©  2016  University  of  New  Hampshire.  All  rights  reserved. Academic Technology

Streamlining Application Deployment and Management

through Virtualization

David  Blezard  NERCOMP  Annual  Conference  

3/22/2016

Academic Technology

Why you should stay…

• Understand how application virtualization can overcome issues with deploying software

• Learn our system for evaluating a new tool’s potential benefits

• Appreciate the capabilities of Application Jukebox to be able to assess its utility to your campus

Some  Generic  Business

Some  Design  Company

Pharma/BioTech

Some  Engineering  Firm

College  Computer  Lab

155  TitlesOur  Job  is  Hard!

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About UNH

• 12,840 undergrads and 2,100 grads • 3 campuses - focusing on Durham • About 740 total workstations across 47 labs and

33 instructor stations • 490 Dells • 99 dual-boot Macs

• 10Gb network backbone with 100Mb and 1Gb to the desktop

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So How DID We Do It?

• Monolithic image w/ 100+ applications • Require faculty to submit software requests 4

weeks before semester starts (yeah, right…) • Total image size >90 GB • Cheat by installing some things to a network

volume (not easy!) • Scripts, hacks, and running around to deploy

things mid-semester • Potentially long delays at boot to install apps

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What is Application Virtualization?

File System Registry

Install  Application

FilesConfigConfigFiles

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What is Application Virtualization?

Abstraction

File System Registry

Virtualize  Application

Files Config

ConfigFiles

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What is Application Virtualization?

Abstraction

File System Registry

Run  Application

Files Config

ConfigFiles

Files Config

Application  Library

ConfigFiles

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Is it Worth It?

• That depends… • How do I know??? • Evaluation with objective criteria is key • Reduce costs • Increase flexibility • Prevent incidents and problems • Et al.

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VMware Mirage

• “VMware Mirage is a next-generation desktop image management solution for physical desktops”

• “Manage your desktop image as a set of logical layers owned by either IT or the end user. Update IT-managed layers while maintaining end-user files and personalization. Easily deploy applications to any collection of end users with application layering technology. Quickly restore the system layers to fix any issues without overwriting user layers.”

https://www.vmware.com/products/horizon-­‐mirage/features.html

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Evaluating Mirage

• Overall ease of use

• Effectiveness of the tool

• Time required to use the tool vs. time saved in current management practices

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Evaluating Mirage

• Overall ease of use

• Effectiveness of the tool

• Time required to use the tool vs. time saved in current management practices

• Layering works • Can customize different locations

• Updates in the background • Users get notified to reboot

• Long time to ingest each machine • Longer time to deploy than current image

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Application JukeboxCloudpaging

1950’s 2010’s

Less

More

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Cloudpaging

• Application virtualization solution from Numecent

• Resold and supported in the education market by Software2

• Claims to virtualize ALL Windows applications • Fonts • Services • Drivers

• Server-based delivery, on-demand

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Evaluating App Jukebox

• Cost savings - >$20 per computer

• Increased flexibility and agility

• Low end-user impact

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Evaluating App Jukebox

• Cost savings - >$20 per computer

• Increased flexibility and agility

• Low end-user impact

• 25+% reduction in imaging time • Less re-work and update time

$22 per computer

• Simple mid-semester deployments • Applications separate from OS

• Slow first launch, but good caching • Simultaneous launch no slower than single

computer (Test w/ SPSS in 30-seat classroom)

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Deploying Application Jukebox

• Evaluation completed by June 2014 • Transitioned servers from POC to production • Started packaging applications in June • 100+ applications done by August • Stripped down Windows 7 64-bit OS setup

imaged to computers in late August • Continued packaging and deploying remaining

applications as needed through October

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Demos

Please  make  appropriate  sacrifices  to  the  demo  gods…

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Infrastructure

• All virtual servers • Separation of roles allows for ease of scaling

MS  SQL  Database

Repository

License  ServiceApplication  Portal

Paging  Servers

Configuration  &  License  Data

App  Sets

Windows  Clients

Studio  Workstation

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Cloudpaging Layers

• Layer 1 • assets are installed to the local storage permanently

• Layer 2 • assets are installed to the local storage • assets are tracked and can be removed by the abstraction layer

• Layer 3 • “normal” setting • assets are installed within the abstraction layer • assets are visible to the OS and other apps

• Layer 4 • assets are installed within the abstraction layer • assets are not visible to the OS and other apps

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Issues

• Split Active Directory environment • License counting • Applications with VERY large Registry footprints

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Pluses

• VDI-based systems • 90+% of application packages moved from

Windows 7 physical to Windows 7 VDI • Nearly instant deployment • Deployments require 1 shortcut to get to the

local computer • Windows 10 • Anticipating that we can reuse many application

packages on Win 10 with no changes

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Acknowledgements

• Tony DiTulio - system administrator • Chris Pycko - testing, packaging, lots of work • Jerry Marceau - keeping everything else

working • Software2 - Marcus, Brian, Tony, Nick