You can bundle applications and data into specialized read-only containers called AppStacks. You can assign AppStacks to users, groups, or accounts, and deliver applications through them.

Using the App Volumes Manager, you can create, provision, assign, update, edit, and delete, and manage AppStacks.

You must be aware of the following considerations when you are creating and provisioning AppStacks:

  • VHD In-Guest mode is the only supported machine manager mode.

  • You must have a constant network connection.

  • The OS on the physical device must be non-persistent, streamed, or both.

  • Provisioning of Internet Explorer into an AppStack is not supported. Due to the tight OS integration and dependencies, use an application isolation technology such as VMware ThinApp, and then use App Volumes for delivery of the isolated application package.

You can have an AppStack assigned to a user and a computer concurrently. See Assigning and Attaching AppStacks.

Note:

The App Volumes agent requires that Short File Name (SFN, aka 8dot3name) generation remain enabled for all volumes. This is the OS default. Microsoft recommends disabling SFN generation in some cases to improve performance. The App Volumes agent does not support this and any applications on the system volume or in an AppStack (especially applications belonging to the Microsoft Office Suite) may show unexpected behavior if SFNs are disabled.