ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 with App-V 5.0 integration

Today I did some testing with App-V 5.0 integration in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1. Microsoft describes it this way in their whitepaper:
"Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 adds support of App-V 5.0 applications. App-V 5.0 provides benefits over traditional applications as it transforms applications into centrally managed, virtual services that are never installed and do not conflict with other applications. App-V dramatically accelerates application deployment, upgrades, patching, and retirement by eliminating time-consuming processes and simplifying the application management lifecycle."

And some other good lines also:
- Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 was designed to provide the same level application management features that are provided in the App-V 5.0 infrastructure;
- Configuration Manager 2012 offers a rich set of capabilities for managing virtual applications from the Configuration Manager infrastructure. Configuration Manager with App-V integration enhances the virtual application delivery model and provides features that are not available with an App-V full infrastructure model;
- App-V Integration with Configuration Manager is streamlined because Configuration Manager is performing the same tasks that are available with the full App-V infrastructure;
- Configuration Manager provides management of applications from delivery, update, and termination using the application catalog built-in wizards and configurations;
- SP1 for Configuration Manager 2012 reduces the App-V infrastructure to the App-V Sequencer and Client and takes the place of the management, publishing, and streaming components in a typical App-V full infrastructure; 


Figure 1:Configuration Manager with App-V Infrastructure

When having an ConfigMgr installation, no changes are needed at all. You can import App-V packages as applications by default and deploy them to a collection. I created a user collection per App-V package myself, connected with a user group per collection. Deployment of applications is done on the same collection in this scenario. That way management (adding users to a group) can be done in Active Directory, no need to add users in the ConfigMgr console.
 
Here it comes, when deploy a required (mandatory) application to a desktop it will be installed within 5 - 30 seconds after logon. When deploying an application to a already logged on session, nothing is happening. A user policy refresh must be done first, or just logoff and logon again. After that installation is done in 5 - 30 seconds again. I tried both local download and streaming, but no big changes in them. When using local download (which takes longer) the application can be started immediately afterwards. When using streaming (which is way faster) the bits are downloaded when starting the application. I can live with it both ways!

App-V packages visible in Software Center (part of ConfigMgr)

When you want to uninstall an App-V package as application things are really different. Microsoft decided to remove the "Remove this virtual application when it is no longer advertised" option, which was used in ConfigMgr 2007 with App-V 4.6 integration. This was a great option, which removes the App-V package when it was no longer advertised. Much better that way!
 
Page 30 of the updated Configuration Manager White Paper (just click for download) discusses this:
To configure an application to automatically uninstall when a user / system is removed from the install collection, create a collection based on the deployment status of a deployed application then target an uninstall deployment to it.
 
This means you have to create two collections and deployments per App-V package now, one for installing and one for uninstalling the application. This will take a lot of time to create, as it is much more configuration then the option being used before. Microsoft mentions: The uninstall collection query listed only works for systems. The query must be modified when the install collection contains user objects.


User collections in ConfigMgr for installation and removal

I did it another way myself, creating two user collections per application. That way the Microsoft query mentioned is not needed, way to many clicks for me! Just create an Install and Uninstall collection and deployment per application. On the Install collection use a query connected to the specific user group used. On the Uninstall collection include the "All Users and User Groups" and exclude the specific user group used. Do this for all applications used.
 
When a user is removed from the specific user group in Active Directory, it will be synchronized in ConfigMgr within 10 - 15 minutes and installed or removed automatically. Collection membership is refreshed every 5 minutes by default and removal of the application when the "User Policy Retrieval & Evaluation Cycle" is done. 
 
My opinion for now: I'm not convinced of the functionality at the moment, but will keep testing if things get better with a different configuration. For it seems App-V 5.0 is actually slower then 4.6 with an App-V full infrastructure also, so more tuning is needed. It must be easier and faster to remove App-V packages in ConfigMgr to become more successful. Stay tuned for more!