Related Manuals for Novell ZENWORKS APPLICATION VIRTUALIZATION 8.0 - 04-12-2010
Summary of Contents for Novell ZENWORKS APPLICATION VIRTUALIZATION 8.0 - 04-12-2010
- Page 1 AUTHORIZED DOCUMENTATION User Guide Novell ® ZENworks Application Virtualization April 12, 2010 www.novell.com ZENworks Application Virtualization User Guide...
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Page 2: Legal Notices
Further, Novell, Inc., reserves the right to make changes to any and all parts of Novell software, at any time, without any obligation to notify any person or entity of such changes. - Page 3 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2 Overview...
- Page 4 DLL conflicts and other deployment nightmares. This guide explains how to use Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization to create your own virtual applications and begin enjoying the benefits of this superior next-generation deployment technology.
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Page 5: What Is A Virtual Application
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.2 What is a virtual application? A virtual application is a virtual machine image pre-configured with all of the files, registry data, settings, components, runtimes, and other dependencies required for a specific application to execute immediately. Virtual applications allow application publishers and IT administrators to significantly reduce the costs and complexity associated with development, setup, configuration, deployment, and maintenance of software applications. - Page 6 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.3 ZENworks virtual application usage scenarios Use your new ZENworks virtual application to: Deploy your application in a single executable that runs immediately: Improve the user download and startup experience by packaging all application files, registry settings, runtimes, and components into a single executable that runs immediately.
- Page 7 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.4 Do ZENworks virtual applications require any device drivers? No. Unlike some other virtualization solutions, application virtualization takes place entire in user-mode. No device drivers are installed or required.
- Page 8 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.5 How is application virtualization different from hardware virtualization? Unlike hardware virtualization systems such as Microsoft Virtual PC and VMware, the application virtualization system works at the application level and virtualizes only those operating system features required for application execution.
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Page 9: What Platforms Are Supported
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.6 What platforms are supported? ZENworks Application Virtualization supports the following platforms for virtual application build, snapshotting, and execution: Windows XP Professional Windows Embedded XP Windows 2000 Professional Windows 2000 Server Windows Server 2003 Standard and Enterprise editions ... - Page 10 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.7 How is application virtualization different from application streaming? application virtualization is related to application streaming systems such as Microsoft's SoftGrid in that virtualization takes place at the application level. However, unlike application streaming systems, application...
- Page 11 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.8 What applications can be virtualized using ZENworks Application Virtualization? ZENworks Application Virtualization and the application virtualization engine supports most major Windows desktop applications. In addition, the ZENworks Application Virtualization Compatibility Lab routinely tests and validates popular applications for deployment using ZENworks Application Virtualization.
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Page 12: System Requirements
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 2.9 System requirements The ZENworks Application Virtualization authoring environment can be run on any of the supported client platforms. The ZENworks Application Virtualization authoring environment requires a minimum of 512MB of memory. 1GB of memory is recommended for optimal performance. More memory may be required to process unusually large virtual application projects. -
Page 13: Getting Started
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3 Getting Started... - Page 14 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.1 Getting Started This section describes the system requirements for installing and running Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization, gives an overview of the ZENworks Application Virtualization user interface, and walks you through the basic steps of creating a virtual application.
- Page 15 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.2 System requirements Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization requires the Windows XP, 2000 or higher operating system. The ZENworks Application Virtualization graphical interface assumes a screen resolution of at least 800×600, although a screen resolution of at least 1024×768 is highly recommended.
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Page 16: Control Panel Overview
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.3 Control panel overview The ZENworks Application Virtualization control panel allows you to configure your virtual application filesystem and registry, embed external runtimes and components, take snapshots of application, and create virtual application executables. The primary interface consists of a ribbon bar and several panes grouped by functional area. - Page 17 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.4 Creating virtual applications ZENworks Application Virtualization offers three ways to create and configure virtualized applications. The best method in a given scenario depends on the nature of the application to be virtualized. Use an application template: ZENworks Application Virtualization includes templates for popular ...
