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http://labs.hol.vmware.com/pex
Lab = HOL-MBL-1458

CONFIDENTIAL

Hands-on Labs Workshops

ELW-MBL-1458 - Application Management with
VMware App Volumes and Horizon 6

Rick Terlep EUC Technical Enablement Advisor

Dean Flaming Sr. Technical Marketing Manager - EUC
2

Agenda
1

Introduction

The Lab Experience

Running your own workshops

App Volumes Basics + Q&A

CONFIDENTIAL

Your Hosts
Dean Flaming
Member of VMware EUC Enablement team
Responsible for EUC HOL

All issues with this lab are his fault

Formerly an EUC Specialist

Focused on ThinApp

Rick Terlep
EUC Technical Enablement Coordinator
Formerly Core SE for 6 years
Specialist in EUC, Retail, ROBO

Lab Captain & Proctor for multiple years

Lab captain for vSphere Performance Lab
CONFIDENTIAL

The HOL Experience

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5

HOL Environment: labs.hol.vmware.com

Hosted on OneCloud
VMware Learning Platform via Web Browser

(VLP formerly Project Nee)

Uses WebMKS/HTML5

Access to all latest VMW Products

No Licenses or Special Hardware
Localized Lab Manuals

~50 Labs 70+ hrs guided exercises

HOL-in-a-Box!

CONFIDENTIAL

EUC Lab Environment: labs.hol.vmware.com/eucsolutions

All the latest EUC labs from VMworld/PEX
Includes Horizon 6 Intro, AirWatch & App

Volumes
Used for Virtual Marketing and Enablement

Grouped by Solutions
Localized Lab Manuals
Attendee Registration Link to SFDC
(via FEL and TESTDRIVE)

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HOL Team Overview

Dedicated Hands-on-Lab Team
Supports up to ~50 Labs
First call for public lab support
Maintains Lab Environments for

Customers
Run Partner HOL-in-a-Box
Use defined curriculum formats, tools,

best practices, & time tables

CONFIDENTIAL

Hands-On-Labs Infrastructure Overview

VMware & Partner Created Lab Content

vCenter Log Insight

vCenter Operations

VMware Learning Platform (VLP a.k.a. Project Nee)

vCloud Director

ESXi

vCenter Server

XtremIO & Virtual SAN

300 Servers

NSX

VMware Hands-on Labs Use Cases

Hands-on Labs Workshops
Host workshops at your site
Deeper engagements with your customers

Easy way to ramp up on products

Product configuration / validation
Practice for testing certification

Product / Feature Evaluation

Latest VMware products
Partner Lab integrations

Running your own workshop

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13

Tips for running your own HOL Workshop

HOL in a box
http://blogs.vmware.com/hol/2014/08/hands-labs-box.html
Collateral to use for your own workshop
Most everything you need is outlined in this post

Workshop flow
Plan a desired outcome and work towards it
Introduce yourself to the attendees / show experience
Explain the UI people get confused
Companion content
Content to augment the lab content
Practice the lab ahead of time

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14

Agenda

App Volumes Product Overview

Features and Components
App Volumes Best Practices

Product Overview
App Volumes 2.x Technical Product Overview

Managed Application Containers

Disaggregate IT managed applications and user installed applications from the operating system

Traditional

Just-in-time App Model

Applications

Data/Files

Settings

OS

App Container

App Container

User changes

App Volumes agent

OS

Simple Application Provisioning

No packaging, no sequencing, no streaming. Simply install applications natively.

Provision applications as easily as installing them.

1

Create a new,
empty AppStack

Mount the AppStack

and install applications

Provision the AppStack

Complete Application Lifecycle Management

Deliver, update, and retire any set of applications in seconds.
Logically manage applications
based on line of business
requirements.

Update immediately,
or next login.

VDI

Simplify management of all of your

core applications through one AppStack

RDSH

App Volumes Features

App Volumes 2.x Features and Components

App Volumes components

App Volumes Manager

App Volumes Agent

AppStack volume(s)

Writable volume

Console for assignments and configuration

Broker for App Volume Agent for the assignment of
applications and writable volumes
File system and registry abstraction layer running on
the target system
Virtualizes file system writes as appropriate (when
used with optional writable volume)

Read-only volume containing applications

Can map more than one AppStack per user, target
Deploy apps to VDI or RDSH
Per user read-write volume used to persist
changes written in the session
One writable volume per user

App Volumes Creating and Assigning an AppStack

Create & Attach

AppStack

Install
Application(s) in
Provisioning VM

Complete
AppStack
Entitlements

Complete
AppStack
Creation

Reboot
Provisioning VM

Assign AppStack
to AD object(s)

