howyii wrote:
1. Make sure the converter client is installed in the VM snapshot
Yes. It is very important to run "%ProgramFiles%\AdminStudio\11.5\Repackager\VirtualMachinePrep\VMCfg.exe" on your VM. This is needed in order to stand up our "Guest Agent" which communicates from the VM to your AdminStudio Client Tools machine. VMCfg.exe also performs several other important functions such as disabling UAC.
howyii wrote:
2. Make sure your snapshot is named AutoRepack_Base.
Also, be sure that you only have one snapshot named AutoRepack_Base. Because snapshots are tracked via GUIDs (and not their name), it is possible to create multiple snapshots that use the same name. But AdminStudio is not using the GUID to refer to the snapshot (nor should it; We'd just end up annoying our users who would have to find the darn GUID), the system would not be capable of knowing which AutoRepack_Base snapshot to revert to. In this situation, the Hper-V server, vSphere server, or VMware Workstation throws an error and doesn't revert the snapshot.
howyii wrote:
A couple of things about the Converter,
1. It really doesn't do anything for feature states with AppV
We aren't running a capture during the App-V package creation, therefore it is not possible to accurately determine which resources need to be in Feature Block 1 and which ones can safely be in Feature Block 2. Unless streaming is a big thing for you, my recommendation is to set the AAC's "Package Optimization" default to "Offline" (this is in the Automated Application Converter's Options menu.) This setting forces all resources to be placed in Feature Block 1.
howyii wrote:
2. Since it is an automated process, if the application needs to be launched do download add-ins or set configurations the converter will not capture any of that.
Use the "Post-Installation Configuration" option, setting it to "Enabled"
This will allow you to launch the app, apply updates, add-ins, configure settings, etc. as part of the vendor package capture. I use this constantly. In fact, it's unusual that I bother fully automating the vendor setup (I typically leave the Command Line field in the AAC blank) because I know that I frequently will need to tweak some settings after the install. And I'm certainly not going to spend the time researching the vendor setup silent command switch...if I were to spend even just 10 or 15 minutes performing such research, it would be fail; I could be mostly finished with the capture by then in many cases. So while I absolutely love the AAC (and I rarely bother with Remote Repackager anymore, as the AAC is just way too convenient and also beautifully ties into my Win7/8 readiness testing and Virtualization and package testing), I do not find myself bothering with actual 100% automation of the vendor install...in most of my situations it simply doesn't make sense.
However, for some customers who already have 100% automated legacy installs, or who have already gathered all of the silent install switches, using the AAC for 100% automated package creation does make a lot of sense. But I'd have to imagine that there are not a ton of companies out there that have done that. Regardless, I use the AAC all the time and it saves me a crazy amount of time and effort. I'd go so far as to say that if you are licensed for the AAC (which is part of the AdminStudio Virtualization Pack) and are not using it (a lot), you're doing it wrong.