FAQ: AppV : Can I stream application if it was sequenced on other OS

Short Answer is Yes & No.

Long Answer: If the application was sequenced on WinXP and streamed on Vista then there is more chances for the application to work but reverse is not recommended.

TIPS: Python: How to convert python script to executable

Python script can be converted in a standalone executable using one of the exe builder like
* py2exe (Windows)
* py2app (Mac OS)
* PyInstaller (all platforms)
* cx_Freeze (Windows and Linux)
* bbFreeze (Windows and Linux)

TIPS: Linux : Compress a directory

The following command can be used to compress entire directory in a file :

tar cjf <FileName>.tar.bz2 <DirectoryPath>

Tips: Convert flv to mpg or avi

Following converts video.flv into video.mpg file:

CODE

ffmpeg -i video.flv -ab 56 -ar 22050 -b 500 -s 320x240 video.mpg


and following converts  video.flv into video.AVI with MP3 Audio:

CODE

ffmpeg -i I_test.flv -ab 56 -ar 22050 -b 500 -s 320x240 -vcodec xvid -acodec mp3 video.avi

TIPS: DELTREE in Windows XP

deltree can be simulated using the following .cmd file:

1. Create an empty file deltree.cmd in %windir%\system32 folder
2. Add the following content to the file, and save the file.

@echo off
del /S /F /Q %1
rd /S /Q %1

My Virtual Applications Repository

SVS Virtual packages for many OpenSource applications can be downloaded from

http://sourceforge.net/projects/appvrepo/

Switching back to Linux when Gnome-RDP in full screen

Ctrl+Alt+Enter will return you from full-screen mode.

You can use the same set of keystrokes to enter into the full-screen mode.

checking ext3 filesystem using fsck

use the following command for checking ext3 filesystem using fsck

fsck -c <drive>

<drive>: path of drive which you like to get scanned,

NOTE: IT Is aways advice to unmount the partition which needs to be scanned.

Disable "Use the web service to find the appropriate program"

Create the following DWORD key NoInternetOpenWith = 1 at

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Tips: Linux: Mount NTFS Share

mount -t cifs //<IPAddressOfRemoteMachine>/<Share> -o username=myntaccount,password=mypassword /mnt/ntfs

FAQ: App-V: How to use the custom Exclusion List while Sequencing

Steps to create the custom exclusion list.

1. Launch the AppV sequencer.


2. Goto Tools -> Options


3. Select "Exclusion Items" tab


4. Add new exclusion items using "New Button"


5. When all the exclusion items are added then press "Save As Default" button


6. Copy the default.sprj file from "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer\" or the folder where the sequencer was installed to some network share from where it can be accessed later.

Using the custom exclusion list

1. Copy the saved default.sprj file to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Application Virtualization Sequencer\" before launching the Sequencer.


2. When launched the sequencer will take the exclusion list from the default.sft file.

Imaging WinXP using Knoppix

1. Boot from knoppix


2. Repartition your drive
   
   
   
   1. Base Partition - This is were your winXP is installed
   
   
   2. Image Partition - this is were your image of windows xp will be copied
   
   
   
   


3. mount the  image partition: mount /dev/sda2 /media/img


4. Use the command to create the img: ntfsclone -s -o /media/img/winxp.img /dev/sda1


5. use the command to restore the img: ntfsclone  --restore-image -O /dev/sda1  /media/img/winxp.img


6. Enjoy

Note: It is a good idea to have ext3 as filesystem for your image partition so that the image file is not deleted accidentally and also it overwrites the FAT32 2GB filesize limit.

TIPS: dbus: UUID file '/var/lib/dbus/machine-id' contains invalid hex data

Whenever you get the above error then it can be resolved by executing the following command

dbus-uuidgen > /var/lib/dbus/machine-id

TIPS: dpkg Error: dpkg: too many errors, stopping

apt-get and dpkg are great package management tools but there might be a time that you can face the following error:

dpkg: too many errors, stopping

also when you try `apt-get upgrade` or `apt-get dist-upgrade` you will be adviced that the previous application installation was not successful thus they should execute `dpkg --configure -a` and it returns the above error.

