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Bring back MS-DOS 6.22

Do you remember the days when you could walk up to any computer on your network and access any application? Just typing WS, SC, HG… would launch WordStar, SuperCalc, Harvard Graphics or a bespoke application applicable only to you. Of course, those days ended abruptly with the arrival of Windows 3.1. Well, happy days are here again, and not a COMMAND.COM in sight…

…Today, if we want applications to follow the user around the network, we might use terminal services or build elaborate deployment scripts. It is not ideal; we end up with both a licensing and configuration nightmare. The problem is compounded as our post MS-DOS networks now extend beyond the maximum length of a piece of coax.  Systems Management Server and its replacement, Systems Centre Configuration Manager (SCCM), enable organisations to deploy applications, but it doesn’t really solve the problem of occasional application access on any PC – Quickly and transparently. Enter stage left: Microsoft Application Virtualisation, currently shipping under its previous keeper’s name, SoftGrid.  Microsoft purchased SoftGrid a couple of years back and until now hadn’t really made a big noise about it. That is about to change.

Picture this; you have a new application you need to deploy to 250 people (not machines). You need to find a way to install it on any PC that any of those 250 people might use. That could take a while, even if we had SCCM.  Maybe a Citrix farm is the way forward?

Or maybe not. Application Virtualisation does exactly what it says on the can, it allows us to install our application in an environment where everything it needs to run is captured and virtualised. It’s the job of the SoftGrid Sequencer to create this self contained environment. It’s the job of the SoftGrid client to deliver any assigned applications to the user – no matter which PC they sit down at. As soon as the user launches an application, the code required to start the application is streamed down to something called SystemGuard on the client.  SystemGuard is a run time sandbox that hosts the application – Without the need to actually install the application. IE the application is virtualised and never actually installed on the PC.  Applications can now run side-by-side with any other application without conflicts. Reducing the need to spend hours testing for conflicts – One IT Manager I chatted to recently has two Oracle applications deployed this way, on two different flavours of Oracle that will not normally co-reside on one PC.

When I first played with SoftGrid, I expected a long wait before my “test” application launched. I was surprised. The Sequencer determines which portion of the applications are needed for launch and optimises it appropriately. The application will generally start when 10-20% of the code has been streamed – and yes it’s cached so bandwidth hits are minimised.  There are significant business benefits – not least the time saved deploying applications. Calls to the helpdesk should be reduced as the number of errors caused by incompatible DLLs and poor performance due to registry bloat are reduced. Imagine de-commissioning a PC after five years and aside from a SoftGrid client and a host of service packs it’s in the same state as when you unpacked it.  If you want to know more, we’ve added a couple of courses for those longing for the return of MS-DOS 6.22.