Validate
Succesful
AppStack
Creation

App Volumes Provisioning Volumes Workflow

1

Configure AppStacks

App Volumes Manager

Mount Commands

vCenter

- Target system
- VMDK information
- DataStore Information

Receives AppStacks

Target System

App Volumes Agent Events

2

Shutdown

Startup

Login

Logout

App Volumes Agent Startup

Checks-in

App Volumes Agent

App Volumes Manager

Sends License Information &

machine assignments

App Volumes Agent Shutdown

Checks-in

App Volumes Agent

App Volumes Manager

User based assignments detached

App Volumes Agent Login

2

3
4

App Volumes Agent

App Volumes Manager

1. CV Agent checks into CV Manager

2. CV Agents checks for pending
attachments/un-attachments
3. CV Agents checks for machine
based attachments, if so no user
based attachments are honored
4. CV Manager checks database for
logged in user assignments
5. Attach assigned volumes - Writable
then AppStack(s)

Database

App Volumes Agent Logout

Checks-in

App Volumes Agent

App Volumes Manager

User based assignments detached

App Volumes Provisioning Workflow

App Volumes Agent

AppStack volume(s)

App Volumes Manager

App Volumes Provisioning

Start with Clean VM image
Create AppStack in CV Manager

Choose Provisioning VM
VMDK gets attached to Provisioning VM
Install application

Complete AppStack creation

VM restarts, VMDK is detached
Ready to assign AppStack

Pre-requisites & Requirements

App Volumes: Requirements

System Requirements
Server
2 vCPUs (Recommended 4 vCPUs)
4GB of RAM

Software Requirements
App Volumes Management server
Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 2012
Supported Browser to access management

1GB of Disk Space

console:

Hypervisor: VMware ESX 5.x with Virtual

IE 9, 10

Center 5.x or Hyper-V with SCVMM 2012 SP1

SQL Server 2008 R2 or 2012

Firefox 10, 11
Safari 5.1x

Client

Microsoft AD Domain, 2003 functional or above

Windows 7 and above

1 GB of RAM
5 MB of Disk Space

App Volumes Agent

Windows 7* or above

App Volumes Pre-Requisites

Database
SQL Express 2008 r2 supported for Testing/non-production
SQL 2008 r2 or 2012 standard and above for production

Active Directory users

Account with standard permission for initial setup/connection
Administrator level account for AppStack VM Provisioning

End-users administrator privileges required to install

applications into their writable volumes (UIA).

Agent/Manager communication on port 80/443

App Volumes Installation Walkthrough

Install App
Volumes Manager

Complete Initial
Configuration
(License/Template)

Install App
Volumes Agent on
Virtual Desktop

Now you are ready

for AppStack
creation

Build 1 or more
Provisioning VM(s)

Network & Security

Firewall Ports
App Volumes Manager uses

HTTPS (443) for

communication between
vCenter and ESXi hosts
HTTP (80)

Direct connections to hosts is

optional

Domain Controller
LDAP (389) /
LDAPS (636)

HTTP/HTTPS (80/443)

Ruby

HTTPS (443)

TCP 1433 to SQL

SOAP

NGINX
App Volumes Manager

LDAP (389) or LDAPS (636)

App Volumes Manager uses

Manager (Web Interface)

vCenter
HTTPS (443)

TCP 1433
svmanager

hostd
HTTP (80)

vSphere ESXi

SQL Database

Agent
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Virtual Desktops
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36

Security Considerations
Replace default self-signed SSL certificate for App Volumes

Manager
Deploy ThinApp packaged applications to leverage isolation

modes
AppStack is attached read-only
End user local profile and user installed applications use

dedicated writable volume

Use a read-only Active Directory service account for App

Volumes
vCenter Administrator privileges required

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37

App Volumes Best Practices and

Lab

App Volumes Mantras

1. Know Thy App!

2. Test your AppStack before deploying at scale.
3. Ethics doesnt ship with the code.

4. Just because you can, doesnt mean you should.

5. Best practices are in the eye of the beholder.
6. Junk In? Junk Out!

App Volumes Best Practices

Install Kernel mode Drivers in Base Image, not in an

AppStack
Install into the base image applications that need to

remain running when the user is logged out

Use 3rd Party tools to do data replication of App Volumes

folder across various locations (i.e., storage replication)

Install applications that are dependent on each other in

the same AppStack when possible

Use drive encryption sparingly on Writable Volumes
Recommendation of no more than 20 AppStacks per

Target System

AppStack Grouping Example

Jane Does
Writable Volume

QuickBooks

Microsoft
Office

Math Professor John Smith

John Smiths
Writable Volume

TurboTax

Accountants

Department
AppStack

Accountants
AppStack

John Smith receives three volumes:

1. Writable volume
2. Department-level AppStack for math
professors
3. AppStack for all university
employees

Accountant Jane Doe

All Users
AppStack

Jane Doe receives three volumes:

1. Writable volume
2. Department-level AppStack for
Accountants
3. AppStack for all university
employees

Mathematica

Microsoft
Visio

Professors

University
App

CONFIDENTIAL

41

Thank you!