To resolve the issue run the following command

dpkg --configure -a --abort-after=99999

MAC OS Keys

Startup
Keystroke Description
Press X during startup Force Mac OS X startup
Press Option-Command-Shift-Delete
during startup Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)
Press C during startup Start up from a CD that has a system folder
Press N during startup Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot)
Press R during startup Force PowerBook screen reset
Press T during startup Start up in FireWire Target Disk mode
Press Shift during startup start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files (Mac OS X 10.2 and later)
Press Command-V during startup Start up in Verbose mode.
Press Command-S during startup Start up in Single-User mode (command line)

creating windows service using pyinstaller

copied from http://www.nabble.com/windows-service-sample-using-pyInstaller-td16626208.html

# Usage: 
# service.exe install
# service.exe start
# service.exe stop
# service.exe remove

# you can see output of this program running python site-packages\win32\lib\win32traceutil 

import win32service

import win32serviceutil
import win32event
import win32evtlogutil
import win32traceutil
import servicemanager
import winerror
import time
import sys

class aservice(win32serviceutil.ServiceFramework):

    _svc_name_ = "aservice"
    _svc_display_name_ = "aservice - It Does nothing"
    _svc_deps_ = ["EventLog"]

    def __init__(self,args):
        win32serviceutil.ServiceFramework.__init__(self,args)

        self.hWaitStop=win32event.CreateEvent(None, 0, 0, None)
    self.isAlive=True

    def SvcStop(self):

        # tell Service Manager we are trying to stop (required)
        self.ReportServiceStatus(win32service.SERVICE_STOP_PENDING)


    # write a message in the SM (optional)
        # import servicemanager
        # servicemanager.LogInfoMsg("aservice - Recieved stop signal")

    # set the event to call
        win32event.SetEvent(self.hWaitStop)


    self.isAlive=False

    def SvcDoRun(self):
        import servicemanager
        # Write a 'started' event to the event log... (not required)
       
#
win32evtlogutil.ReportEvent(self._svc_name_,servicemanager.PYS_SERVICE_STARTED,0,
servicemanager.EVENTLOG_INFORMATION_TYPE,(self._svc_name_, ''))


        # methode 1: wait for beeing stopped ... 
        # win32event.WaitForSingleObject(self.hWaitStop, win32event.INFINITE)

        # methode 2: wait for beeing stopped ...
        self.timeout=1000  # In milliseconds (update every second) 


        while self.isAlive:

            # wait for service stop signal, if timeout, loop again
            rc=win32event.WaitForSingleObject(self.hWaitStop, self.timeout) 

            print "looping"


        # and write a 'stopped' event to the event log (not required)
       
#
win32evtlogutil.ReportEvent(self._svc_name_,servicemanager.PYS_SERVICE_STOPPED,0,
servicemanager.EVENTLOG_INFORMATION_TYPE,(self._svc_name_, ''))


        self.ReportServiceStatus(win32service.SERVICE_STOPPED)

    return

if __name__ == '__main__':

    # if called without argvs, let's run !

    if len(sys.argv) == 1:
        try:

        evtsrc_dll = os.path.abspath(servicemanager.__file__)
        servicemanager.PrepareToHostSingle(aservice)
        servicemanager.Initialize('aservice', evtsrc_dll)
            servicemanager.StartServiceCtrlDispatcher()

        except win32service.error, details:
            if details[0] == winerror.ERROR_FAILED_SERVICE_CONTROLLER_CONNECT:
                win32serviceutil.usage()
    else:
        win32serviceutil.HandleCommandLine(aservice)

Get the windows service state using Python

following code can be used to find if any service is installed and if so then return the state of the service.

import wmi

class servicePython():
    def __init__(self, serviceName):
        self.c = wmi.WMI ()
        self.serviceName = serviceName

    def setServiceName(self, serviceName):
        self.serviceName = serviceName

    def getStatus(self):    
        srv = c.Win32_Service (name=self.serviceName)
        if srv != []:
            return c.Status
        return False

recursive list files in a dir using Python

use the following code to list the files in a dir tree

import os
import sys
fileList = []
rootdir = sys.argv[1]
for root, subFolders, files in os.walk(rootdir):
    for file in files:
        fileList.append(os.path.join(root,file))
print fileList

