When deploying an operating system image that contains the App-V Desktop Client, testing that it is configured properly and can receive applications is the first step in validating that the image is good for running App-V applications. Validate the client as described in Test the Client Environment. Make sure the client is able to stream applications from the correct streaming source. Configuring the App-V Desktop Client to use an App-V Streaming Server at one site can cause the client to fail or experience slow performance at other sites.

In large organizations, it is common to set up a central location from which the sequencing team will package applications and distribute them to multiple sites. Packages can be quite large. Using technology such as DFS to replicate packages among sites is recommended. Some customers prefer to use a tool like Robocopy (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&DisplayLang=en) to replicate App-V content. Make sure that there is sufficient bandwidth to transfer files among sites. Typically, bandwidth should be reserved for file replication during off hours.

When sequencing applications for a multi-site environment, avoid hard-coded local variables, such as server names. Using exact server names often causes the application to break or experience performance problems when run on a remote site. Sites can also experience problems if applications were packaged on a computer with one set of regional settings but run with different settings at the remote site. To mitigate these problems, develop a test plan to validate that applications function as expected at each site.

Application dependencies can range from hardware dongles to applications sequenced into packages, using DSC, to applications found on the local client computer. It is important to test applications at different sites, especially if each site has different Windows images deployed. If dependencies for an application differ, it may cause instability.

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