Article
07/01/2015

Example Scenario for Managing Applications by Using Configuration Manager

Updated: May 14, 2015

Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP2, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager SP1

Note

This topic appears in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide and in the Scenarios and Solutions Using System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

This topic provides an example scenario for how you can use System Center 2012 Configuration Manager to manage applications in your enterprise. It covers the lifecycle of the application deployment: The initial creation and testing to deploy the application; updating the deployed application to a later version; and the removal of the application from computers on the production network.

John is the Configuration Manager administrator at Woodgrove Bank who must deploy the latest version of Microsoft Visio to 200 users, according to the following requirements:

He must install the application only to computers that run Windows 7.
For performance reasons, only computers with more than 4 GB of RAM must install this application. If computers have less than 4 GB RAM, they must run the virtual version of the application.
A company specific application, Woodgrove.msi, must be installed on all company computers before installing the application.
If the application is installed on a computer that is not the user’s primary computer, a virtual version of the application must be installed.
Computers that run Windows Server must not install Microsoft Visio and the Woodgrove.msi application.
The application must also be made available to users to install on-demand to other computers in the organization.

The following sections in this topic provide example steps for how to use Configuration Manager to create, deploy, and manage applications in your organization:

Preparation
Step 1: Create and deploy the Woodgrove.msi application
Step 2: Create an application for Microsoft Visio
Step 3: Create multiple deployment types for the Microsoft Visio application
Step 4: Test the application by using a simulated deployment
Step 5: Deploy the Microsoft Visio application
Step 6: Supersede the Microsoft Visio application
Step 7: Remove the Microsoft Visio application

Preparation

Before John can manage applications by using Configuration Manager, he takes the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
John reviews the available information about the basic concepts for application management in Configuration Manager.	For overview information about application management, see Introduction to Application Management in Configuration Manager.
John reviews and implements the required prerequisites to deploy applications.	For information about the prerequisites for application management, see Prerequisites for Application Management in Configuration Manager.
John configures and tests the Application Catalog and Software Center, which allow users to browse for and install software.	For information about how to configure the Application Catalog and Software Center, see Configuring the Application Catalog and Software Center in Configuration Manager.

Step 1: Create and deploy the Woodgrove.msi application

The application named Woodgrove.msi must be installed on all computers in the company, except for servers. To create this application in Configuration Manager, John takes the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
From the Configuration Manager console, John runs the Create Application Wizard.	For information about how to start the Create Application Wizard, see the Step 1: Start the Create Application Wizard section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.
To automatically populate the wizard with information about the Woodgrove.msi installation file, John selects the installation file type Windows Installer (Native). He then reviews the information that has been read from the application installation file and provides further information on the General page of the Create Application Wizard. John names the application Woodgrove Business Application. John completes the wizard. The new application and a deployment type (named Woodgrove MSI) for the application is created and displayed in the Applications node of the Software Library workspace.	For information about how to automatically detect information about the application from the application installation files, see the section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.Unable to find bookmark 'BKMK_Auto' in topic '{"project_id":"49ce141d-c0aa-4cde-8110-4532d406827d","entity_id":"989dfb1d-a003-4200-817d-f917d8ae096b","entity_type":"Article","locale":"en-US"}'. Rebuild topic '{"project_id":"49ce141d-c0aa-4cde-8110-4532d406827d","entity_id":"989dfb1d-a003-4200-817d-f917d8ae096b","entity_type":"Article","locale":"en-US"}' may solve the problem.
John starts the Distribute Content Wizard in order to copy the application content to the required distribution points in the Woodgrove Bank hierarchy. He uses the Content Status node in the Monitoring workspace to confirm that the content for the application has been successfully distributed.	For information about the Distribute Content Wizard, see the Distribute Content on Distribution Points section in the Operations and Maintenance for Content Management in Configuration Manager topic. For information about how to monitor the distribution of application content, see the Content Status Monitoring section in the Operations and Maintenance for Content Management in Configuration Manager topic.
John creates a device collection that contains all computers that run a desktop operating system in the Woodgrove Bank hierarchy. He names this collection All Desktop and Laptop Computers.	For information about how to create collections, see How to Create Collections in Configuration Manager
John uses the Deploy Software Wizard to deploy the application to the All Desktop and Laptop Computers collection by using the following parameters: Deployment action - Install Deployment purpose – Required	For information about how to deploy applications, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.
John monitors the deployment of Woodgrove.msi to ensure that it is successfully installed on all computers in the All Desktop and Laptop Computers collection.	For more information about how to monitor application deployments, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.

