Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Application Server Types

There are two types of application servers:

• Shared application servers Servers that host an application or software product running in administrative mode.
• Central application servers Servers that run applications designed to run on a central machine, providing remote services to end users.

The first type of application server is really a file server more than anything else. In this case, you create a file share on a server, install the application to be shared-for example, Microsoft Office-perform an administrative installation, and then send the link to the shared application files to end users.

This type of application sharing is on its way out, as administrative installations of products like Microsoft Office are complex to manage and, especially, update in the long run. Windows Server offers so many more options for application sharing, especially the new RemoteApps feature of Terminal Services, that you should reconsider the use of the shared application server in your network, if you have any.

The second type of application server is much more popular, as it is the type of server that runs Windows Server System applications like BizTalk Server, Commerce Server, SQL Server, and so on. These implementations are designed to rely on the base features of Windows Server 2008 to provide centralized end-user services.

In addition, this server type includes running custom applications. For these applications, you need to install the components of the Application role in Server Manager. While some of these components run either COM+ or .NET applications, others include the ability to run Web applications. COM+ and .NET applications have already been discussed.

Explore Application Virtualization

Traditional application installation and delivery can be a lot of work. That's because traditional software products install on the server. Another option exists: application virtualization. Application virtualization tools isolate or abstract application components from the operating system and other applications, yet provide full capabilities for application and operating system interaction. Instead of installing an application, application virtualization captures its running state. Once that running state is captured, there is no need for an actual installation: You only need to copy the files that make up the captured running state to any machine that includes the virtualization agent and authorize the application for it to run.

In and of itself, application virtualization offers many benefits and may warrant an immediate implementation, but because of its nature, it requires redeployment of all of the applications you run in order to take full advantage of the virtualization capabilities. This is why it is ideal to adopt this technology during a migration project. Otherwise, you would have to replace all of the applications that are already deployed in your network- uninstalling the application and then redeploying it as a virtual application. This is why the best time to do this is when you are deploying a brand-new network, such as the parallel VSO network.

In addition, it is possible to use data streaming technologies, similar to those used for video and audio streaming, to send the applications to endpoints. This means that your application server now becomes more of a file server that copies these applications to other systems than one that serves applications to end users. Also, since the application is only copied to the system, it is extremely easy to remove it from a system when the application's lifetime ends.

There are several different types of application virtualization technologies, but all of them basically produce a similar feature set:

• Altiris, part of Symantec, offers Software Virtualization Solution (SVS), which is a filter driver that is installed on the operating system (OS). The filter driver manages the virtualization process. SVS applications can be combined with AppStream's AppStream server to offer streaming capabilities.
• Citrix offers virtualization technologies within its Presentation Server. Citrix uses a principle similar to Microsoft's Application Virtualization and streams applications to desktops or servers.
• Microsoft offers Microsoft Application Virtualization (MAV) as part of the Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance (DOPSA). Microsoft acquired SoftGrid in mid-2006 and has reprogrammed the MAV client to get it to run with x86 and x64 versions of Windows Vista and WS08.
• Thinstall offers the Thinstall Virtualization Suite (ThinstallVS). Thinstall incorporates its virtualization engine directly into the software package it creates. As such, no pre-deployment preparation is required. More information on ThinstallVS can be found at www.thinstall.com.
  Each virtualization product is a third-party add-on to WS08. Pricing for each solution is relatively similar, as some require direct acquisition costs and others are subscription-based. Just as the dynamic network is divided into resource pools and virtual service offerings, so is the application operation model changed from an installation to a virtualization model. If you can add applications to your servers without actually installing them, be able to reset them with a click of a mouse button, and remove them at will, you will see tremendous benefits in your new network. Seriously consider application virtualization for anything you would normally host on a server and reduce your total cost of operations (TCO) on application management.