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Page 18: Creating Your First Virtual Application
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.5 Creating your first virtual application (This section does not apply to ZENworks Application Virtualization ISV Edition.) ZENworks Application Virtualization includes automated virtual application configuration wizards for certain popular software applications. It is strongly recommended that first-time users begin by building one of these auto-configurable virtual applications using the ZENworks Application Virtualization Configuration Wizard. -
Page 19: Manually Configuring A Simple Virtual Application
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.6 Manually configuring a simple virtual application This section provides a walkthrough of manual configuration for a simple virtual application based on the Windows Notepad application. In general, manual configuration should only be performed by experienced software developers virtualizing internally developed software applications. -
Page 20: Adding Runtimes And Components
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.7 Adding runtimes and components Many components and runtime systems consist of large, complex sets of filesystem entries and registry settings. To simplify configuration of the most common components, ZENworks Application Virtualization contains a collection of pre-configured component settings which can be added to your virtual application with a single click. -
Page 21: Loading And Saving Configurations
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 3.8 Loading and saving configurations Once you have configured your virtual application, you will likely want to save the configuration for future use or modification. To save a configuration, click on the start button menu and select Save Configuration As..Select a filename and location and click Save. -
Page 22: Configuring Virtual Applications
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4 Configuring Virtual Applications... - Page 23 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4.1 Configuring virtual applications Virtualization allows application deployment to be dramatically simplified by allowing files, registry settings, components, and other application dependencies to be directly embedded into the application executable. Use of application virtualization reduces setup complexity, prevents DLL collisions, and allows applications to simulate the use of privileged disk and registry resources without requiring administrative privileges on the host machine.
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Page 24: Snapshotting Applications
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4.2 Snapshotting applications Most commercial applications require complex combinations of filesystem and registry entries in order to function properly. In order to facilitate virtualization of these applications, ZENworks Application Virtualization can snapshot application installations and automatically configure itself based on modifications made to the host system during application setup. -
Page 25: Best Practices For Snapshotting
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization Best practices for snapshotting The following practices are recommended for optimal use of the snapshotting feature: Perform snapshotting on a clean machine: Snapshotting on a clean machine assures that all dependencies will be installed by the application setup. Installing on a machine with existing components may cause dependencies to be inadvertently included in the "before"... -
Page 26: Specifying A Startup File
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4.3 Specifying a startup file The virtual filesystem may contain a large number of executable files (such as .exe, .cmd, and .java) and viewable file formats (such as .html and .swf). However, your virtual application is consolidated into a single executable. It is therefore necessary for the virtual application designer to indicate a startup file, which is the executable or viewable file which is opened when the user executes the virtual application. -
Page 27: Specifying Multiple Startup Files (Jukeboxing)
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4.4 Specifying multiple startup files (Jukeboxing) In some situations, a virtual application may want to expose multiple startup files. For example, if one is virtualizing an office productivity suite, one may want to launch either the word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation component of the suite, while still deploying a single executable file. -
Page 28: Editing The Virtual Filesystem
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4.5 Editing the virtual filesystem ZENworks Application Virtualization allows you to embed a virtual filesystem into your executable. Embedded files are accessible by your ZAV-processed application as if they were present in the real filesystem. Unlike actual files on the host device, virtual files are not visible from and do not require changes to the host device. - Page 29 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization can be disabled by unselecting the Compress Payload option in the Process Configuration area of the Settings panel. Disabling payload compression may significantly increase the size of the virtual application binary.
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Page 30: Editing The Virtual Registry
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4.6 Editing the virtual registry ZENworks Application Virtualization allows you to embed a virtual registry into your executable. Embedded registry keys are accessible by your ZAV-processed application as if they were present in the real registry. Unlike data present in the registry on the host device, virtual registry keys and values are not visible from and do not require changes to the host device. -
Page 31: Creating And Using Shared Virtual Components
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 4.7 Creating and using shared virtual components In some scenarios, multiple virtual applications may share a common set of virtual machine configuration options. For example, multiple applications often share a common set of components or runtime engines; or, system administrators may want to share a common set of configuration options (browser bookmarks, application settings, etc) across a department or enterprise. -
Page 32: Virtual Application Customization
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5 Virtual Application Customization... - Page 33 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.1 Virtual application customization This section describes advanced virtual application customization options, such as executable metadata, startup images, command-line arguments, and process startup options.