Setting wx.TextCtrl readonly

Simply use the following code:

txtCtrl.SetEditable(False)

# Also its a good idea to change the backgroud colour so user will know that is has became readonly.

txtCtrl.SetBackgroundColour((255,23,23))

TIPS: WX.Python.Grid: Removing the selected Rows

lst = None
no = self.grid_ShareDetails.GetNumberRows()
lst = sorted(self.grid_ShareDetails.GetSelectedRows())
lst.reverse()
for l in lst:    
    self.grid_ShareDetails.DeleteRows(l,1)

PitHole: Windows : The specified service has been marked for deletion

When I try to install the install a service which i have just delete using sc command i get the following error :

"The specified service has been marked for deletion".

Just close the services.msc and try again. otherwise one might have to restart the machine :( to resolve the issue.

PitHole: RPM : "warning, user XXX does not exist - using root"

If while installing rpm package following error occurs

warning: user XXX does not exist - using root

Issue : I'm trying to build/install an rpm and it keeps giving me these warnings while installing the binary. Though I heard this could be safely ignored as its bcos there is no user XXX on my box, was wondering if there is a way to supress this in the rpm spec file itself. I know I could also manually build it as root. But curious if we could supress this from the spec.

Resolution:

Add the following in the spec file and recompile the spec file

%defattr(-,root,root)

TIPS: deltree in Windows

I always missed the good old deltree External DOS command. Here is how we can get it in batch file

del /s %1
rd /s %1

Tips : wx.Python : Close button not working.

If the close button does not work then add the following entries

self.Bind(wx.EVT_CLOSE, self.quit)

under the __init__ function and create a new function as

def quit(self, event):
self.Destroy()

PitHole: MAV: Error code: 0000C81D

Error:

Unable to import OSD file. The file specified is not a valid SoftGrid OSD file. Please ensure the file conforms to the SoftGrid OSD file schema and contains well formed XML. Error code: 0000C81D

When:

When importing the package using SPRJ or OSD file:

Cause:

OSD File is missing or NAME Tag inside OSD File is greater then 64 Char length.

FAQ: Resolving the "ImportError: No module named decimal" Error

Error Message:

ImportError: No module named decimal

Description:

Error occurs when executable created using pyinstaller is executed which uses pymssql module

Resolution:

import decimal in the python program

If you are using pymssql module in python program and creating

FAQ: MAV: Removing the Servers from the Softgrid Management consoles.

Delete / rename the SftMMC which is located at "%appdata%\Microsoft\MMC" directory will remove all the settings and sever details also from the Softgrid Management Consoles.

Disable the "Use the Web service to find the correct program" Dialog

Create the following DWORD key NoInternetOpenWith = 1 at

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

making skype portable

Ever wished to execute skype from the usb drive. Here's how you can do that.

1. Create skype folder on usb drive.


2. copy skype.exe to that folder.


3. create subfolder named data


4. create a cmd file (save it in skype folder) with the content start %~dp0skype.exe /datapath:"%~dp0data" /removable


5. run the cmd file and enjoy.

I am not sure if skype.exe adds registry on the local machine or not, will try to find that and update.

FAQ: How to enable file streaming in softgrid 4.5

The File Streaming can be enabled in 4.5 by setting the following key to 1 (DWORD)

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SoftGrid\4.5\Client\Configuration\AllowIndependentFileStreaming

PitHole: softgrid - Not running apps while in Capture Mode

Following are the few of the reasons why one should execute the applications while in capture mode.

1. Applicataion initialization: Most of the applications initialize on there first lauch and it is a good idea to capture that, Applications can do that by many ways such as self healing, etc

2. Component evaluating: This is something Sequencer does, it scans all the files and there working and based on that it sets the softricity attributes to the files and folders,

Can I virtualize hosts file.

