Introduction to Application Management in Configuration Manager

General application information specifies basic information such as the application's name, description, version, owner, and administrative categories. Configuration Manager can read this information from the application installation files if it is present.

For more information, see How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager.

Application catalog information specifies information about how the application is displayed to users who are browsing the Application Catalog. You can configure the display of information about the application to appear in multiple available languages.

Tip
Application Catalog information cannot be configured for some deployment types.

For more information, see How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager.

A deployment type is contained in an application and is made up of the information that is required to install software. A deployment type also contains rules that specify when and how the software is deployed.

An application can contain multiple deployment types, each of which installs the application by using a different method. A single application can have multiple deployment types that use the same technology. For example, a single application might have multiple Windows Installer deployment types. When you deploy an application that has multiple deployment types, Configuration Manager evaluates each deployment type in order. Then, of the deployment types that meet the specified requirements, the system installs the deployment type with the highest priority. For information about how to change the priority of deployment types, see How to Manage Applications and Deployment Types in Configuration Manager.

The following deployment type options are available in Configuration Manager:

• Windows Installer (Native) (Configuration Manager with no service pack) or Windows Installer (*.msi file) (Configuration Manager SP1) – This option creates a deployment type from a Windows Installer file. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the Windows Installer file and related files in the same folder to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  
• Script Installer (Native) (Configuration Manager with no service pack) or Script Installer (Configuration Manager SP1) – This option creates a deployment type that specifies a script that runs on client devices to install content or to perform an action.
  
  
• Microsoft Application Virtualization (Configuration Manager with no service pack) or Microsoft Application Virtualization 4 (Configuration Manager SP1) – This option creates a deployment type from a Microsoft Application Virtualization 4 manifest. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the manifest file to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  
• Windows Mobile Cabinet – This option creates a deployment type from a Windows Mobile Cabinet (CAB) file. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the CAB file to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  
• Nokia SIS file – This option creates a deployment type from a Nokia Symbian Installation Source (SIS) file. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the SIS file to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  

The following new deployment types are available in Configuration Manager SP1:

• Windows app package (.appx file) – This option creates a deployment type for Windows 8 or Windows RT from a Windows app package file. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the package file to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  
• Windows app package (in the Windows Store) – This option creates a deployment type for Windows 8 or Windows RT by specifying a link to the app in the Windows Store by browsing to a computer that already has the app installed.
  
  
• Microsoft Application Virtualization 5 - This option creates a deployment type from a Microsoft Application Virtualization 5 package file. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the package file to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  
• Windows Phone app package (*.xap file) – This option creates a deployment type from a Windows Phone app package file. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the package file to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  
• Windows Phone app package (in the Windows Phone Store) - This option creates a deployment type by specifying a link to the app in the Windows Phone.
  
  
• App package for iOS (*.ipa file) – This option creates a deployment type from an iOS app package file.
  
  
• App package for iOS from App Store– This option creates a deployment type by specifying a link to the iOS app in the App Store.
  
  
• App package for Android (*.apk file) – This option creates a deployment type from an Android app package file.
  
  
• App package for Android on Google Play – This option creates a deployment type by specifying a link to the app on Google Play.
  
  
• Mac OS X – This option creates a deployment type from a .cmmac file that you have created with the CMAppUtil utility. Configuration Manager can retrieve information from the .cmmac file to automatically populate some fields of the Create Deployment Type Wizard.
  
  

For information about how to create deployment types, see How to Create Deployment Types in Configuration Manager.

With Configuration Manager, you can use any of the several available methods to determine whether a deployment type is already present on a device. You can detect a Windows Installer product code, a file or a folder, or a registry value to determine whether a deployment type is present. You can also write a script to detect whether a deployment type is present on the device.

You can specify detection methods in the Create Deployment Type Wizard or in the properties of an existing deployment type. For more information, see the Step 4: Configure Detection Methods to Indicate the Presence of the Application section in the How to Create Deployment Types in Configuration Manager topic.

The Configuration Manager client evaluates requirement rules to determine whether an application and any of its deployment types will be installed. Then it determines the correct deployment type by which to install an application as applicable. Every seven days, by default, the requirement rules are reevaluated to ensure compliance according to the client setting Schedule re-evaluation for deployments. As an administrative user, you can define a custom evaluation period. For more information about client settings, see About Client Settings in Configuration Manager.