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Page 34: Selecting A Project Type
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.2 Selecting a project type ZENworks Application Virtualization supports two project types: Application: A virtual application project produces an executable file output (.exe file) that can be run directly from the operating system. Application output mode is appropriate for most users and is the default selection. -
Page 35: Customizing Executable Metadata
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.3 Customizing executable metadata Executable metadata provides external applications such as the Windows shell with information regarding the application's identity, publisher, version, preferred display icon, and description. Metadata may be viewed and edited by clicking on the Properties tab of the Settings pane. -
Page 36: Adding A Startup Image
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.4 Adding a startup image ZENworks Application Virtualization allows you to specify a startup "splash" image to be displayed during virtual application startup. Startup images improve application branding and are especially useful if your application requires several seconds to initialize. -
Page 37: Process Configuration Options
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.5 Process configuration options ZENworks Application Virtualization provides several options that control the startup of the primary and child processes. Command line arguments By default, command line arguments specified by the user upon virtual application execution are passed to the virtual application startup executable. - Page 38 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization option. Exceptions to the child process virtualization behavior specified by the Spawn child process within virtualized environment and Spawn COM servers within virtualized environment flags can be enumerated in the child process exception list. Process names listed in the child process exception list behave opposite to the master child process virtualization setting.
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Page 39: Configuring The Sandbox Location
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.6 Configuring the sandbox location Depending on the configured isolation settings, certain edit and write operations may be redirected by the application virtualization engine into an application sandbox, a filesystem folder where isolated modifications are persisted. Typically, the sandbox is located in a folder or network share where the user has full read and write permissions, allowing sandbox contents to be accessed and modified by the end user without any authentication or UAC prompts. -
Page 40: Virtual Services
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.7 Virtual services Windows services are specialized applications that execute in the background and are typically responsible for providing system services such as database services, network traffic handling, web request processing, and other server functionality. Many applications install and require specific services in order to function properly. - Page 41 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.8 Internet Explorer 6 emulation mode Due to its integration with certain shell features, specialized virtual machine support is required to properly virtualize Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 web browser. The application virtualization engine provides emulation of such shell functionality via a special Internet Explorer 6 emulation mode. This mode must be enabled when virtualizing the Internet Explorer 6 web browser for use on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system and later operating systems.
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Page 42: Sandbox Merge
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 5.9 Sandbox merge Sandbox merge allows sandbox content and settings generated during virtual application execution to be applied to a ZENworks Application Virtualization configuration. Sandbox merge is an alternative to manual registry or filesystem configuration, and is particularly useful for applying additional customizations to existing virtual application configurations or configurations generated from a virtual application template. -
Page 43: Building Msi Setup Packages
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 6 Building MSI Setup Packages... - Page 44 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 6.1 Building MSI setup packages ZENworks Application Virtualization includes the ability to generate Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) setup packages to facilitate deployment of virtualized applications. In addition to deploying the virtual application executable file to the host filesystem, ZENworks Application Virtualization-generated MSI packages also allow creation of desktop and Start Menu shortcuts, creation of shell file extension associations to virtualized applications, and Control Panel uninstallers for application cleanup.
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Page 45: Configuring Package Information
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 6.2 Configuring package information This section describes global MSI package configuration options. These options are located on the MSI root tree node of the Setup settings pane. Setting the MSI package location The MSI package generated by ZENworks Application Virtualization will be written to the file specified in the Output Location textbox. - Page 46 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization and publisher URL. To configure MSI package extended properties, click on the Extended Properties tree node in the MSI pane and enter the desired values.
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Page 47: Creating Desktop And Start Menu Shortcuts
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 6.3 Creating desktop and Start Menu shortcuts Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts allow the end user to launch the application directly from the Windows shell. To add a desktop shortcut, click on the Desktop node under the Shortcuts node in the MSI tree view. This displays the desktop shortcut list. -
Page 48: Creating File Associations
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 6.4 Creating file associations File associations allow the appropriate viewer or editor application for a given file type to be automatically launched when the user double-clicks on a document in the Windows shell. For example, the .doc file extension might automatically launch a virtualized word processing application. -
Page 49: Deploying Virtual Applications
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 7 Deploying Virtual Applications... -
Page 50: Registering Virtual Applications In The Windows Shell
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 7.1 Registering virtual applications in the Windows shell This section explains how to use the XReg deployment tool via the Windows shell or command-line script to register and manage virtual applications built using ZENworks Application Virtualization. - Page 51 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization Parameter Behavior The virtual application executable will not be copied to the client machine. All shortcuts and file /nocache associations will point to the full path as given by AppSpec. This parameter refers to the name and path to an existing sandbox. If this parameter is specified and a SandboxSpec sandbox with that name exists, the application will be registered into that sandbox.