No, hosts file can not be virtualized using Microsoft Softgrid Application Virtualization technique.

A nice Defrag Utility

Today i came across a nice  defrag utility which is free and have most of the features, One can download it from http://www.defraggler.com/.

download all the links of website with one command

Step1: Download wget : http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/wget.htm

Step2: run the following command

wget -m http://<weburl/>

Step 2.1 : If you want to download only say pdf files from the url then use the following command

wget -m -A pdf http://<weburl/>

Thats it.

PitHole: MAV : "Not Authorised to access" Error

Yesterday, I came accross a very funny error, A friend of mine told me that he has published a sequence on two servers and the package is working fine on one server but fails when streamed from another server and user is getting "Not Authorised Error".

This is a very common error while streaming and is mostly generated when the sequence is not published on the server. But in this case it was published.

After struggling for two hour, I found that my friend was testing the seq which was published on two servers on same client machine without cleaning the cache.  I asked him to cleanup the cache and then try again, but this time launch the osd from the server which is not working. After few mins he called me and said that now it is working fine.

Issue:

The issue was that when he launched the osd from Server A, the OSD file got cached in alluser profile and then  when he launched it from Server , it went to server A and was trying to launch it from there and thats were all the hell broke down.

Lesson's Learned:

Always clean the cache using lucy (my softgrid client helper) or through the softgrid client console, and then do the testing for another package.

A Brief Introduction of Package Management using APT

A Brief Introduction of Package Management using APT

Microsoft Application Virtualization: Tips to pick right apps for sequencing

The following guidelines can be applied to test if any given application is a good candidate for sequencing or not.

1. Application Size: If the maximum client cache size is set for 4 GB (The Max can be 64 GB), then the maximum size of application (sft file) which can be streamed on that machine is 4 GB.



All applications which have the installed footprint greater than or equal to the max client size, set by the client, should not be sequenced. The Max application size Softgrid can handle is 4GB, [This is my guess as Q: drive has FAT filetype and the max filesize FAT can handle is 4GB ]. More details at http://www.softgridguru.com/viewtopic.php?t=2763.



2. Device Driver: Softgrid presently do not support sequencing of device drivers thus any application which install device driver should not be sequenced.
   The only exception is when the device driver can be installed locally without installing the application. In this case the Device driver should be installed locally and only the application without the device driver should be sequenced.


3. Plugins: Specially Office plugins, although they can be sequenced without any issue, they should not be sequenced due to usage issues. For example you sequenced 4 excel plugins and one user is using all 4 of them. Say he opened excel through one sequenced version, created the document and closed it. Now App-V & OS does not have a mechanism to open that excel sheet using that particular sequence  The only workaround is to sequence all the plugins in a group. But now the issue is to maintain all the plugin sequences also if you are working for a company which heavily relay on Office Plugins and most user use different set of plugins than managing the sequence will be a nightmare.


4. Windows Context menu: Presently App-V does not have mechanism to handle Windows Context Menu, thus these types of applications are not good candidate for Sequencing.


5. Custom Application Protocol: Some applications have custom launch protocols, such as “abcd://testing” etc. These types of applications cannot be sequenced without installing a prerequisite. See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa767914%28VS.85%29.aspx and http://www.codeplex.com/customurl for more details how to archive it.


6. Shortcuts: Application should have a minimum of 1 Shortcut. If no shortcuts are present then the application should be sequenced in a Suite along with the application which needs it.
   If Macromedia Flash is the application in question to be sequenced then the shortcut should be pointing to the locally installed IE.


7. Middleware: Middleware applications are not a good candidate for sequencing as they can be used as prerequisites by various many applications in the build and thus should be installed locally. but if multiple version of it are needed then it should be sequenced along with the application which needs them.


8. Path hard coding: The application should not have folder/file path hard-coded in the application itself. Some application hard code the path of files in registry or ini file or executables. In these cases it has been found that the application can be sequenced most of the time, but extreme care should be taken while sequencing & testing. Configuration files such as ini, conf, txt etc are good places to look for the hard-coding.


