Thursday, December 3, 2009

App-V, WAS 6.1 is the final 6.0, We have a child!

Just moved + baby + 80 hr workweeks=not much spare time. I don't have any time to type out valuable information, but in the interest of making it look like I still care here are some very brief updates:

  • I've been experimenting with Microsoft Application Virtualization via "App-V". (Apps over RDP) The implementation is impressive; I'm even running outlook full time without having it installed on my PC. There are some key limitations that prevent enterprise class adoption however: Load balancing options are limited, (this is being worked on) it doesn't operate quite correctly on the desktop side with the Aero interface, and there are at this point no ways to control the "branching" behavior of the app in question. For example, if you get an e-mail with an http: link there is no way to control where that link is opened. At this point all links, etc. default to opening within your RDP session on the server and a new virtualized app is created to facilitate that. Obviously there are few scenarios where you want to virtualize IE at this point in time due to the rendering requirements.
  • Quick point; WAS 6.1 is a major improvement over WAS 6.0 in terms of manageability. I am eager to work in depth with 7.0. I have figured out how to run Websphere Application Servers on the Windows platform without administrative privileges for the service account associated with the process. I was very disappointed to find that IBM didn't know this information, so I had to "go it alone". The very limited guidance their tier 3 support was able to offer was inaccurate, and I got the feeling that their expertise level on the Windows platform is somewhat limited. I suppose I should be surprised by that... anyhow the details are a little lengthy to type out at this time, so if interested shoot me an e-mail and I'll help you out. Also quickly re: WAS, be aware of this issue if using WAS with IIS 6.0/certificate authentication : http://blogs.msdn.com/jiruss/archive/2007/04/13/http-413-request-entity-too-large-can-t-upload-large-files-using-iis6.aspx (look how much more interesting that guy's blog is than mine. Must be focus.)
  • My kid is the cutest kid ever, but I may be slightly biased. Not sure.
  • My friend turned me on to a band that is absolutely amazing; I haven't enjoyed the collective works (only 3 albums mind you) of one band as much as this in quite some time. If you like progressive rock please give 'em a shot: http://www.amplifiertheband.com/
  • Tech PSA: If you're on the Google Wave preview program, please sign on. I have about 20 friends on there and not one of them has signed on in the last week. It's awkward sending all these waves back and forth to myself. ;-D
See ya!