Packaging Best Practices for SVS Professional

Submitted by sethseppanen on Tue, 2007-10-23 04:38.

Altiris sent one of their crack documentation writers -- Seth Seppanen -- on-site to work in the trenches. Seth sat side-by-side with the software packaging team at one of the world's largest corporations and took notes. What were they packaging for? Why, a major roll-out of SVS, of course!

This customer is using Wise Package Studio 7 Professional as their packaging tool and a combination of Tivoli and SVS Pro's application streaming for software delivery. This article documents their best practices for creating Virtual Software Packages with Wise.

Introduction

This article contains best practices for repackaging applications into the Altiris VSP (Virtual Software Package) format, using Wise Package Studio 7 Professional. The article specifically addresses the creation of VSPs that are to be distributed using application streaming (a feature of SVS Professional), but most of the information is applicable when other distribution methods are used.

Create a Workbench process for creating VSPs

In Wise Package Studio, a Workbench process provides a logical, consistent approach to repackaging that saves time and reduces training requirements. The current version of Wise Package Studio (7.0 SP2) does not have a predefined process for repackaging packages as VSPs. However, you can easily create one using the following procedure.

1. In Wise Package Studio, on the Edit menu, click Process Templates.
2. In the Process Templates Setup dialog box, click the Repackage using WiseScript process.
3. On the right-click menu, click Duplicate.
4. Click the duplicated process and in the Process Name field select the existing name and type Repackage using SVS.
5. In the Process Notes field, double-click WiseScript and type SVS.
6. In the left pane, expand all sub-entries of the Repackage using SVS process.
7. In the Application Integration group, click the Create package task and in the right pane, do the following:
   
   1. In the Task Type section, in the Options drop-down list, click Use Virtual Package file and vendor package.
   2. Click the Define button.
   3. In the Tool Configuration dialog box, in the Auto Task Checking drop-down list, click Always mask task complete when tool finishes and click OK.
   4. In the Task Help section, in the Options drop-down list, click Browse and browse to the Wise Share Point/Workbench directory.
   5. In the Workbench directory, double-click NP SetupCapture WVP.htm.
      This .htm file contains help for the tool used in this task.
8. In the Application Integration group, click the Edit package task and in the right pane, do the following:
   
   1. In the Task Type section, in the Tool drop-down list, click Virtual Package Editor.
   2. In the Options drop-down list, click Edit default package.
   3. Click the Define button.
   4. In the Tool Configuration dialog box, in the Auto Task Checking drop-down list, click Mask task complete if tool finishes successfully and click OK.
   5. In the Task Help section, in the Options drop-down list, click Browse and double-click NP Virtual Package Editor.htm.
      This .htm file contains help for the tool used in this task. Because the help file is generic, some of the information does not apply to this specific task.
9. Click the Package Testing task group and in the Task Name field double-click Testing and type Management.
10. In the Package Management group, click and delete the Test package and Resolve conflicts tasks.
11. In the Package Management group, click the Distribute to share point directory task and in the right pane, do the following:
    
    1. In the Task Type section, in the Options drop-down list, click Distribute Virtual Package; prompt for destination.
12. In the Release Management group, click and delete the Distribute package tasks.
13. Click Close on the Process Templates Setup dialog.

You will probably need to customize this process to meet your specific needs. If you use application streaming, you might add a task that distributes the VSP to the streaming server. When the distribution task runs, it compiles the .wvp file that is in the Wise Software Repository and distribute a .vsa file to an SVS Pro or AppStream streaming server.

After you create this workbench process, use it whenever you want to repackage an application as a VSP. To use it, create a new project and in the Project Setup dialog, on the Process drop-down list, click the Repackage using SVS process. You can then access the project on the Projects tab.

Use SetupCapture to Capture VSPs

The Workbench process (see Create a Workbench process for creating VSPs) has a Create package task. This task runs SetupCapture, captures the application as a VSP, and creates a wise virtual project file (.wvp) as the output.

SetupCapture is the preferred method for creating VSPs. SetupCapture uses a comprehensive exclusion list to filter extraneous "noise" from the package. SetupCapture displays an inclusions and an exclusions list, that lets you easily modify the files and registry keys that are included or excluded from an installation. SetupCapture also lets you capture the output as a .wvp file instead of as a virtual software layer. When the output is a .wvp file, you can add logic to the installation by adding WiseScripts on the Events page in Virtual Package Editor. Capturing the output as a .WVP file also avoids capturing information that is specific to the computer where the layer is created such as user-specific SID data.

When you run SetupCapture, use the Single Program Capture method. The Global Capture method captures everything that happens on a computer and can add a lot of unwanted data to a layer. Use the Global Capture method only as a last resort.