You can configure requirement rules to use with only a single specific deployment type, or you can create global conditions that are available to use with any deployment type.

The available requirements will differ, depending on which kind of device you are configuring rules for.

For more information about requirement rules, see How to Create Deployment Types in Configuration Manager.

For more information about global conditions, see How to Create Global Conditions in Configuration Manager.

A dependency defines one or more prerequisite deployment types that must be installed before another specified deployment type can be installed. You can configure the prerequisite dependent deployment types to install automatically before the dependent deployment type is installed.

For more information, see How to Create Deployment Types in Configuration Manager.

With Configuration Manager, you can associate specific users with specific devices. This association is called user device affinity. This mapping of devices to users can remove the need to know the names of a user’s devices when you deploy applications. You can define primary devices. These are typically the devices that users use daily to perform their work.

When you create an affinity between a user and a computer, you gain additional options for deploying software. For example, if a user must have Microsoft Visio, you can install the program on the user’s primary device by using a Windows Installer deployment. On a device that is not a primary device, you might deploy Microsoft Visio as a Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) virtual application. With user device affinity, you can deploy applications to a user without having to install the application on every device that the user logs on to. You can also pre-deploy software on a user’s device when the user is not logged on.

Configuration Manager automatically manages user device affinities for the mobile devices that it enrolls. However, it does not create user device affinities for mobile devices that are discovered by using the Exchange Server connector. When Configuration Manager completes mobile device enrollment, users can see their mobile devices listed in the self-service website, Application Catalog. If Configuration Manager wipes the mobile device, Configuration Manager also automatically wipes the user device affinity information for the mobile device.

Whereas Configuration Manager manages user device affinity automatically for enrolled mobile devices, you have more flexibility in how you can manage user device affinity for computers. You can define user device affinity for computers by using any of the following methods:

• The computer user can specify that the device is a primary device in the Application Catalog.
  
  
• An administrative user can import a file that lists users and devices.
  
  
• An administrative user can configure the site to automatically create user device affinities that are based on collected usage statistics. An administrative user can then approve the detected user device affinities.
  
  
• An administrative user can manually create affinities.
  
  
• An administrative user can define user device affinity for a client computer during deployment of an operating system to a computer.
  
  

Note
Configuration Manager does not support user device affinity for Mac computers.

User device affinity can be defined in any of the following ways:

• A single user to a single device.
  
  
• Many users to a single device.
  
  
• A single user to many devices.
  
  

For more information, see How to Manage User Device Affinity in Configuration Manager.

When you deploy an application in Configuration Manager, you can choose a deployment purpose and a deployment action. The available settings are as follows:

Deployment Action

• Install and Uninstall – Specifies whether the application is installed or uninstalled on client devices.
  
  

Deployment Purpose

• Available – If the application is deployed to a user, the user sees the published application in the Application Catalog and can request it on demand. If the application is deployed to a device, the user sees the application listed in Software Center and can install it on demand. Mobile devices that are enrolled by Configuration Manager do not support applications with a deployment purpose of available.
  
  
• Required – The application is deployed automatically. This typically occurs according to the configured schedule. However, a user can track the application deployment status and install the application before the deadline by using Software Center.
  
  

When you specify the purpose of a user-targeted deployment, you can specify whether users must request approval from an administrative user before they can install the application.

Tip
Depending on the device that you are deploying software to, one or more of these options might not be available.

For more information, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.

You can use simulated deployments to test the applicability of an application deployment to computers without actually installing or uninstalling the application. When you deploy a simulated deployment, the computers to which the application is deployed evaluate the detection method, requirements, and dependencies for a deployment type and then return the evaluation results to the Configuration Manager site. You can view these results in the Deployments node in the Monitoring workspace. For more information, see How to Simulate an Application Deployment in Configuration Manager.

Note
You can use simulated deployments with Configuration Manager applications only. Simulated deployments cannot be used to deploy packages and programs. Additionally, you cannot use simulated deployments for mobile devices.

For Configuration Manager SP1 only:

When you deploy applications to Windows Embedded devices that are write filter-enabled, you can specify whether to disable the write filter on the device during the deployment and then restart the device after the deployment. If the write filter is not disabled, the software is deployed to a temporary overlay and the software will no longer be installed when the device restarts unless another deployment forces changes to be persisted.

Note
When you deploy an application to a Windows Embedded device, make sure that the device is a member of a collection that has a configured maintenance window. This lets you manage when the write filter is disabled and enabled, and when the device restarts.

