Application Virtualization

Virtualization has matured through server virtualization, to desktop virtualization [to manage computers], to application virtualization.

With hefty investments in current desktop technology, many organisations cannot financially justify virtualizing every user's desktop.

In these cases, the best first step is application virtualization.

The key benefits of application virtualization include ease of maintenance and greater portability. This makes deploying programs across several versions of Windows. That means that businesses do not need to adopt big bang approaches to OS and application upgrades.

Just as desktop and server virtualization abstract a computer's operating system from its hardware, application virtualization abstracts a program's executables, configuration files and dependencies from the operating system.

Each virtualized application runs via a web browser, within its own environment. This includes registry entries, libraries, supporting executables etc.

In addition, the application uses ONLY resources within its own environment, making it possible to run multiple versions of a program or run it on an operating system that may otherwise be incompatible.

Application Virtualization

Application Virtualization refers to using a software virtualization layer to encapsulate a desktop or server application from the local operating system.

The application still executes locally using local resources, but without being installed in the traditional sense.

Application resources and components such as files and settings are typically stored a single package that is interpreted by the virtualization layer, and presented to the application as if they were installed on the local operating system where the application expects them.

This is in contrast with running the application as conventional local software [installed' on the system so that its files and configuration settings actually reside locally].

Since the virtual environment acts as a layer between the application and the operating system, it is able to intercept and address application conflicts and application-OS conflicts.

Uses Of Application Virtualization

Application virtualization is used in modern operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and Linux. For example, Windows Vista implements limited file and Registry virtualization so that legacy applications that try to save user data in a system location can still work on the platform.

Full application virtualization requires a virtualization layer to be installed on a machine. For example Microsoft Application Virtualization and Software Virtualization Solution.

A common misconception is that a runtime environment is application virtualization, even though it may appear to be so.

A similar, but different principle is operating system virtualizations which encapsulate the entire operating system from the hardware, as opposed to applications from the operating system.

Examples include: the Sun Java Virtual Machine, Microsoft Application Virtualization, Thinstall, Altiris, and Trigence.

This approach to virtualization is clearly different from other kinds of platform virtualization, only an arbitrary line separates it from such virtual machine environments as Smalltalk, FORTH, Tcl, P-code, or any interpreted language.

Advantages of Application Virtualization

Application virtualization aims to improve application compatibility and manageability by encapsulating applications from the underlying operating system on which they are executed.

A virtualized application is not installed in the traditional sense, although it is still executed as if it is.

When a virtualised application is launched, the virtualization layer intercepts and transparently redirects any operations such as file I/O by that application. This application believes it has direct access to the underlying operating system resources, although in effect it does not, as its operations are transparently redirected elsewhere.

Application virtualization is commonly paired with application streaming to deliver applications on demand.

Also See: Streaming On-Demand Applications

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