| Infoworld Reviews Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2.0 |
| Monday, 06 March 2006 by Michel Roth | |||
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"In the software deployment world according to Altiris, applications would materialize and/or dematerialize with the flick of a switch. virtual configuration management was possible, and Altiris does a bang-up job of streamlining the process. As I dug into the underpinnings of the SVS magic, I found a clever combination of file system filtering and multi-layered, local caching of code and data. Working together, they allow SVS to intercept application calls made to the Windows file system (including those calls to the Registry hive files) and redirect them to a private, hidden cache file. This redirection allows you to install an application without modifying the PC’s configuration, and it's the key to the SVS system's power. You're now effectively capturing all changes that the installation program would normally make (new files copied to the hard disk, Registry keys added/updated), while isolating them from the actual runtime environment. The act of “turning on” the application then becomes a simple matter of layering these changes over the existing Windows runtime, using the filter driver to redirect file system calls as necessary to the cached code and configuration data. Turning off an application with SVS is equally simple -- disable its profile with the filter driver and the application “disappears” from the PC. It’s a potent formula: Filter driver plus Profiles (Altiris calls them “layers”) equals seamless application virtualization. Throw in an easy-to-use recording tool to document changes made by each application installer and a flexible, policy-based management component to isolate and organize the various layers within the cache, and suddenly the SVS “magic” looks a lot more like an innovative way to overcome some of the nasty limitations in the current Windows Installer model. " Read more here.
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