The Great Big White Paper on when to use AppV, when to use FSLogix, and when to use them together! The latest release from Duncan Murdoch of Amber Reef, "The purpose of this document is to discuss the strengths and weakness of App-V and FSLogix Apps, and how the two can be used together to form a complete application provisioning and management strategy." The document uses scenario-based considerations to demonstrate the pros and cons of using each solution independently, or when combined.
Optimizing the way applications are delivered and managed has been an ongoing challenge in enterprise IT, and the variety of approaches over the years have been received with varying degrees of success. While every method has pros and cons, some of the most stubborn issues include time-to-deliver, application conflicts, plug-ins and licensing. The too-frequent result is high IT overhead, too many gold images and excess spending on application licenses.
Too many companies are settling on less than optimal solutions because that is all they are presented with and they are unaware of the true state of the art for application management. It is possible to dramatically reduce the number of Windows gold images, in some cases to a single image. It is possible to deliver exactly what each and every end user needs to do their job, and nothing else. It is possible for a user to log into a random system and instantly be presented with their personal desktop, all the right applications, plugins and add-ons, the right printers, and the right fonts. It is possible and it is simple.
Citrix AppDisk, when integrated with FSLogix Apps, provides a unique set of features that can improve end-user productivity, reduce IT overhead and lower the cost of desktop management. With FSLogix patent pending Image Masking technology, AppDisk gains very granular and powerful user-based policy control over every aspect of a user’s desktop and applications, and enhances the ability to distribute applications on network attached disk images. FSLogix Apps also enable AppDisks to scale to a much greater degree than any other similar technologies available today.
A simple truth: Current application delivery and deployment solutions for Windows®-based desktops are often not fast enough, and the methods employed introduce complexities and limitations that cost enterprises valuable time, money and productivity. There is a strong need for a solution that is faster to deploy, simpler to use, and improves productivity rather than degrades it. In fact, the best solution would seamlessly and instantaneously personalizing the entire desktop, from profiles and printers to applications and extensions, while supporting license compliance and cost optimization. And, of course, it wouldn’t matter if the target desktops were physical, virtual, or cloud-based. FSLogix is delivering that solution today.
UNIQUE, CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
This document contains the steps required to install a Proof-of-Concept (POC) environment for RDSH Full Desktop with FSLogix Apps. POC environments created according to this install guide can be used to test applications controlled by FSLogix Apps in a reproducible way. We build the environment in the cloud in order to minimize costs associated with required hardware, and to streamline the build process.
The testing environment is built entirely in Azure and contains an IaaS RDSH deployment including the supporting network and domain infrastructure. A non-Azure based client component accesses the RDSH deployment.
Duncan Murdoch, of Amber Reef, uses this white paper to outline the necessary approach to centrally control and manage FTAs for Word 2013 and WordViewer using FSLogix.
After addressing the reason and symptoms of the issue, Duncan asserts, "If the desire is to 'Control the FTA' centrally and manage the associations with FSLogix, preventing the users from overriding the FTA settings," then "to achieve this you can create 2 separate FTA rules, one for Word 2013 and another for WordViewer."
By applying these rules alongside the FSLogix Hiding rules for the applications, then the Administrator can ensure that the FTA that is applied is the one that they have allocated to the application group.
NOTE: This will also prevent a user from being able to right-click the file and assign their OWN FTA preferences.
A concise, visual guide to implementing file type associations when using App-V with FSLogix. Duncan Murdoch, of Amber Reef, uses this white paper to show the precise steps for managing file type associations (FTAs) when using App-V with FSLogix. As an example for managing the file type associations for App-V packages, Duncan Murdoch demonstrates the ease of this process with Adobe DC and FOX-IT Reader as published applications. With a couple quick steps and a single FSLogix rule, the proper FTAs are put in place for the desired default .pdf application.
Amazon Workspaces deserves a lot of credit for being one of the first true DaaS platforms from a big-name vendor, but as IT departments have warmed up to DaaS, there are certain features that are missing. For example, when using Workspaces, you’re delivering persistent desktops to your users. This may be acceptable in small environments, but as you scale up, managing virtual desktops the same way as you’d manage traditional desktops starts to become challenging. Likewise, as you scale out, Amazon Workspaces doesn’t support multiple datacenters, which results in having to manage multiple desktops for each users that requires geographically-specific connectivity.
FSLogix makes products that can transform your persistent, geographically-locked Amazon Workspaces environment into a non-persistent, global platform that can be the future of your desktop strategy. Our App Masking product allows you to manage a single image for all of your users, turning on and off apps easily and in real-time. Profile Container places your users’ data into centralized, user-specific, VHD files that follow each user between desktops, and Cloud Cache technology takes that a step further and allows you to place those VHD containers in any geographical location so that it follows users between datacenters.
For more information on how to take your Amazon Workspaces project to the next level, read on. FSLogix can help, whether you’re an active customer, about to migrate, or just kicking the tires.