From the Field: VMware App Volumes 4
Hello everyone and thanks for stopping in to check out my new blog entry around VMware App volumes. If you’re not familiar with this product in the VMware Horizon EUC stack fear not. This post will start with a history of App Volumes before we get into the installation, configuration, and use of the product.
The History of App Volumes
In 2014 VMware acquired Cloud Volumes and re-branded the application as VMware App Volumes. It’s a software tool that provides real-time application delivery and life-cycle management for digital workspaces. Not just VMware products either. Workspaces including Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Remote Desktop Service Hosts (RDSH) can integrate and take advantage of the product. App Volumes provides faster application delivery, simplified and unified management of apps and users, and at the same time reduces IT costs. Instead of configuring desktops or applications individually, App Volumes delivers applications to virtual machines through virtual disks to your users, groups, and virtual machines.
The App Volumes application model separates IT-managed applications and application suites into administrator-defined application containers.
You install the App Volumes Agent in the Master/Gold image of non-persistent VMs. Then all of the VM’s in your pools have the ability to work with App Volumes in delivering applications to connected users. The agent reaches out to the App Volumes Manager(s) to check for entitled packages. It also checks, if configured, for writable volumes entitlements. Packages and writable VMDK’s are attached to the guest operating system in the VM, making applications and personalized settings available to end-users.
One BIG addition to the latest version of App Volumes (2111) is the ‘On-Demand’ feature of an application. If set to on-demand and applications VMDK will not be mounted to the VM at user login. Rather, the mount will occur when the user clicks on the application and in real-time the VMDK mounts and all operations occur to merge the application with the operating system and launch. This will be a time-saver for initial user logins.
Shown here this figure gives you a high-level logical architecture of the App Volumes components. This image is scaled out with multiple App Volumes Manager servers and uses a third-party load balancer.
App Volumes Installation
Now that we’ve talked a bit about how App Volumes works let’s get into the installation. Download the current App Volumes media from the my.vmware.com portal.
Before you get started there are a couple of pre-requisites in order to perform the installation of the App Volumes Manager server. See the documentation for App Volumes 2111 System Requirements. You will need a Windows Server 2016 or newer (in this post and video I am using Server 2022)
Also, you will want another server running SQL Server 2014 or later. You can use a local SQL Express database for testing and POC environments.
On the App Volumes Manager browse to the installation ISO and mount it
Open the Installation folder and start the setup.exe
Setup Starts, verify the version matches, and click next
Accept the License agreement
Chose ‘Install App Volumes Manager’
Unless you are building a lab/POC select ‘Connect to an existing SQL Server Database’
Enter the database information that you created when setting up the SQL database using the documentation
If you want to allow HTTP check that here
Chose an alternate drive and folder if you do not want to use the default install location
Click Install to proceed with the installation. This will take a few minutes to complete.
Installation is now complete and you can move on to the initial configuration of the environment. All of the parameters and settings that you will make in the configuration get stored in the SQL database. In a highly available deployment, you will want to have multiple App Volumes Managers. In subsequent installs, you chose the same database and uncheck the ‘Overwrite Database’ setting. This way all of the configurations come down to your new App Volumes Manager(s) and they are fully operational at the end of the installation.
App Volumes Configuration
Once App Volumes is installed you can access the manager using the FDQN or IP of the App Volumes Manager server with a web browser of your choice.
The manager comes built with a limited number of licenses
Browse to the license key file that you downloaded with the App Volumes Manager software and apply it. This will take your license count from 100 to 50,000.
Connect your App Volumes Manager to Active Directory
Select the users and groups that will have administrator rights. Further roles and customizations are available after initial setup
Connect the App Volumes Manager to vCenter for all storage and mounting operations
Select the Storage locations in vCenter where you will save packages and the package templates
Upload the templates to vCenter
Review and save all of your changes
Configuration is now complete and you have a fully functional App Volumes environment. For the final part of this post, I want to show you the creation of an Application and its package.
Creating and using Applications and Packages
Building Applications and Packages is the heart and soul of App Volumes
With App Volumes 4 VMware has enhanced how you package, deploy and manage applications.
Application management gives you granular control over the application lifecycle. Updating individual applications is easier than updating packages with many apps. See the following image that shows how you can create a single application for Notepad++ and have unique packages that reflect the different versions. With this, we can now have current versions as well as older and future iterations all in the same application and manage who gets entitled based on users and group membership.
Let’s get started and create version 8.0 of Notepad++. First, open the App Volumes Manager via the FQDN or IP address
On the Applications tab select Create
Give your application a name, in this example, we’re creating Notepad++
When you click to create the Package screen will appear next. Enter more specific details here as packages will be unique to the version you are using. In this example Notepad++ version 8.0
Clicking ‘create’ on the packaging tab will take you to the next screen where you select your packaging VM. This VM should be a stand-alone copy of your Gold/Master image with only VMware Tools and the App Volumes agent installed. Here is a link for creating a packaging VM: Preparing an App Volumes 4 Packaging VM
When you click ‘Package’ you will be taken back to the Applications tab and a pop-up at the top of the manager with instructions to switch to your packing VM to install the Notepad++ application
Log in with an Administrator account on the packaging VM. You will see a message in the bottom right of the desktop requesting install of your application
Install the application. When the install is complete you must open the application to allow any first-run settings. Make any customization settings and close the application. If your application needs to reboot follow the request. If not it’s recommended to still reboot one time. Log back in and click the OK button on the bottom right window. Then click Yes to confirm that the packaging is complete.
A pop-up will follow asking for more details about the package including any notes you want to include. Click ‘Finalize’ and you will be asked once more to reboot.
After restart, a final pop-up will show that packing was successful. Close this and return to the App Volumes Manager and you can see the Notepad++ application packaged and ready for entitlement.
Click the ‘Current’ button and this will make version 8.0 of Notepad++ as the Current version of the application
To assign the application to users you now click ‘Assign’ and browse Active Directory for the users and/or groups you want. In the assignment screen, you have control over what version of the package “Marker or Package” which means you can have some users and groups set to the Marker which means no matter what version you make current that will always be the package those users and groups get. If you select a package those users and groups will always get the package with the version you selected. This way you can do testing and exception assignments for users that may need to stay on an older version for a time.
At this point, you have completed the lifecycle management of your first Application and Package.
Here are some handy and useful links to learn and do more with App Volumes.
VMware App Volumes 4, version 2111
App Volumes 2111 Documentation
Thanks so much for stopping by. Drop a comment below and a like if you found this information helpful. Until next time this is vJoeG, Joe Graziano. Talk to you soon!