You can use SetupCapture to capture the installation of an .EXE or an .MSI. You capture the installation of an .MSI by clicking Browse on the Execute Installation dialog box and selecting the .MSI. If you select an .MSI and you intend to stream the package, then add DISABLEADVTSHORTCUTS=1 to the end of the Command Line. This parameter disables .MSI advertised shortcuts. Because SVS Pro application streaming does not support (or need) MSI advertised shortcuts, you must disable them.

If you capture an application that has an auto-update feature, turn this feature off when you capture the application. With auto-update turned off, you control the version of the application on the end-user's computer.

When you run SetupCapture, use the following guidelines to determine whether to include or exclude entries on the Inclusions pane:

• If C:/config.msi appears, exclude it.
• If any uninstall files appear, exclude them.
• If you captured an MSI, do not exclude file entries like C:/Windows/Installer. The Windows/Installer folder contains the icons used by shortcuts. Excluding them will cause the shortcuts to have a broken link icon instead of the appropriate icon.
• If you captured an MSI, do not exclude registry key entries like HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/ Windows/CurrentVersion/Installer/Folders. The Installer registry keys control how self-repair works. If these registry keys are removed, it prevents Windows Installer self-repair from working for the VSP.
• If the Software/Microsoft/DirectDraw/MostRecentApplication registry key or the Software/Microsoft/Direct3D/MostRecentApplication registry key appears, exclude them. Although the MostRecentApplication values are harmless, they serve no purpose and are unneeded.

Use Virtual Package Editor to Edit the VSP

The Workbench process (see Create a Workbench process for creating VSPs) has an Edit package task. This task opens the projects .wvp file in Virtual Package Editor. The following are the primary pages that you should use to edit the VSP with a brief description of the tasks to perform on each page. After you complete your edits, compile the .WVP file to save your changes and to generate a .VSA file.

• Files and Registry pages

  Use the Files and Registry pages to add any files and registry keys to the installation. You can also remove files and registry keys that should not be included in the installation. However, it is much easier to remove files and registry keys from the SetupCapture inclusions list when you run SetupCapture.

• Exclusions page

  When SetupCapture captures an installation, it automatically populates the Exclusions page with any file extensions that have a file association with the application's files. Use the Exclusions page to edit excluded file extensions and to add directories to be excluded.

  You add file or directory exclusions so that data generated by a layer is not stored in the layer's writeable sublayer but is saved to the base file system. This prevents the data from being lost if the layer is reset.

• Events page
  
  Warning: Keep in mind that scripts and other functions run by SVS OnEvent Actions get executed by the delivery agent (e.g. the Altiris Software Delivery agent, or in this customer's case either the Tivoli agent or the Altiris Streaming Agent). Since these agents run in the System context, WiseScript dialog boxes that appear as part of an SVS OnEvent Action won't be visible to the interactive user.

  Use the Events page to add WiseScripts to add logic to the installation. For example, you can add WiseScripts to set the value of registry keys, stop or start a service when needed, or configure other user specific settings. The WiseScripts execute before or after the following virtual layer events: activate, deactivate, reset, delete (pre only), import (post only), and export.

  The following two Juice articles provide some detailed information about adding WiseScripts on the Events page:

  Using WiseScript to Manage the Delivery Time Logic of SVS Applications, Part 1

  This article explains how to use a post activation event to display an End User License Agreement (EULA) and how to set a registry key when the user accepts the agreement. You might find the information about setting a registry key helpful.

  WiseScript to Manage the Delivery Time Logic of SVS Applications, Part 2

  This article explains how to create an installation wrapper for a Microsoft Office 2003 .VSA that installs the appropriate Office Profile Configuration File (.OPS) depending on the end user's department. It also describes how to create a post reset event to restore the department office profile if the user resets the SVS layer.

Test the VSP

Because a VSP does not impact any other applications on a computer, you don't need to install the VSP on a test computer and test what impact it has on other applications on that computer. You just need to test the functionality of the virtual package. This includes the deactivate, activate, reset, and delete operations. When you repackage applications as VSPs, it significantly reduces the amount of time needed for testing.

Distribute the Package to the Wise Share Point and Import into Software Manager

The Workbench process (see Create a Workbench process for creating VSPs) has a Distribute to share point directory task and an Import into Software Manager database task. When you run these tasks, the VSP's .wvp file is added to the Software Manager database. When you distribute the VSP, the .wvp file is compiled and a .vsa file is distributed.

When you distribute a package to the share point directory, the Distribution Method and Distribute to share point dialog boxes appear. On the Distribute to share point dialog box, you must specify the application and package name. When you use a predefined Workbench process such as Repackage for Windows Installer, these dialogs do not appear because the information gathered on these dialogs is pulled from the project. Because the Repackaging using SVS process is not predefined, it does not have this automation built in.

Additional resources

The following Juice article has additional information that you might find helpful when you repackage using SVS with Wise Package Studio: Hands-on: Packaging Best Practices for Application Virtualization and Streaming