Step 2: Create an application for Microsoft Visio

John must now create an application for Microsoft Visio. To create this application in Configuration Manager, John takes the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
From the Configuration Manager console, John runs the Create Application Wizard.	For information about how to start the Create Application Wizard, see the Step 1: Start the Create Application Wizard section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.
John uses the Create Application Wizard to create a new application named Microsoft Visio (Woodgrove Bank). He selects the option to automatically detect application information from the Windows Installer (.msi) file for Microsoft Visio. John completes the wizard. The new application and a deployment type for the application is created and displayed in the Applications node of the Software Library workspace.	For information about how to automatically detect information about the application from the application installation files, see the section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.Unable to find bookmark 'BKMK_Auto' in topic '{"project_id":"49ce141d-c0aa-4cde-8110-4532d406827d","entity_id":"989dfb1d-a003-4200-817d-f917d8ae096b","entity_type":"Article","locale":"en-US"}'. Rebuild topic '{"project_id":"49ce141d-c0aa-4cde-8110-4532d406827d","entity_id":"989dfb1d-a003-4200-817d-f917d8ae096b","entity_type":"Article","locale":"en-US"}' may solve the problem.
John opens the properties for the Microsoft Visio (Woodgrove Bank) application and clicks the Deployment Types tab. He then selects the deployment type that was just created, and clicks Edit. On the Requirements tab of the <deployment type> Properties dialog box, John configures the following requirements: Category: Device, Condition: Total physical memory, Operator: Greater than or equal to, Value (MB): 4000 – This requirement ensures that the deployment type can be installed only on computers with more than 4 GB RAM. Category: Device, Condition: Operating system, Operator: One of, Windows 7 – This requirement ensures that the deployment type can be installed only on computers that run Windows 7. Note This requirement also prevents the deployment type from installing on computers that run Windows Server. Category: User, Condition: Primary Device, Operator: Equals, Value: True – This requirement ensures that the Windows Installer deployment type can run only on the user's primary device.	For information about deployment type requirements, see the Step 6: Specify Requirements for the Deployment Type section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.
On the Dependencies tab of the <deployment type> Properties dialog box, John configures the following dependency: Dependency group name – Woodgrove Visio Applications. Application – Woodgrove Business Application Supported Deployment Types – Woodgrove MSI John also selects the Auto Install check box to ensure that the Woodgrove.msi business application will automatically install on any computer, if required, before installing Microsoft Visio.	For more information about dependencies, see the Step 7: Specify Dependencies for the Deployment Type section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.

Step 3: Create multiple deployment types for the Microsoft Visio application

For John's business purposes, he requires two deployment types: The MSI deployment type that locally installs the application, and a virtual deployment type. John creates a deployment type for the Microsoft Visio virtual application by taking the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
John uses the Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) Sequencer to create a virtual application for Microsoft Visio.	For more information, see the topic How to Sequence a New Application (App-V 4.6) in the Application Virtualization documentation.
John opens the Applications node in the Software Library workspace and selects the Microsoft Visio (Woodgrove Bank) application. Then, on the Home tab, in the Application group, he clicks Create Deployment Type. To automatically populate the wizard with information about the virtual application, John selects the installation file type Microsoft Application Virtualization and then browses to the XML manifest file for the Microsoft Visio virtual application.	For more information about how to create deployment types, see How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager.
On the Requirements page of the Create Deployment Type Wizard, John configures the following requirements: Category: Device, Condition: Total physical memory, Operator: Greater than or equal to, Value (MB): 4000 – This requirement ensures that the deployment type can be installed only on computers with more than 4 GB RAM. Category: Device, Condition: Operating system, Operator: One of, Windows 7 – This requirement ensures that the deployment type can be installed only on computers that run Windows 7. Note This requirement also prevents the deployment type from installing on computers that run Windows Server. Category: User, Condition: Primary Device, Operator: Equals, Value: False – This requirement ensures that the virtual application deployment type will run only on devices that are not the user’s primary device.	For information about deployment type requirements, see the Step 6: Specify Requirements for the Deployment Type section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.
On the Dependencies tab of the <deployment type> Properties dialog box, John configures the following dependency: Dependency group name – Woodgrove Visio Applications. Application – Woodgrove Business Application Supported Deployment Types – Woodgrove MSI John also selects the Auto Install check box to ensure that the Woodgrove.msi business application will automatically install on any computer, if required, before installing Microsoft Visio.	For more information about application dependencies, see the Step 7: Specify Dependencies for the Deployment Type section in the How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager topic.
John starts the Distribute Content Wizard to copy the application content to the required distribution points in the Woodgrove Bank hierarchy. He then uses the Content Status node in the Monitoring workspace to confirm that the content for the application has been successfully distributed.	For information about the Distribute Content Wizard, see the Distribute Content on Distribution Points section in the Operations and Maintenance for Content Management in Configuration Manager topic. For information about how to monitor the distribution of application content, see the Content Status Monitoring section in the Operations and Maintenance for Content Management in Configuration Manager topic.

