Application Virtualization Made Simple
Accelerate application deployment and simplify application migration with agentless application virtualization. With VMware ThinApp, applications are packaged into single executables that run completely isolated from each other and the operating system for conflict-free execution on end-point devices. Application packages can be deployed to different Windows platforms, eliminating costly recoding and regression testing so you can easily migrate existing applications to Windows 7.
- Eliminate application conflicts, reducing the need for recoding & regression testing.
- Deliver reliable and flexible application access to all user profiles.
- Eliminate the need for additional server hardware or software investments.
- Easily manage and deploy applications through VMware Horizon Application Manager
Overview
Extend the Life of Legacy Applications, Including IE 6 Applications, with Windows 7 Support
Quickly migrate your legacy applications to Windows 7 by eliminating the need to recode, retest and recertify. Save the cost of application porting by virtualizing legacy applications to deploy on Windows 7. Faster deployments with less testing means your business applications will be in production faster, minimizing downtime and reducing risks to the business. Run virtualized Internet Explorer (IE) 6, along with natively installed IE 7 and IE 8 on the same desktop.
Automatically convert silent-installed applications to VMware ThinApp packages. And, if you've already packaged applications with VMware ThinApp for use on XP or other versions of Windows, you can easily convert them to the VMware ThinApp Windows 7 format with Relink.
Eliminate Installation Conflicts
Package an entire application and its settings into a single executable that can be deployed to many Windows operating environments. These virtual applications are isolated from each other and the operating system. The packaged applications have awareness of each other but execute independently and make no changes to the underlying operating system, eliminating application-to-application conflict as well as application-to-operating system conflicts.
Application virtualization encapsulates the application into a single executable .MSI or .EXE. Just plug in an .MSI or .EXE file to deploy a virtual system environment, including registry keys, DLLs, third-party libraries, and frameworks without requiring any installation of agents on end point devices.
See How Much You Can Save
Using VMware ThinApp application virtualization, you can build in application isolation to ensure compatibility of your application environment throughout the application lifecycle, including through operating system environment changes. Take a test drive using the VMware ThinApp TCO calculator to see the savings you can realize throughout the lifecycle of your applications.
Package Once, Deploy Everywhere
Deploy virtualized applications in user mode, without administrative rights. No device drivers are installed and no registry changes are made because the entire application and its virtual OS are delivered as a single EXE file. Assign ThinApp packages to individual desktops or groups of desktops in View Manager for streamlined application deployments to virtual desktops. Use VMware Horizon Application Manager to manage, deploy, and entitle applications to users and groups. Upgrade or roll back ThinApp applications while they’re running, without any user disruption.
Consolidate Dedicated Application Server Hardware
The one application per server model requires dedicated hardware for specific applications that cannot coexist, whether for technical reasons or concerns about data isolation. VMware ThinApp lets you eliminate these application silos to allow for better utilization of existing assets while making your applications easier to manage and deploy.
Cater to Your Mobile Workforce
On the road or in the office, give your users reliable and flexible application access on virtually any computer they have access to, including kiosk and hotel PCs. They won't need to install software or device drivers and don't need admin rights. Applications run directly from portable storage devices, including Flash drives.
Eliminate the Need for Additional Infrastructure Budget
ThinApp dynamic application delivery requires no additional servers or databases. Application packages created in .MSI or .EXE format are copied to endpoints or served from a file share. Single image executables can be integrated into your existing enterprise software delivery system or processes. Customized integrations can also be done using the ThinApp SDK or standard scripting language such as VB, C or Java.
Using ThinApp
For IT Directors
Migrate to Windows 7 quickly by virtualizing your applications first, eliminating recoding and reducing regression testing. Generate MSI files that can be registered with the underlying host OS, then plug them into your existing desktop management systems. Reduce the risks of application migration and associated business down time, ensuring ongoing ease of management.