The user experience setting that controls the write filter behavior is a check box named Commit changes at deadline or during a maintenance window (requires restarts).

For more information about how Configuration Manager manages embedded devices that use write filters, see the Deploying the Configuration Manager Client to Windows Embedded Devices section in the Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager topic.

The user-centric management support in Configuration Manager can give users control over how and when Windows x86 and x64 software is installed on their devices. Configuration Manager can also help ensure that the software that users need in order to perform their work is available wherever they log on, not just on their primary devices.

Users of Windows-based computers can manage their software deployment experience by using the new client interface, Software Center. Software Center is automatically installed on client computers where users can access it on the Start menu. In Software Center, users can manage their own software. They can perform the following actions:

• Install software.
  
  
• Schedule software for automatic installation outside of working hours.
  
  
• Configure when Configuration Manager can install software on their device.
  
  
• Configure access settings for remote control if remote control is enabled in Configuration Manager.
  
  
• Configure options for power management if an administrative user enables this.
  
  

By using a link in Software Center, users can connect to the Application Catalog where they can browse for, install, and request software. In addition, users can use the Application Catalog to configure certain preference settings and remotely wipe their mobile devices if it is necessary. Because the Application Catalog website is hosted in Internet Information Services (IIS), users can also directly access the Application Catalog on a browser from the intranet or the Internet.

As an administrative user, you can add the name of your organization to Software Center and the Application Catalog. This helps users recognize the application as being from a trusted source. You can also customize the Application Catalog by using different theme colors.

The Application Catalog supports integration with external websites. For example, if you host a Microsoft SharePoint website, the catalog can be specified as the Web Page link in the Page Viewer. The Application Catalog maintains the style and theme that you configured. It does not support customization by using cascade style sheets (CSS).

The Application Catalog requires two new site system roles on your site:

• Application Catalog web service point – Provides software information from the Software Library to the Application Catalog website.
  
  
• Application Catalog website point – Gives users a list of available software.
  
  

For more information about how to install and configure the Application Catalog and Software Center, see Configuring the Application Catalog and Software Center in Configuration Manager.

On a computer that runs Windows, the Configuration Manager client in Control Panel remains in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. This can help administrative users troubleshoot problems with the client software.

For mobile devices that are enrolled by Windows Intune, users can install apps directly from the company portal. A company portal is a self-service portal where users can view and download apps for Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, iOS, and Android devices.  

The following items are new or have changed for virtual applications since Configuration Manager 2007.

• Virtual applications can support App-V Dynamic Suite Composition by using Configuration Manager local and virtual application dependencies.
  
  
• You can selectively publish the components of a virtual application to client computers.
  
  
• Performance is improved for publishing application shortcuts to client computers.
  
  
• Clients now check more quickly for required installations after logon. Clients also now check for required installations when the desktop is unlocked.
  
  
• Applications can be deployed to users of Remote Desktop Services or Citrix servers when other users are logged in.
  
  
• System Center 2012 Configuration Manager supports streaming virtual applications over the Internet from an Internet-based distribution point.
  
  
• Streaming support is provided for packages suited together using Dynamic Suite Composition.
  
  
• In System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, all distribution points are automatically capable of virtual application streaming. In Configuration Manager 2007, you had to enable streaming support for virtual applications on each distribution point.
  
  
• Disk space usage is reduced on distribution points because application content is no longer duplicated for multiple application revisions.
  
  
• Virtual application content is no longer persisted by default in the Configuration Manager client cache.
  
  
• You can no longer create virtual applications by using Configuration Manager packages and programs. You must use Configuration Manager application management.
  
  
• Configuration Manager supports migrating virtual application packages from Configuration Manager 2007 to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. When you migrate an App-V package from Configuration Manager 2007, the migration Wizard will create this as a System Center 2012 Configuration Manager application.
  
  
• The Configuration Manager 2007 client option Allow virtual application package advertisement has been removed. In System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, virtual applications can be deployed by default.
  
  
• Virtual applications that are deployed from an App-V Server are not deleted by the Configuration Manager client.
  
  
• Configuration Manager hardware inventory can be used to inventory virtual applications that are deployed by an App-V Server.
  
  
• Application content that has been downloaded to the App-V cache is not downloaded to the Configuration Manager client cache.
  
  

  Note
  To modify a virtual application, you must first create it as a Configuration Manager application.