Requirements And Recommendations For Streaming Packages - VMware THINAPP 4.6 Manual

ThinApp User's Guide
Figure 3-2. Application Streaming
packaged executable
VMware ThinApp VOS
virtual registry
compressed file
64KB (Block 1)
64KB (Block 2)
64KB (Block 3)
64KB (Block 4)
64KB (Block 5)

Requirements and Recommendations for Streaming Packages

ThinApp does not require specific server software to provide streaming capability. Any Windows file share,
NAS device, or SMB share can provide this capability. The amount of data that needs to transfer before the
application can begin running varies for each application. Microsoft Office requires that only a fraction of the
package contents stream before an application can run.
VMware recommends that you use ThinApp streaming in a LAN‐based environment with a minimum of
100MB networks. For WAN and Internet deployments that involve frequent or unexpected disconnections,
VMware recommends one of the following solutions:

Use a URL to deploy the applications.

Use a desktop deployment solution to push the package to the background. Allow the application to run
only after the entire package downloads.
These solutions reduce failures and eliminate situations in which the application requires unstreamed
portions during a network outage. A company with many branch offices typically designates one application
repository that mirrors a central shared folder at each branch office. This setup optimizes local performance
for client machines located at each branch office.
Security Recommendations for Streaming Packages
VMware recommends that you make a central shared directory for the package read‐only. Users can read the
package contents but not change the executable file contents. When a package streams from a shared location,
ThinApp stores application changes in the user sandbox. The default sandbox location is
%AppData%\Thinstall\<application_name>. You can configure the sandbox location at runtime or at
package time.
A common configuration is to place the user sandbox on another central storage device. The user can use any
computer and keep individual application settings at a central share. When packages stream from a central
share, they remain locked until all users exit the application.
48
decompressed
(Block 1)
Ethernet
decompressed
(Block 2)
local PC
128KB read request
VMware, Inc.