In an effort to go towards a user-centric environment, Microsoft introduced a new method of deploying applications in ConfigMgr 2012, entitled Applications Management.  It provides a way of deploying an application to a user by associating a user with a device.  This helps ensure that critical software is always available on each device that a user accesses. You can use Deployment Rules to identify the devices that are allowed to install the application.  For example, you can specify that the application can be installed only on systems with at least 1 GB of RAM. For more information about Application Management with Configuration Manager 2012, please see Microsoft Technet here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg699373.aspx

Requirements

Aside from the Management Point and Distribution Point, you will need 2 more site system roles to support user-centric application management: Application Catalog Web Service Point and Application Catalog Website Point.

Things to consider

Deploying applications to users is different than deploying applications to devices. Here are the major differences:

  • Application Catalog contains only the applications deployed to users.

When we deploy the application, we can require the user to request approval to install the application, or we can allow the installation at will, in which case we can make the deployment required or available. Depending on how the User Device Affinity has been defined and what the deployment type requirements are, available means the application may show up in the Software Center on the user’s device to be installed by the user at will, and required means the application may be automatically installed at the deployment deadline

  • User Device Affinity may be used to identify a Primary Device for a user.

Depending on how the deployment requirements were defined, when we create a Deployment Type, we can restrict the deployment to Primary Devices for the user, or we can allow the installation on any device the user logs in.

So many options can be confusing:

  • In the Deployment Type, should I require a Primary Device for the user, or not?
  • How about User Device Affinity? Should I define it, or not?
  • What about the Application Type? Should it be required or available only?
  • Should I ask for Approval to install the application, or not?
  • How do the above choices affect the Application Catalog and the Software Center?

In an effort to make it easier to answer these questions, I devised the following scenarios with the associated results based on various options.

Scenario 1: The application is mandatory and must be deployed to a group of users

When all the users must have the application, you will include it, of course, in the OS deployment. However, if the list of users is limited:

  1. Create a user collection and add the users to the collection.
  2. Create the Application and deploy it as REQUIRED
  3. How will the application be installed:
    1. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity Defined: Application will be automatically installed, but ONLY on the user’s Primary Device
    2. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity NOT Defined: Application will NOT be installed
    3. Primary Device NOT Required (User Device Affinity irrelevant): Application will be automatically installed on ANY device the user logs on
  4. Create a user collection and add the users to the collection, or use All Users collection
  5. Create the Application and deploy it as AVAILABLE, NO APPROVAL REQUIRED
  6. How will the application be installed:
    1. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity Defined: Application will be available in the Application Catalog and Software Center, and will install ONLY on the user’s Primary Device
    2. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity NOT Defined: Application will NOT be installed
    3. Primary Device NOT Required (User Device Affinity irrelevant): Application will be available in the Application Catalog and Software Center, and will install on ANY device the user logs on
  7. Create a user collection and add the users to the collection, or use All Users collection
  8. Create the Application and deploy it as AVAILABLE, APPROVAL REQUIRED
  9. How will the application be installed:
    1. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity Defined: Application will be available, pending approval in the Application Catalog Only, and once approved, will install ONLY on the user’s Primary Device
    2. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity NOT Defined: Application will NOT be installed
    3. Primary Device NOT Required (User Device Affinity irrelevant): Application will be available, pending approval in the Application Catalog Only, and once approved, will install on ANY device the user logs on

Scenario 2: The application is not mandatory, but it must be made available free to install to all users or to a list of users

  1. Create a user collection and add the users to the collection, or use All Users collection
  2. Create the Application and deploy it as AVAILABLE, NO APPROVAL REQUIRED
  3. How will the application be installed:
    1. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity Defined: Application will be available in the Application Catalog and Software Center, and will install ONLY on the user’s Primary Device
    2. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity NOT Defined: Application will NOT be installed
    3. Primary Device NOT Required (User Device Affinity irrelevant): Application will be available in the Application Catalog and Software Center, and will install on ANY device the user logs on

Scenario 3: The application is not mandatory, but it must be made available upon approval to all users or to a list of users

  1. Create a user collection and add the users to the collection, or use All Users collection
  2. Create the Application and deploy it as AVAILABLE, APPROVAL REQUIRED
  3. How will the application be installed:
    1. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity Defined: Application will be available, pending approval in the Application Catalog Only, and once approved, will install ONLY on the user’s Primary Device
    2. Primary Device Required + User Device Affinity NOT Defined: Application will NOT be installed
    3. Primary Device NOT Required (User Device Affinity irrelevant): Application will be available, pending approval in the Application Catalog Only, and once approved, will install on ANY device the user logs on

I hope this helps!

Constantin Roman

This post was written by Constantin Roman
Constantin is an accomplished System Centre Specialist, who leverages extensive experience, in-depth technical knowledge and unsurpassed analysis skills to architect, design and implement cost saving solutions based on Microsoft best practices. He has expertise in Configuring, Deploying, Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012.