App Volumes is an efficient and powerful application delivery platform while Dynamic Environment Manager (DEM) makes the configuration and deployment of personalised desktops easier, faster, and more efficient. Access Capture, the industry-leading product from Access IT Automation, allows you to take these innovative VMware platforms and solutions to another level with enhanced automation.
Even with DEM, application packaging and deployment can be a tedious process that is prone to errors, especially when you are working with large numbers of applications. In this blog, we’ll explain (including with a video) how Access Capture can handle almost all of the tedious and repetitive elements so your technical teams can get on with making the most of the end-user profile deployment and management capabilities of DEM.
Key Components
Before going into how Access Capture automates App Volumes package creation, let’s first define the key components:
- DEM – the platform from VMware that lets you deploy and manage persona and application settings in almost any environment, including virtual and cloud-based Windows desktop environments, as well as physical environments. As for users, they benefit from a consistent and reliable experience across any device and in any location.
- DEM Application Profiler – a solution from VMware that makes it easy to create and update Flex configuration files.
- Flex configuration files – files that contain DEM settings data for each application.
- Access Capture – the application management product from Access IT Automation that automates, at scale, application discovery, packaging, testing, and publishing processes.
App Volumes Packaging Using Access Capture
See below a description of how Access Capture automates the creation of application packages in App Volumes formats. The following video also describes the process.
Enter the Settings
The first step is to tell Access Capture what you want to achieve, including the application you want to repackage, its location, and the formats you want to create – VMDK, VHD, or both.
Automated App Volumes Packaging
Access Capture then automatically gets to work creating the new application package. It does this by spinning up a virtual machine in the background before taking a new snapshot. The new application package is then created with Access Capture automatically installing, capturing, and repackaging in the required App Volumes format.
DEM Application Profiler Integration
Access Capture can be configured so it is integrated with the DEM Application Profiler. With this integration in place, a Flex configuration file is automatically created as part of the Access Capture application packaging process. This enables the application to be deployed to users via DEM. The application can also be configured to deliver personalised settings to users.
Final Process
Access Capture automatically completes the final stages of the process. Details of the Access Capture job can also be viewed.
Benefits of Using Access Capture for App Volumes Application Packaging
There are three main benefits of using Access Capture when packaging applications in App Volumes formats:
More Effective Use of Resources
The first benefit concerns how your technical resources are deployed and the tasks they complete. If you manually repackage applications, your technical resources will need to spend a large amount of time on repackaging tasks.
By automating the application packaging and Flex configuration file creation processes, your technical resources will be able to spend more of their time on value-adding tasks, including optimising the user experience through DEM. Your technical resources will also have more time to optimise DEM for the organisation, such as blocking certain applications or optimising application configuration settings.
Improved User Experience
Following on from the last point, users will have the applications they need in the right format with the right settings with no delays. This applies to common applications as well as legacy and organisation-specific applications.
Eliminate Errors
Manually packaging applications in App Volumes formats is tedious and can also result in errors. These errors are eliminated when you automate the process using Access Capture.
Tailored Support
Packaging applications and automatically creating Flex configuration files is just one of the App Volumes-related capabilities of Access Capture. In the next blog in this series, we describe how you can automate user acceptance testing (UAT) using Access Capture.
Our team is also available to provide customised support and tailor Access Capture according to your requirements. Contact us today to speak to a member of our team.