9. Base Build Applications: Applications which are already part of base build should not be sequenced. One can sequence them but they are of no real value.


10. Auto Update: Application with automatic updates should not be sequenced. Sequenced application most of the time fails to properly update itself. Also allowing auto update leads to non compliance of application version. These type of applications should be sequenced only if the auto update feature can be disabled during sequencing procedure and users should be educated not to enable the feature.


11. Services: For services -item, you should note that services that can be started when application starts and shut down when application main executable shuts down can be included in sequence. Only services that run as their own are (like boot-time services do but there are others) not suitable for sequencing as under SoftGrid all application starting happens under user’s session context. Special thanks to ksaunam.


12. COM+: Some application which uses COM+ might not work properly in virtual environment, thus this type of applications needs be tested properly.


13. COM DLL: Few application which uses COM DLL surrogate virtualization, i.e. DLL’s that run in Dllhost.exe, does not work properly in Softgrid Environment. Thus this type of applications needs be tested properly.


14. Licensing Policies: Applications with licensing enforcement tied to machine, e.g. the license is tied to the system’s MAC address. This type of application should not be sequenced if the activation can not be done by the user at the first launch of sequenced application.


15. Internet Explorer & Service Packs: Internet Explorer, Services Patch and Service pack can not be sequenced.


16. Hosts file can not be sequenced


17. Applications using or accessing WMI to access virtual environment such as registry, files etc.


18. Applications which require or allow locally installed applications to access it. such as MS Office applications. NOTE: Sequencer should make sure no instance of locally installed application is running before virtual application is launched.

About Company
A global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing, Capgemini has 90,000 employees across 30 countries with revenues in excess of $13 Billion. Our 10 years in India have seen us grow into a dynamic organisation that’s 20,000 strong. As part of Capgemini, you’ll have the opportunity to develop strategies on some of the world’s biggest brands for markets that span the globe. At Capgemini, we make it a policy to partner our clients and help them find a solution. We call this the Collaborative Business Experience. And the results show, when both our clients and our employees prosper. So, if you want to make the most of global opportunities, come join us.

Job Description:

Required:

2 to 10yrs in application re- packaging using tools like Installshield adminstudio/Wise package studio

Repackage legacy setup to Windows installer format

Create MSI transforms

Job Loc: Mumbai.

1. Application Size: If the maximum client cache size is set for 4 GB (The Max can be 64 GB), then the maximum size of application (sft file) which can be streamed on that machine is 4 GB.

All applications which have the installed footprint greater then or equal to the max client size, set by the client, should not be sequenced. The Max applicaiton size Softgrid can handle is 4GB, [This is my guess as Q: drive has FAT filetype and the max filesize FAT can handle is 4GB ]. More details at http://www.softgridguru.com/viewtopic.php?t=2763.

2. Device Driver: Softgrid presently do not support sequencing of device drivers thus any application which install device driver should not be sequenced.
   The only exception is when the device driver can be installed locally without installing the application. In this case the Device driver should be installed locally and only the application without the device driver should be sequenced.


3. Plugins: Specially Office plugins, although they can be sequenced without any issue. But due to usage issues, sequencing of them should be avoided. For example you sequenced 4 excel plugins and one user is using all 4 of them. Say he opened excel through one sequenced version, created the document and closed it. Now App-V & OS does not have a mechanism to open that excel sheet in the correct sequenced version of excel. The only workaround is to sequence all the plugins in a group. But now the issue is to maintain all the plugin sequences also if you are working for a company which heavily relay on Office Plugins and most user use different set of plugins then managing the sequence will be a nightmare.


4. Windows Context menu: Presently App-V does not have mechanism to handle Windows Context Menu, thus these types of applications are not good candidate for Sequencing.


5. Custom Application Protocol: Some applications have custom launch protocols, such as “abcd://testing” etc. These types of applications cannot be sequenced without installing a prerequisite. See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa767914%28VS.85%29.aspx and http://www.codeplex.com/customurl for more details how to archive it.


