Creating and Migrating Shared Applications

Programs that are installed on servers, but run from clients, are called shared applications. In SMS 2.0, a shared application consists of:

• One or more servers that contain copies of the application source files (all of the files required to run the application).
• Clients with shortcuts on their desktops that start the application from the server.

The process of running the application from the server is transparent as far as the user at the client is concerned; the application runs exactly as if the source files were located on the client.

In SMS 2.0, distribution points hold the application source files. This makes creating and maintaining the application simpler because you can use the SMS software distribution feature to distribute and maintain the server source files and other elements of installation packages. Several SMS features also assist you in monitoring and maintaining your server source files:

• Network Monitor, the SMS 2.0 status system, and other SMS 2.0 utilities allow you to monitor the server files.
• Software distribution lets you to refresh or upgrade server source files on the distribution points.

You do not install the application source files on the distribution points as you would install them on client computers. Instead, you create an image of the source files called an application image by installing the application on a server that is identical in hardware and software to the distribution points. You copy the application image to the package source directory of the site server you will use to distribute the installation package. When you distribute the package, software distribution replicates the source files to the package source directory of each distribution point. The clients run the application directly from the package source directory.

An SMS 2.0 installation package for a shared application consists of the following:

• The application image (an image of the application created on a server computer to be replicated to distribution points).
• A script to create a shortcut on each client’s desktop that runs the application from the server.
• Optional client programs to create registry values, copy files to clients, or perform other modifications necessary for the application.
• Optional scripts to be executed on the distribution point that modify the application image on each distribution point.

To create a shared application, you must create each of these elements. You can use tools such as the SMS Installer to make the task more manageable, and you can use the sample Setstart client installation script to create the shortcut on the desktop. For more information, see “Creating Shared Applications” later in this chapter.

Migrating PGC applications means changing the PGC package data from SMS 1.2 format to SMS 2.0 format. This package data is commonly referred to as the Package Definition File (PDF) data or the Network Application Database (NAD). After you migrate the packages, you must test them thoroughly. You might need to distribute additional software so that your applications can continue to operate in the same way as they operated in SMS 1.2. For more information, see “Migrating PGC Applications” later in this chapter.

This section has provided an introduction to migrating and creating shared applications. The rest of this chapter explains each step in more detail and includes the following sections:

• Creating shared applications
• Migrating PGC applications
• PGC capabilities for SMS 1.2 and SMS 2.0