Review: InstallFree Encapsulator Beta (update)

Since the recent evaluation of InstallFree Bridge, I also took a look at InstallFree Encapsulator that is used for packaging. The packaging is quite simple, if you already know other packaging tools like Microsoft SoftGrid Sequencer, VMware Thinstall and Wise Package Studio. The most important thing about packaging in general is knowing how applications function, where they store what kind of data.

The cool thing about InstallFree is their MiniOS. This is a small base package that provides a complete and sterile computing environment. The packaging is done within this MiniOS. All changes during installation are written in a so called Application On Demand (AOD) package. The MiniOS is just a base set of the software environment. Using dependency packages, you can extend the base that is required for your application.

The process of creating such AOD package is simple. Just launch the ‘Build AOD’ application, select a MiniOS and watch the 3D cube turn into the MiniOS. This rotating cube will return in the InstallFree Desktop product.

In the MiniOS just install the application as you are used to. After installation you can change whatever you want with the MiniOS toolbar on top of the screen. This gives you much flexibility.

When finished, close the MiniOS and save the OAD. That’s all there is to do.

Once the OAD is saved, you can create a single .EXE with the Pack OAD application. This application can be run from any Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Windows Vista, without the InstallFree Bridge. The AOD file itself should be used in combination with the InstallFree Bridge. As you might have read in a previous post, the Bridge offers a pretty cool BridgeShell, that is NOT part of a single .EXE.

I have not yet discovered a way of modifying .AOD files. This feature might be part of a future release, where a browse to .AOD will allow you to edit existing .AOD files.

With the AOD Patch Builder a patch can be made from two different versions of an OAD file. Simple make two complete packages and run the AOD Patch Builder to create a patch. I made a patch for Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.9 to 2.0.0.14. This patch can be attached to a InstallFree Virtual Application (IFV) in InstallFree Management Console.

Pre-scripting functionality is possible by adding a dependency .AOD file, that kicks of a external script. The downside of this ‘calling external scripts’ is bad security. By introducing this functionality, the forces security can be compromised.
The above method of pre-scripting enabled integration with RES PowerFuse 8.

What I have seen so far, the InstallFree products are well developed. Functionality is all in place, just some work on GUI and features is required for the future.

Screendumps in this post might differ from final releases.

Review: InstallFree Bridge Evaluation (update)

A few weeks ago, I attended a presentation on InstallFree. InstallFree combines application virtualization and management. It looks a little like Thinstall, but also provides a desktop on a USB stick like Mojopack. Because I was impressed by the demonstration I requested a evaluation version.

Today I have installed the evaluation of InstallFree Bridge. InstallFree Desktop is not yet available as an evaluation package.

The evaluation package of InstallFree Bridge is more like a technology preview than a full product evaluation. The installation is a set of instructions and not an installation wizard like most products. After manually creating and filling the file server with packages, the InstallFree Management Console is started for basic configuration. An Active Directory is used for application assigning.

The InstallFree Management Console is intuitive and so easy to use. Assiging applications to users is as easy as selecting the application you want to provide at user level or organizational unit level.

After assigning the applications, the pre-configured InstallFree Bridge (agent) has to be launched from the users desktop. The evaluation guide lets you copy the Bridge to the %APPDATA% location, but you can change the ifbhook.cfg file to have it run from %PROGRAMFILES% and store personal data in %APPDATA%.

The InstallFree Bridge runs under user credentials. The Bridge provides a ‘virtual’ shell allowing shell extensions. Products like VMware Thinstall and Microsoft SoftGrid lack this possibility.

The pre-packaged applications run without any problems from the InstallFree Bridge on Windows XP. Windows Vista is not yet supported. Vista support is currently being tested and will probably be available short after the GA release.

Making an application available offline takes a long time and the Windows explorer shell crashes a few times. This is already fixed in a new release.

InstallFree Encapsulator generates self-contained InstallFree Virtual (IFV) applications. These virtual applications include the entire set of resources required for running the applications without having to install them on a host computer. The Encapsulator has its own complete and sterile computing environment which is based on our patent-pending technology, the IFV Core Engine. Some of these self-contained IFV applications are part of the evaluation package as well. Unfortunately the Encapsulator itself is not part of the evaluation.

If I examine the shortcut to the ‘virtual’ applications I mention that they run from a ‘Virtual Drive’ V:. When opening the V: drive from within an application, you can see that each application has its own virtual file system to prevent application conflicts. The Bridge also adds a V: drive to non virtual applications, this V: drive contains only the connectivity layer of the application — this layer is also not conflicting.

After playing a while the the InstallFree Bridge I conclude that the technology is pretty cool and very easy to manage. The binaries still need some work.

Sign up for your own evaluation here.

I would like to thank Netzer Shlomai for his comments.