6. Shortcuts: Application should have minimum of 1 Shortcut. If no shortcuts are present then the application should be sequenced in a Suite along with the application which needs it.
   If Macromedia Flash is the application in question to be sequenced then the shortcut should be pointing to the locally installed IE.


7. Middleware: Middleware applications are not a good candidate for sequencing as they can be used as prerequisites by various many applications in the build and thus should be installed locally. but if multiple version of it are needed then it should be sequenced along with the application which needs them.


8. Path hard coding: The application should not have folder/file path hard coded in the application itself. Some application hard code the path of files in registry or ini file or executables.

In these cases it has been found that the application can be sequenced most of the time, but extreme care should be taken while sequencing & testing. Configuration files such as ini, conf, txt etc are good places to look for the hardcoding.

9. Base Build Applications: Applications which are already part of base build should not be sequenced. One can sequence them but they are of no real value.


10. Auto Update: Application with automatic updates should not be sequenced. Sequenced application most of the time fails to properly update itself. Also allowing auto update leads to non compliance of application version.

Application should be sequenced only if the auto update feature can be disabled during sequencing procedure.

11. Services: For services -item, you should note that services that can be started when application starts and shut down when application main executable shuts down can be included in sequence. Only services that run as their own are (like boot-time services do but there are others) not suitable for sequencing since under SoftGrid all application starting happens under user’s session context. Special thanks to ksaunam.


12. COM+: Some application which uses COM+ might not work properly in virtual environment, thus this type of applications needs be tested properly.


13. COM DLL: Few application which uses COM DLL surrogate virtualization, i.e. DLL’s that run in Dllhost.exe, does not work properly in Softgrid Environment. Thus this type of applications needs be tested properly.


14. Licensing Policies: Applications with licensing enforcement tied to machine, e.g. the license is tied to the system’s MAC address. This type of application should not be sequenced if the activation can not be done by the user at the first launch of sequenced application.


15. Internet Explorer & Service Packs: Internet Explorer, Services Patch and Service pack can not be sequenced.


16. Hosts file can not be sequenced

Softgrid FAQs : Why I am getting the “Invalid directory” error message.

I have only seen this error message under following conditions.

1. OSD is referring of a Network file under script or FILENAME tag which user can not access.


2. WORKINGDIR tag refers to a directory which does not exist.


3. WORKINGDIR tag contains directory name is between Q0tes ("")

PitHole: softgrid - WORKINGDIR

Never put the directory under Quotations as it will always return an error message "Invalid directory".

Softgrid FAQs : When it is safe to remove the WORKINGDIR Tag

It might be safe to remove the workingdir tag only if

1. 
   
   When launching the app you are getting Invalid dir error.
   
   

Softgrid FAQs : Blank Icons on published Applicataions.

I have seen this due to two reasons.

1. 
   
   While capture the icons were not captured properly:
   
   
   
   
   1. 
      
      Resolution: Extract the icons from the executable and then use it.
      
      
   
   
   
   


2. 
   
   The icons does not have proper icons size 16x16
   
   
   
   
   1. 
      
      
      

      Resolution: Extract the icons from the executable and then use it

      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   

Note: One can use iconsucker, IconSnatcher or similar tool. Always remember to save the icon in 16x16 size and do not forget to update the OSD files to point to the new icons.

Get Processes along with parameters

Click Start, Run and type CMD

Type the command given below:

WMIC /OUTPUT:C:\ProcessList.txt PROCESS get Caption,Commandline,Processid

or

WMIC /OUTPUT:C:\ProcessList.txt path win32_process get Caption,Processid,Commandline

Adding TextNode in XML using python

OSElements = document.getElementsByTagName("ABSTRACT")
for element in OSElements:

print element.nodeValue
new = doc.createTextNode("TESTING")
element.appendChild(new)

Setting ColumnWidth of wx.ListView control in python

# Get the size of listView Control
w = self.lvMountPoint.GetSize()
# Set the ColumnWidth
self.lvMountPoint.SetColumnWidth(0,w[0] * 0.81)
self.lvMountPoint.SetColumnWidth(1,w[0] * 0.19)