Step 4: Test the application by using a simulated deployment

Before John deploys the Microsoft Visio application, he wants to test the deployment to find out how many computers will install local and virtual copies of Microsoft Visio. He also wants to determine how many computers do not meet the requirements to install the application. In order to obtain this information, John configures a simulated deployment by taking the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
John creates two new user collections. The first collection is named Required Visio Installation. It contains the names of the 200 users who must have Visio installed. The second collection, named Optional Visio Installation, contains all users. In this second collection, John adds a new exclude collection rule so that the members of the Required Visio Installation collection will be excluded from this collection.	For more information about how to create user collections, see the To create a user collection section in the How to Create Collections in Configuration Manager topic.
John runs the Simulate Application Deployment Wizard. He creates a simulated deployment with an action of Install and deploys it to the Required Visio Installation collection. He then creates a second simulated deployment by using the same parameters to the Optional Visio Installation collection.	For more information about simulated application deployments, see How to Simulate an Application Deployment in Configuration Manager.
John examines the status of each simulated deployment in the Deployments node of the Monitoring workspace. These deployments are listed with a purpose of Simulate. He discovers that about ten percent of the computers do not meet the requirements to install Microsoft Visio and he reports this information to his manager.	For more information about how to monitor application deployments, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.

John creates two new user collections. The first collection is named Required Visio Installation. It contains the names of the 200 users who must have Visio installed. The second collection, named Optional Visio Installation, contains all users. In this second collection, John adds a new exclude collection rule so that the members of the Required Visio Installation collection will be excluded from this collection.

For more information about how to create user collections, see the To create a user collection section in the How to Create Collections in Configuration Manager topic.

John runs the Simulate Application Deployment Wizard.

He creates a simulated deployment with an action of Install and deploys it to the Required Visio Installation collection.

He then creates a second simulated deployment by using the same parameters to the Optional Visio Installation collection.

For more information about simulated application deployments, see How to Simulate an Application Deployment in Configuration Manager.

John examines the status of each simulated deployment in the Deployments node of the Monitoring workspace. These deployments are listed with a purpose of Simulate. He discovers that about ten percent of the computers do not meet the requirements to install Microsoft Visio and he reports this information to his manager.

For more information about how to monitor application deployments, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.

Step 5: Deploy the Microsoft Visio application

John is now ready to deploy the new Microsoft Visio application. To accomplish this, he takes the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
John uses the Deploy Software Wizard to create two deployments of the Microsoft Visio application: Deployment 1 – to the Required Visio Installation collection with an action of Install and a purpose of Required. Deployment 2 – to the Optional Visio Installation collection with an action of Install and a purpose of Available.	For information about how to deploy applications, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.
John regularly monitors both of these deployments of Microsoft Visio. He can troubleshoot any problems that might occur by using the information in the Deployments node of the Monitoring workspace. John is able to report to his managers at Woodgrove Bank that the Microsoft Visio deployment has been successful.	For more information about how to monitor application deployments, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.

John uses the Deploy Software Wizard to create two deployments of the Microsoft Visio application:

Deployment 1 – to the Required Visio Installation collection with an action of Install and a purpose of Required.
Deployment 2 – to the Optional Visio Installation collection with an action of Install and a purpose of Available.

For information about how to deploy applications, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.

John regularly monitors both of these deployments of Microsoft Visio. He can troubleshoot any problems that might occur by using the information in the Deployments node of the Monitoring workspace.

John is able to report to his managers at Woodgrove Bank that the Microsoft Visio deployment has been successful.

For more information about how to monitor application deployments, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.

Step 6: Supersede the Microsoft Visio application

A new version of Microsoft Visio is released and Woodgrove Bank decides to upgrade all installed copies of the software to the new version. To accomplish this task, John takes the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
John deletes the current deployments of the Microsoft Visio application.	For information about how to delete an application deployment, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.
John creates deployment types for the new versions in the Microsoft Visio application for the full installation of Microsoft Visio and for a virtual installation of Microsoft Visio.	For more information, see Step 3: Create multiple deployment types for the Microsoft Visio application in this topic.
John adds two new supersedence relationships: One for the full installation of Microsoft Visio and one for the virtual installation. He also selects the option to uninstall the previous versions.	For more information about superseding applications, see How to Use Application Supersedence in Configuration Manager.
John redeploys the Microsoft Visio application to computers in the Woodgrove Bank hierarchy.	For information about how to deploy an application, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.
John monitors the state of these application deployments and is able to report to his manager that the new version of Microsoft Visio has been successfully deployed.	For more information about how to monitor application deployments, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.

Step 7: Remove the Microsoft Visio application

Woodgrove Bank decides that they no longer require Microsoft Visio to be installed on computers in their hierarchy. They ask John to remove all copies of the software from computers in the company. To accomplish this, he takes the actions outlined in the following table.

Process	Reference
John deletes all deployments of the Microsoft Visio application.	For information about how to delete an application deployment, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.
John checks the properties of each deployment type in the Microsoft Visio application. On the Programs tab of the Deployment Properties dialog box, he verifies that an uninstall program has been specified.	For more information about deployment type options, see How to Create Applications in Configuration Manager.
John then deploys the Microsoft Visio application to all computers with an action of Uninstall and a purpose of Required.	For information about how to deploy an application, see How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager.
John monitors the application deployment and is able to report to his manager that all copies of Microsoft Visio have been removed from the computers at Woodgrove Bank.	For more information about how to monitor application deployments, see How to Monitor Applications in Configuration Manager.

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