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Page 52: Sandbox Management
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 7.2 Sandbox management The XReg tool allows creation and management of one or more virtual environment sandboxes. A sandbox contains all of a virtual application's isolated data and settings as determined by the virtual application's isolation configuration settings. Applications registered to the same sandbox can view and modify each others' virtualized data and settings. -
Page 53: Deploying In Active Directory Environments
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 7.3 Deploying in Active Directory environments This section describes how an organization using Microsoft’s Active Directory can leverage that infrastructure with the XReg tool to deploy ZENworks virtual applications to their users. Active Directory Active Directory allows the network administrator to manage users and groups within an organization. Many organizations use Active Directory to manage their network services. - Page 54 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization the Group Policy Object Editor. You might add the following logon script for the accounting group: \\VirtualAppServer\Tools\XReg.exe \\VirtualAppServer\AllVirtualApps\Excel.exe \\VirtualAppServer\Tools\XReg.exe \\VirtualAppServer\AllVirtualApps\Firefox.exe \\VirtualAppServer\Tools\XReg.exe \\VirtualAppServer\AllVirtualApps\AcrobatReader.exe Whereas you might add the following for the graphic design group: \\VirtualAppServer\Tools\XReg.exe \\VirtualAppServer\AllVirtualApps\AdobeIllustrator.exe \\VirtualAppServer\Tools\XReg.exe \\VirtualAppServer\AllVirtualApps\Firefox.exe \\VirtualAppServer\Tools\XReg.exe...
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Page 55: Deploying Virtual Applications Using Msi Setup Packages
Create MSI setup packages directly within ZENworks Application Virtualization Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization can be used to create standalone MSI packages directly within the ZENworks Application Virtualization environment. Generated MSI setup packages can include Start Menu items, desktop shortcuts, file associations, and other custom shell integration behaviors. - Page 56 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 7.5 Deploying virtual applications using Microsoft TS RemoteApp This section describes how to deploy ZENworks virtual applications using Microsoft Windows 2008 Terminal Services RemoteApp server. Terminal Services RemoteApp Terminal Services RemoteApp is a server-side program that provides end-users remote access to applications on a terminal server.
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Page 57: Deploying Virtual Applications To Zenworks Configuration Management
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 7.6 Deploying virtual applications to ZENworks Configuration Management This section describes ZENworks Application Virtualization Startup and Bundle Publishing features. All options described in this section can be found in the ZENworks panel. ZENworks Startup ZENworks Application Virtualization can be configured to require the ZENworks Configuration Management Agent to be installed on the host device executing the virtual application. - Page 58 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization To store the credentials in the .xappl configuration file, select Store Zone credentials in .xappl file. Using this option eliminates the credentials prompt when publishing the bundle. This is a potential security risk as it will store the ZENworks credentials in the .xappl configuration file as plain text.
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Page 59: Deploying Using The Publish To Usb Feature
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 7.7 Deploying using the Publish to USB feature This section describes how to deploy virtual applications to USB storage devices using the Publish to USB feature. Publishing virtual applications to USB storage devices The Publish to USB feature publishes virtual applications to USB storage devices. When the USB storage device is attached to a host system, the virtual application automatically registers the Setup information to the host shell environment. -
Page 60: Advanced Topics
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8 Advanced Topics... -
Page 61: Customizing The Zenworks Application Virtualization Interface
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.1 Customizing the ZENworks Application Virtualization interface This section describes ZENworks Application Virtualization interface customization options. All options described in this section can be found under the Options menu item. Proxy settings... ZENworks Application Virtualization uses the Internet to check for product updates and download update packages. -
Page 62: Quick Snapshot Mode
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.2 Quick snapshot mode By default, ZENworks Application Virtualization uses a "quick" snapshotting algorithm that attempts to minimize the amount of time spent scanning the host system device state during snapshotting. In very rare cases, use of this mode may result in an improperly configured virtual application. -
Page 63: Well-Known Root Folder Variables
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.3 Well-known root folder variables The ZENworks Application Virtualization engine dynamically remaps well-known root folders such as My Documents and Program Files to the appropriate location based on the host operating system at runtime. This assures, for example, that the virtualized My Documents folder will be mapped to \User\Bob\Documents when running on Windows Vista or \Documents and Settings\Bob\My Documents when running on Windows 2000. - Page 64 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization @PICTURESCOMMON@: The shared Pictures folder @PROFILECOMMON@: The folder that stores the shared profile data ...