Key Benefits for IT Directors:
- Accelerate application migration & deployment to Windows 7
- Eliminate costly recoding and reduce regression testing costs with independent sandboxes
- Reduce the cost of maintaining secure locked-down desktops
- Consolidate Terminal Servers and dedicated application servers
- Enhance work-force mobility by running applications directly on external media, including USB Flash, CDROM, and unattached laptops
- Eliminate additional infrastructure investments in server hardware or software
- Deliver virtualized applications using existing management software delivery processes
For Developers
Don’t limit your development environment to end user environments. Use the latest runtimes, frameworks and components for faster development time by linking virtual applications with key components like Java or .Net. Deploy the latest technologies to restricted user accounts with zero installation or impact on other applications. You can even deliver your application as a USB application.
Key Benefits for Developers:
- Package your applications in standard EXE and MSI files
- Deliver a zero-footprint application that doesn’t need an install
- Convert traditional applications to virtualized applications quickly and easily
- Streamline your regression testing with sandboxing and snapshot capabilities
- Package or link any runtime you want directly with your application
- Eliminate risks and conflicts with other applications on the endpoint
For Software Vendors (ISVs)
Deliver software that protects the local OS from modifications that might cause instability or breach security. Even restricted user accounts can safely run virtualized applications without requiring a local installation, making it much more appetizing for IT staff concerned about security. And with the ThinApp Virtual OS component a mere 400k on disk and occupying as little as 1 MB RAM at runtime, there is no noticeable impact on runtime performance.
Key Benefits for ISVs:
- Shorten your QA cycle by packaging your application, registry keys and DLLs, into an EXE file
- Deliver your application from any media, including USB drive or network to physical or virtual desktops
- Run in virtually any environment, including terminal servers, Citrix MetaFrame, locked-down desktops
- Reduce support costs by delivering an application that doesn't modify registry values or file systems
Features
VMware ThinApp simplifies application delivery by isolating applications from the underlying operating system and plugging directly into existing virtual and physical desktop management tools and infrastructure. VMware ThinApp encapsulates applications inside a Virtual OS that transparently merges a virtual system environment with the real system environment.
Key Features
Application Management
Seamlessly integrated with VMware Horizon Application Manager, applications packaged with VMware ThinApp can be easily managed and deployed to end users. Use VMware Horizon Application Manager to set policies, entitle users, and securely deliver applications via the cloud.
Seamless Virtual and Native Browser Experience
ThinDirect gives end users the flexibility to run IE 6 on Windows 7 desktops alongside natively installed newer browser versions. With ThinDirect administrators can configure Web pages for virtualized IE 6 and its dependencies to ensure that URLs always open in the right browser for a seamless end user experience.
Full Support for Windows 7
VMware ThinApp now supports Windows 7. You can now package legacy applications from older versions of Windows such as Windows XP and Windows Vista into VMware ThinApp packages for deployment on Windows 7. Avoid costly recoding and regression testing and accelerate deployment of business applications to Windows 7 more quickly and securely.
If you’ve used previous versions of VMware ThinApp to create application packages, these existing packages can be upgraded to the new VMware ThinApp format (versions 4.5 and above) without the need of associated project files for the applications. This utility speeds up the process of upgrading your existing VMware ThinApp packages.
Performance Accelerator
Reduced page file usage for virtual applications and increased memory sharing between multiple instances of applications allows for quicker application invocation and improved application delivery to end users. This helps to improve user experience with VMware ThinApp, and at the same time reduces network bandwidth consumption.
Registry Transaction Protection
Ensure the integrity of the registry file and eliminate potential data corruption due to crash or system failure by mapping to a backup registry file.
Enhanced Packaging Support Ecosystem
Customers can now elect to share application packaging results with VMware at the beginning of capture or contribute application packaging tips and recipes with a network of community users. By building out this ecosystem of support for users, we will have a better understanding of product usage to provide better product support.
