Tony Sarno20 October 2007, 11:02 PM
Setting up SVS
SETTING UP ALTIRIS SVS CLIENT 2.1 This is a tutorial for users of the Altiris SVS Client Personal Edition (as released on the November 07 edition of APC DVD disc, or available for download from here).
For this tutorial, you only need to install the Software Virtualization Agent (the SVS_21_Personal.zip folder on your DVD). While SVS can be deployed across a networked corporate environment (for more information click here), we are installing on a standalone desktop only. The SVS agent is around 160 KB and consumes less than 1 MB of working memory under heavy load.
Setting up SVS on a PC
Unzip contents of the SVS_21_Personal folder onto your PC, and click on the Software_Virtualization_Agent executable.
You'll be asked for the product key. Click the "Get if for Free" button halfway down.
Fill the modest information requirements.
Download and unzip the Altiris_SVS_Personal_License folder and open the SVS License Key and EULA Personal Use text file.
Enter the product key.
Very important - on the next screen make sure you tick the box for Software Virtualization Admin Tool, which by default is not selected. This will install the software needed to create Virtual Software Packages from your applications so you can run them on SVS Client.
You should get a screen saying the SVS Virtualization Agent has installed successfully.
Next, Restart your system.
SVS Client (Virtualization Agent) has now installed and it's in your program list.
Next, open the Sofware Virtualization Admin from the program list. This is the panel through which you manage SVS and install Virtual Software Packages.
Now, we're going to run some pre-existing VSPs. Once they are open they become "layers" on your system. A layer contains all the files and registry settings of the application or data. Go to some of the pre-exisiting VSPs that we've included in a folder on the DVD disc (or download them from here ).
We've chosen the game Armagetron. From the SVS Admin File Menu, choose 'Import from Archive' to load a archived SVS Layer.
Once it's loaded as a layer, the game appears in the Admin panel. Then make sure you Activate the layer by right clicking and choosing Activate.
SVS will install the application. When a layer is active, all files and settings appear in the system just as they would if the application or data was installed on the computer. So on your desktop, you'll also see the icon for the application.
And the application will sit inside the SVS Admin panel. If you click on Layer Properties in the Admin panel, you'll see how much space the application takes and how many registry keys and values it has created.
When you deactivate a virtual layer, the application remains hidden from the OS and the user until reactivated. Applications can be automatically activated when the machine is rebooted by choosing the 'Start Layer Automatically' option. Then, to completely wipe the application from your system, just delete the layer. It goes pffffftt...Not a trace remains.
NEXT STEP: CREATE A VSP
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