FlexApp’s Unspoken Features: What are They?

FlexApp technology is a popular tool used for application layering, virtualization and delivery. While some of its features are well-known, there are some that are overlooked and not talked about enough. In this blog post, we will explore some of the under-the-hood features of FlexApp and explain how they work.

AppData and HKCU Handling

One of the key features of FlexApp is its ability to handle AppData and HCKU. When an application writes into these areas, FlexApp has special handling for layering. This is because these paths are often used as part of the application’s normal install routine, or they may be written to by the packaging administrator during testing or setting default preferences. If these areas of the profile are captured into the layer and do not exist in the user’s profile, FlexApp will physically copy or write them into the user’s profile. This ensures that the user has the necessary read and write access to these areas of the profile going forward.

Corrective Profile Path Tattooing

Another important feature of FlexApp is corrective profile path tattooing. This refers to the practice of capturing the profile path of the packaging administrator and storing it in the layer. This can create issues when an application stores a path to a non-existent location in the HKCU’s registry. FlexApp will flag this kind of event during the packaging process so that on activation of the layer, the registry value that points to the non-existent path can be corrected and pointed to the user’s correct profile path.

Micro Isolation

Micro isolation is a feature of FlexApp that helps to handle conflicts between layers. While FlexApp is not a full-blown isolation technology like Microsoft App-V, it does have some light isolation between layers. This means that when a conflict occurs, each layer will be redirected back to its own version of files or registry. For example, if each layer has a different version of a DLL in a common location that would normally be a last virtual write wins scenario and could crash the application, FlexApp’s micro isolation feature will ensure that each layer has access to its own version of the DLL. Here is a quick demo of Micro Isolation visually that should help your understanding of the technology.

Session Isolation

Session isolation is a feature of FlexApp that allows for handling different applications for different users when working on multiuser systems like Citrix Virtual Apps or Microsoft AVD. This makes layering on multiuser systems extremely flexible. This feature has also been extended to on-boot applications, which I recently wrote about here.

In conclusion, FlexApp’s unspoken features are an important part of its overall functionality. These features ensure that the user has access to the necessary parts of the profile, prevent conflicts between layers, and make layering on multiuser systems more flexible. Understanding these features can help users get the most out of their FlexApp technology and improve the overall user experience.

Amazon WorkSpaces and FlexApp Working Together

Amazon Workspaces Overview “Amazon WorkSpaces is a fully managed, secure desktop computing service which runs on the AWS cloud. Amazon WorkSpaces allows you to easily provision cloud-based virtual desktops and provide your users access to the documents, applications, and resources … Continue reading

FlexApp Layering = Enterprise Optimization Revolution

I was presenting to our sales teams at the Liquidware Sales kick off recently and was fascinated by the following response I received.

“Why wouldn’t you leverage FlexApp in your environment? At this point enterprises have virtualized infrastructure, desktops, networks, and storage but still continue to install applications natively.”

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FlexApp Notes from the Field – VMworld 2016 edition

As we approach VMworld 2016, there has been a tremendous amount of excitement building around the solutions from Liquidware Labs. We just released version 6.5.5 of ProfileUnity with FlexApp back in June, here are a few of the highlights:

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VMware UEM and App Volumes Overview Comparison with Liquidware Labs ProfileUnity and FlexApp

Liquidware Labs is announcing the release of a new WP “VMware UEM and App Volumes Overview Comparison with Liquidware Labs ProfileUnity and FlexApp” White Paper. At its core the focus of this new whitepaper attempts to compare and contrast the two platforms. Additionally, the whitepaper provides real world customer based implementation guidance around when to use a Liquidware solution as opposed to the VMware solution stack. Continue reading

FlexApp Layering White paper updates

FlexApp Layering from Liquidware Labs is evolving at a rapid pace. With that in mind we have updated the content with the primary white paper. Here is link to the “FlexApp: Application Layering Technology White Paper”. Continue reading

Introducing the FlexApp FAQ Technical Whitepaper

2015 was an impressive year for product announcements and innovations. Liquidware Labs re-released the FlexApp Layering platform after a significant architecture shift. Customer adoption and validation for FlexApp has been extremely positive. Looking back, something seemed to be missing in the EUC space with respect to application lifecycle management. Application virtualization started off strong but has tapered off lately, primarily because of compatibility challenges. The timing for a platform like Application Layering was perfect as companies push further towards desktop integration with the “Cloud”. FlexApp Layering is poised to take its place as one of the pillars of the application layering space.

The FlexApp Layering Technical FAQ has been released by Liquidware Labs. As customers look to adopt and implement the FlexApp technology, they are bound to have questions. Questions within the FAQ are divided into various sections for faster reference:

  • FlexApp Layering Requirements
  • FlexApp Layering Installation and Configuration
  • FlexApp Storage
  • Creating FlexApp Layers
  • FlexApp Management
  • Updating FlexApp Layers
  • FlexApp Layering with remote Desktop Session Hosts / Citrix XenApp
  • Troubleshooting FlexApp Layers
  • Getting help with ProfileUnity

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The new FlexApp Micro Isolation feature adds significant value to your enterprise application strategy

One of the potential challenges that application layering technology creates is around interlayer application conflicts with respect to the corresponding host operating system. In an effort to address these potential challenges, Liquidware Labs developers have created a feature called Micro-Isolation.

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FlexApp Layering “State of the Union” blog

The recent release of ProfileUnity 6.5 was a significant platform improvement for both ProfileUnity and FlexApp. The commitment to robust integration points between ProfileUnity and the FlexApp layering platform is reflected based on the positive feedback from current and new customers alike.

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Optimizing Citrix XenApp with FlexApp Layering from Liquidware Labs

FlexApp Layers from Liquidware Labs is focused on application life cycle management and delivery. The platform optimizations allow for seamless integration with many different vendor technologies including Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop.

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