Preparation for Application Capture and Environment Considerations

Preparation for Application Capture and Environmental Considerations

Preparing a Packaging Virtual Machine

An Omnissa App Volumes Administrator will use the following guidelines to prepare a virtual machine for application capture. They will follow specific criteria outlined during the preparation process in the Omnissa App Volumes 4 Administration Guide, select the latest document version, and navigate to the Working with Packages > Package an App Volumes Application > Preparing a Packaging Virtual Machine section.

Build the packaging virtual machine image using the procedure outlined in Manually Creating Optimized Windows Images for Omnissa Horizon 8 VMs.

While following the build process to stand up a Windows OS image, the administrator should follow the instructions outlined in Manually Creating Optimized Windows Images for Horizon VMs, implementing the below exceptions or exclusions;

Install the Windows Guest OS
Install the Hypervisor tools
Install .Net Framework
Install Horizon Agent - This step will not be required to prepare the Packaging Virtual Machine.
Install Dynamic Environment Manager Agent - This step will not be required to prepare the Packaging Virtual Machine.
- Install Base Applications - This step will not be required to prepare the Packaging Virtual Machine.
If the base image in your VDI environment already has core applications like .NET / JAVA and patch levels. Then, ensure the same image components are available for this packaging VM.
Run the outlined OS Optimization (OSOT) procedure outlined in Manually Creating Optimized Windows Images for Horizon VMs.

Packaging virtual machine managed by the App Volumes Manager

Install the App Volumes Agent, and register the Packaging virtual machine to App Volumes Manager.

Standalone Packaging virtual machine

Install App Volumes Tools instead of the App Volumes Agent if you intend to use the CLI capture method.
Upon completing the image build of the Packaging virtual machine, take a final Snapshot of the App Volumes Packaging Virtual Machine.

Exceptions to the Packaging virtual machine preparation process:

The Omnissa App Volumes Packaging virtual machine will not require the installation of the Omnissa Horizon 8 Agent or the Omnissa Dynamic Environment Manager Agent.
- The Dynamic Environment Manager (DEM) Profiler will be required to capture application settings, which can then be stored on the Dynamic Environment Manager Configuration Share and inject settings during a session login or Directflex process.
Include the ThinApp binaries on the packaging virtual machine to deliver ThinApp applications.
- During the package capture process, the application packager can choose to install an MSI-based ThinApp application or use the ThinApp Thinreg command during the installation and capture.
Domain Join: specific application installation requirements may require the Packaging Virtual Machine to be joined to the domain to validate an authenticated user or connect to a licensing server or network resources during installation and/or post-install validation.

Best Practices for Packaging App Volumes Applications

As an App Volumes Administrator or App Volumes Application Administrator, you will use the following guidelines when logging into the Packaging Virtual Machine and capturing a Package. Outlined in the App Volumes product documentation are the best practices that will help you, as the administrator/packager, effectively install and capture applications that can be delivered using App Volumes. Refer to the App Volumes 4 Administration Guide to select the latest document version, and navigate to the Best Practices for Packaging App Volumes Applications section.

Feedback from the field and customer interactions with IT Support have been invaluable in keeping the Knowledge Base portal updated - https://kb.omnissa.com. The Knowledge Base portal provides extra support for resolutions to issues brought in by the Field and Support engineers.

Application Capture Limitations

App Volumes agent captures the installation of application(s) onto prescribed areas of the Windows Operating System. However, it excludes areas of the Operating System's functional components, services, and user profile would use.

The App Volumes application capture process excludes locations that store Windows Updates. Applications with an extension *.msu installation into this area of the operating system will result in failed capture.

App Volumes application capture location (inclusions or exclusions) can be achieved by modifying the Snapvol.cfg configuration file in the %SVAgent%\Config\Custom folder location. Change or removal of entries from the Snapvol.cfg configuration file (inclusions or exclusions) list from the %SVAgent%\Config\Default location is not permitted or supported.

Reference the Custom Configuration Files and Policy Files (snapvol.cfg) in App Volumes sections in the App Volumes 4 Administration Guide.

Summary and Additional Resources

The administration of an App Volumes environment is inherently complex and constantly evolving. This Application Packaging series aims to be a steady companion, offering reliable guidance and support to help you effectively manage these daily operational tasks. By utilizing this resource, you will be better prepared to handle the challenges of your role, ensuring operational excellence and technical proficiency with App Volumes.

We trust you will find this Application Packaging series invaluable in your day-to-day activities and encourage you to refer to it regularly. Your feedback is welcome and will be instrumental in continuously improving this resource.

Additional Resources

Explore the following additional resources:

Changelog

The following updates were made to this guide.

Date	Description of Changes
Oct-2024	Updated for Omnissa docs, KB, and Tech Zone links.
Jun-2024	Initial publication date

Authors and Contributors

The following authors and contributors have helped make this paper possible:

Authors

Sujay Gopalan, Sr. Technical Marketing Architect, Omnissa.

Reviewers 

Graeme Gordon, Sr. Staff Architect, Omnissa.

Rick Terlep, Staff Technical Marketing Architect, Omnissa.

Mike Erb, Staff Technical Marketing Architect, Omnissa.

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