can be quickly and easily deployed.”
– Jean Claude Akin, Software Engineer, Systems Certification, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
Check out more MED-V case studies !
MED-V 2.0 integrates seamlessly into Windows 7, providing automatic publishing of applications from MED-V workspaces to the Windows 7 Start Menu. It also provides My Documents , Desktop, and network printer redirection, allowing legacy applications hosted in MED-V workspaces to work just like locally installed applications when it comes to opening, saving and printing documents.
And we’ve improved your Internet Explorer redirection options. IT administrators can redirect legacy web applications using wildcards (https://*.example.com), sites (https://www.example.com/hr), at the page-level (https://www.example.com/hr/benefits.asp) or by specifying a port (https://vpn.example.com:1234).
Our MVPs are talking about this exciting new release. They’re a fantastic resource for the community and they’re here to help you!
Just getting started? Check out the App-V 4.6 SP1 Trial Guide or the MED-V 2.0 Trial Guide. Need more information about App-V sequencing? Download the App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencing Guide. You’ll also want to check out the new App-V videos that walk you through some of the new features, and the new MED-V 2.0 video series. For information about all of Microsoft’s Desktop Virtualization solutions, visit the Springboard Desktop Virtualization Zone.
We’re proud of our work and we would love for you to take the next step: download MDOP 2011 today and try App-V 4.6 SP1 and MED-V 2.0 for yourself. I’d love to hear your feedback. If you’re attending the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas, March 21-25, 2011, stop by the Desktop Virtualization booth and say “Hello!”
Dave
Comments
Anonymous
March 11, 2011
I'm really looking forward to this. Why are the AppV Client patches, SR, SP, ... now not available in WSUS? Only version 4.5 is supported in WSUS. How can I easily deploy the 4.6 SP1 client to my 200 machines? Thanks in advance. laville@micro.biol.ethz.chAnonymous
March 11, 2011
The App-V 4.6 Service Pack 1 update will be available in Microsoft Update. Look for it toward the end of March.Anonymous
March 12, 2011
Any other changes to MDOP?Anonymous
March 12, 2011
App-V 4.6 SP1 and MED-V 2.0 are the two changes included in this release.Anonymous
August 07, 2011
I thought you could use App-v in stand alone version, without a client app? but I fail to see how to get the msi I created installed without the client installed. And I can’t find the client anywhere this is THE most confusing installation procedure I have ever encountered. I could have walked to all 60 remote locations and installed the application manually on each computer in the time it has taken me to get this running.Anonymous
August 08, 2011
Hi, Neal. App-V does have a stand-alone mode where it can be used with no dedicated App-V server infrastructure. You first install the App-V client on the endpoints where you’d like to use App-V virtual applications, and then you can use MSIs created by the App-V Sequencer to deploy virtual applications. TechNet has more information on using App-V in stand-alone mode, and there is a section on using App-V in stand-alone mode in the App-V 4.6 SP1 Trial Guide. technet.microsoft.com/.../cc843831.aspx download.microsoft.com/.../App-V%204.6%20SP1%20Trial%20Guide.docx