Features in Depth
Agentless Application Virtualization:
- Support for Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6). Capture IE 6 on Windows XP with easy click-through packaging, full rendering to display IE 6 application web pages, the ability to run virtualized IE 6 and natively installed IE 7 and IE 8 seamlessly in the same desktop, compatibility for all system shell commands, and 32-bit and 64-bit support.
- Zero client code foot print. Eliminate cumbersome management and updates of client code. Zero client foot print also allows for applications to be packaged and execute from ancillary mobile storage devices such as USB drives delivering much more flexibility and mobility to end users.
- Application isolation. Isolated applications run in a virtual bubble in restricted user accounts without requiring any host modification. Deploy Office 97, 2003, 2007, Internet Explorer and .NET applications or custom applications on the same OS without conflict as the applications run independent of one another.
- Zero-runtime execution. With no installed agent, no footprint is left on the endpoint device. Applications run directly from the compressed state without first caching data to the hard disk, achieving better performance and security of data.
- 100% User Mode execution. Client runs on locked-down, unmanaged “kiosk” PCs without Admin rights to execute applications, enabling it to be used on managed and unmanaged PC.
- Block-by-block network streaming. Applications virtualized execute once the minimum amount of code required to run the application is available in the desktop’s memory. For example, less than 10% of Microsoft Office needs to be physically streamed to the client in order for it to run. LAN streaming has an average start-up time of just a few seconds.
- Sandbox environments for terminal services. Provide sandboxing for applications running in a terminal services environment so that multiple users can run their own sandboxed application without affecting each other. If one instance of the application tries to make system-wide changes, other users running the same applications are not affected.
- 64-bit operating system support. Enables applications to be virtualized and run on 64-bit systems.
- Execution on thin clients. Tested and certified to run virtualized applications on Windows XP-based thin clients.
- Compatibility with a broad range of applications. Proven deployments on simple-to-complex applications ranging from basic Microsoft Office to custom applications with Java or .NET.
Conflict-free Application Delivery:
- Active Directory integration. VMware ThinApp does not require any distribution, streaming, or activation servers or agents. It works with AD, ESD enforcement tools, and open protocols so no additional hardware, software licenses and ongoing maintenance costs for backend infrastructure is required.
- Execution from USB key with portable profiles/user settings. Enable a user to run critical applications from a USB key while maintaining corporate security requirements.
- Integration with VMware Horizon Application Manager and other 3rd-party application management solutions. Creates .MSI and/or .EXE file that plugs into existing electronic software delivery systems (Inventory, Configuration Management Database, Definitive Software Library, Packagers) without additional integrations required.
- Assign VMware ThinApp packages to individual desktops or groups of desktops for streamlined application deployments to virtual desktops when deployed with VMware View.
- Application Sync. Enables application updates for mobile users as well as third parties on the corporate extranet, ensuring availability of the latest version of the application, reducing patch risks to machines that are taken off the network. Update virtual applications via http/https over the LAN or WAN leveraging existing software delivery systems.
Simplified Application Packaging:
- Automate the management of the lifecycle of application packaging. The ThinApp Converter provides a command line interface to convert silently-installed applications into ThinApp packages. Using interfaces with ESX, vSphere and Workstation you can automate the setup capture process to convert MSI application packages into ThinApp packages.
- Application Link. Allows packaged applications to dynamically establish dependencies ("links") with other packaged applications. Administers create separate packages of interdependent components such as Java or .NET runtimes and the applications that rely on them. Each component is delivered independently while sharing resources across multiple ThinApp packages.
- Package it once, deliver to many. Execute a virtualized application on a variety of Microsoft Windows desktop operating system without retesting or repackaging the application for each operating system.
- System snapshots. Provides administrators with a rapid three-step process for pre- and post-install system states for packaging simplicity and for supporting applications that require a reboot during the installation process.
- ISV embeddable. Organizations can deliver their custom application throughout their extranet using VMware ThinApp application virtualization technology.