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Page 65: Building From The Command Line
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.4 Building from the command line ZENworks Application Virtualization can optionally be executed from the command line. This is particularly useful for building virtual applications as part of an automated build process. The command line version of ZENworks Application Virtualization is called XStudio.exe and can be found in the ZENworks Application Virtualization installation directory. -
Page 66: Importing Configurations From External Tools
Alt-F) and select Import Configuration. This displays the configuration import wizard. Follow the step-by-step wizard instructions to convert your existing virtual application configuration into a Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization configuration. ZENworks Application Virtualization currently supports import of configurations from Thinstall Virtualization... -
Page 67: Platform Merge
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.6 Platform Merge The Merge Platforms feature allows virtual application configurations snapshotted on multiple operating system variants (Windows XP, Vista, etc) to be combined into a single configuration. At runtime, the virtualization engine dynamically applies the configuration options appropriate for the operating system variant used for execution. -
Page 68: Applying The Virtual Application Configuration To The Host Device
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.7 Applying the virtual application configuration to the host device ZENworks Application Virtualization allows the virtual application configuration to be applied to the host system. Applying the virtual application configuration to the host system is helpful when creating XLayer updates for virtual applications. - Page 69 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.8 XAppl file format Overview A .xappl file is an XML representation of all the virtual application configuration settings. All paths in the .xappl file are relative to where the .xappl file resides. For example, the source attribute of a File element will begin with ".\Files\".
- Page 70 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization The author attribute indicates the value of the MSI author property. The description attribute indicates the value of the MSI description property. The manufacturerUrl attribute indicates the value of the MSI manufacturer URL property. The autoBuild attribute denotes whether the MSI should build when the virtual application build completes successfully (True) or not (False).
- Page 71 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization The platform attribute indicates the platforms that the component or runtime is supported on. The following are the only available values: Any platform (Any) x86 platform (x86) The version attribute indicates the version of the component or runtime.
- Page 72 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization The value attribute indicates the value of the custom metadata item. StandardMetadata All sub-elements contain settings pertaining to the configuration of the individual standard metadata items. StandardMetadataItem The property attribute indicates the name of the standard metadata item. The following are the available...
- Page 73 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization The name attribute indicates the name of the layer. The default layer (Default) is the only layer for whom the name matters. All other layer names are purely informational. Condition The variable attribute indicates the host system setting that will be evaluated. The operating system version (OS) is the only available option.
- Page 74 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization Current User - Templates (Templates) Current User - Favorites (Favorites) Current User - Music (Music) Current User - Pictures (Pictures) Current User - My Documents (Documents) %PROFILE% (Profile) All Users - Start Menu (StartMenuCommon) ...
- Page 75 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization HKEY_USERS (Users) The name attribute indicates the name of the key. The namePathInformationTuples indicates that there is a path in the name or value of the registry item. There are 3 comma delimited integers for each path found in the name/value.
- Page 76 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization not (False). The commandLine attribute indicates the startup command line of the windows service. The friendlyName attribute indicates the friendly name of the windows service. The description attribute indicates the description of the windows service. The objectName attribute indicates the account under which the windows service ran when not virtualized.
- Page 77 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization Verb All sub-elements contain settings pertaining to the configuration of the Verb for the file extension. The title attribute indicates the title of the verb. The verb attribute indicates the verb value. The arguments attribute indicates the arguments passed to the target of the verb at runtime.
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Page 78: Application Expiration
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 8.9 Application Expiration This section describes the Expiration feature. With the Expiration feature, virtual applications can be set to expire after a certain number of days or after a certain date. To set a virtual application to expire after a specific number of days: 1. -
Page 79: Troubleshooting
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 9 Troubleshooting... - Page 80 Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 9.1 Troubleshooting This section describes the most common configuration errors which occur when using ZENworks Application Virtualization. If you encounter a problem with a virtual application, please carefully read this section before using other support options. It is very likely that the issue you have encountered is addressed in this section.
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Page 81: Problems Accessing Internet-Based Resources
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 9.2 Problems accessing Internet-based resources Several ZENworks Application Virtualization features require access to Internet-based resources in order to function properly. These features may be unavailable if ZENworks Application Virtualization is unable to connect to the Internet. -
Page 82: Generating Diagnostic-Mode Virtual Applications
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization 9.3 Generating diagnostic-mode virtual applications Occasionally, errors during virtual application configuration result in an executable which fails to run properly; that is, to emulate exactly the behavior of the original source application. Usually this is a result of an error in the virtualization configuration, such as a missing file or registry entry.