Application virtualization

Microsoft offers two solutions for application virtualization, both available in Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 (and due for improvement when Windows Server 2016 is released).
The first is RemoteApp, a feature that is based on session virtualization. It enables you to provision applications remotely through RDS. Applications run on IT-managed hardware in the data center. By moving them from the endpoint to the data center, you can better manage the security and continuity of confidential data.

Users can easily access their remote applications from a variety of clients—through a webpage or an RDS client. Additionally, remote applications run side by side with local applications. For example, they run in their own resizable windows, can be dragged between multiple monitors, and have their own icons on the Start screen or taskbar.

The second solution is App-V, which is part of MDOP. It works by packaging apps that can be streamed from a server and run without requiring an application installation. Users can access their applications dynamically from almost anywhere on any authorized PC just by clicking and running a package. The resulting experience is no different from what the user would experience if the app were running locally.

Virtual applications run in their own self-contained virtual environments on users’ PCs. This eliminates application conflicts—you can actually run different versions of the same program on the same PC, even running apps that prohibit side-by-side installations on the same PC. Virtual applications and user settings are preserved whether users are online or offline. Combined with user state virtualization, App-V provides a consistent experience and reliable access to applications and business data, regardless of users’ locations or the PCs they are using.

An App-V administrator uses a sequencer app to create the application package, which is saved using the file-name extension .appv. The sequencer monitors the installation process, which you can choose to do manually if you prefer.

You can deploy virtual application packages by using App-V servers, which stream virtual applications on demand to users’ PCs and cache them locally so that they can be used offline. Another option is to use Configuration Manager to deploy, upgrade, and track the usage of both physical and virtual applications in a single management experience. As a result, you can use existing processes, workflows, and infrastructures to deliver virtual applications to users.

App-V 5.0, which was released at the same time as Windows 8, offers a web-based management interface and support for Windows PowerShell, to enable scripting of complex or repetitive tasks. You can use its dynamic configuration options to deliver a single package with different customizations for different groups of users. You can also package applications and their dependencies separately to make the updating process easier.

App-V 5.1 is the current release included as part of MDOP 2015, and it is required for Windows 10. (App-V 5.0 and prior versions are not compatible with Windows 10, although App-V packages created with App-V 5.0 are compatible and require no conversion.) It comes in desktop and RDS versions, and it offers usability and performance improvements as well as the capability to install apps that use shell extensions and to include runtime dependencies like MSXML and Microsoft Visual C++ libraries.

Source of Information : Microsoft Introducing Windows 10 For IT Professionals