Knowledge Base
VMware ThinApp virtual application streaming in Horizon Application Manager (2030247)
Purpose
Resolution
VMware Horizon Application Manager allows IT to deliver SaaS, enterprise web, and virtualized Windows applications with secure, policy-driven access controls. Prior to Horizon Application Manager 1.5, ThinApp virtualized applications in a Horizon environment could be deployed only in download mode, where the ThinApp package is copied to and run from each local desktop. With Horizon 1.5, ThinApp streaming deployment mode is also an option, where the ThinApp package is placed on a file share and run from a shortcut on the local desktop.
When would you choose ThinApp streaming mode in the Horizon environment?
With streaming mode, when the Horizon Agent synchronizes with the Horizon Service, the Agent downloads application shortcuts to the desktop, and then the user can launch the applications immediately from the file share. With download mode, the user must wait for the applications to download first, and then shortcuts are created. Because an application is streamed each time it is launched, streaming mode is a good fit for:
- View stateless with excellent connectivity to the file share
- View physical desktops with excellent connectivity to the file share
- A non-View physical desktop that is shared by multiple users (avoids the accumulation on disk of downloaded user-specific applications; also provides for quick access to applications without waiting for downloads specific to that user)
When would you choose ThinApp download mode in the Horizon environment?
Either streaming or download mode works fine in a Horizon environment on a local network. However, you may prefer ThinApp download mode for the following use cases:
- Persistent View desktops
- LAN-connected desktops that are periodically offline
- If your LAN has poor network latency, which might be unacceptable for streaming-mode applications
How do you enable a ThinApp package for streaming mode in Horizon Application Manager?
The Horizon Agent, not ThinApp, handles the enablement of ThinApp packages for streaming deployment mode in Horizon. When you install the Horizon Agent on an endpoint, the VMware Horizon Agent Configuration window allows you to select download or streaming deployment mode.
Streaming deployment mode is the default.
Can you set up streaming or download mode per application?
No. You cannot set deployment mode of ThinApp packages in Horizon per application or per user.
The deployment mode is set per Horizon Agent, which applies to the desktop where the Agent is installed. When you select download or streaming mode during Horizon Agent installation, it applies to all ThinApp packages for that endpoint. If you accept the default, all ThinApp packages for that endpoint are in streaming deployment mode.
The deployment mode does not change based on whether the desktop is inside or outside of the corporate network or inside or outside the firewall.
Can you specify download mode during Horizon Agent installation for all endpoints?
To specify download mode as the default for all of your Horizon Agent installations, you can write a script that includes a command line to install the Horizon Agent with the download mode option. You apply the script to all Horizon Agent installations in whatever manner you choose for deploying the Horizon Agent MSI (Active Directory group policy script, login script, VB script, batch file, SCCM, and so on).
The command line to install the Horizon Agent silently is:
HorizonAgentInstall.exe /C:"wscript.exe noconsolelaunch.vbs <specify msiexec options here>"
For example:
HorizonAgentInstall.exe /C:"wscript.exe noconsolelaunch.vbs /qn DOWNLOAD=1 POLLINGINTERVAL=1800 SERVICE_URL=http://ascii.qwerty.com"
where:
/q denotes a silent installation
/n denotes that no prepopulated UI will appear during the installation
DOWNLOAD is whether ThinApp packages will be downloaded or not. 1 denotes download mode, 0 or blank denotes streaming mode. If unspecified, the default of 0 holds.
POLLINGINTERVAL is the interval between Horizon Agent synchronizations with the Horizon Service to check for new applications or entitlements (in seconds; the default is 60 minutes, or 3600 seconds). If unspecified, the default of 3600 seconds holds.
SERVICE_URL is the URL for the Horizon Service for your organization. A value is required so that the Horizon Agent can connect to the Horizon Service.
Do you need two different packages for each ThinApp virtualized application in Horizon, one for streaming mode and one for download mode?
No. The same ThinApp package can be used for either streaming or download mode in Horizon. Streaming or download mode is determined in a Horizon Agent setting on the endpoint, not in the ThinApp package configuration.
Does the Windows file share for ThinApp packages in Horizon need to be different for streaming packages than for packages to be downloaded to endpoints?
No. For either download or streaming mode of ThinApp packages in Horizon, the file share needs to be a Windows CIFS share accessed over SMB.
Is there anything different about how you place the package on the ThinApp Repository (application share) in Horizon for streaming or download mode?
No, you place the ThinApp package on the application share the same way for either streaming or download mode.
Do you need to set MSIStreaming=1 for streaming of a ThinApp package in Horizon?
Horizon does not use MSI packages or the MSIStreaming parameter in Package.ini, so you do not need to set MSIStreaming=1 for Horizon streaming deployment. Horizon continues to use only EXEs and the DAT file.
How does Horizon set up and run streaming ThinApp packages?
At intervals, the Horizon Agent on the desktop checks for new or updated ThinApp packages on the ThinApp Repository. When the Agent finds a new or updated package, the Agent runs ThinApp thinreg directly on the ThinApp packages on the file share. Thinreg creates shortcuts on the user desktop to the packages on the file share. When the user clicks a shortcut, the package runs from the file share by downloading blocks of application data to memory on the desktop. Nothing is downloaded to disk on the endpoint.
Is Horizon streaming limited to recent ThinApp packages?
No. Because streaming for ThinApp packages is set in the Horizon Agent, the ThinApp packages do not need to be from a particular version of ThinApp. You do need Horizon 1.5 or later to enable streaming during the Horizon Agent installation.
Remember to enable the ThinApp package for Horizon and to create the ThinApp Repository (application share) in the Horizon environment. Enabling ThinApp packages for Horizon became possible through Setup Capture in ThinApp 4.7. For details on enabling a new ThinApp package for Horizon during Setup Capture, see the VMware ThinApp Reviewer’s Guide.
You can also enable a previously captured ThinApp package for Horizon. See Enabling VMware ThinApp virtual applications for Horizon Application Manager with the relink command and Enabling for Horizon a previously packaged VMware ThinApp virtual application, without relinking.
How do you update ThinApp packages that are streaming in a Horizon environment?
For a discussion of updates of streaming ThinApp packages in Horizon Application Manager, see Updating VMware ThinApp virtual applications in Horizon Application Manager.
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