Streaming right along with AppExpress

On-demand application deployment technologies build on the concept of software as a service. For Internet service vendors, that means potential new revenue streams; for enterprises, it means lowering applications’ TCO (total cost of ownership).

Endeavors Technology’s AppExpress 2.5 seeks to do just that: reduce costs, deployment time, and installation problems associated with traditional application deployment in the enterprise.

The new bells and whistles in Version 2.5 include support for Microsoft Active Directory, Windows Server 2003, and SQL Server 2000. AppExpress certainly delivers robust management features and performs as advertised, but I’d like to see a simplified installation process and compatibility with a wider range of database applications.

Once installed and configured, AppExpress’ Application Server streams a cached version of published applications to the client desktop. The core AppExpress 2.5 install uses about 77MB of server space, compared to competitor AppStream’s 363MB server footprint.

Continuing the resource-conservation trend, the footprint left on the client by the cached application is based on the percentage of the application required, determined by the features used — significantly less than if you installed the entire app.

Server setup and installation is complex and involves hand-editing. I met this daunting challenge with the help of the well-written support documentation and a very knowledgeable Endeavors technical support person, who walked me through the one-and-a-half-hour installation.

Part of the installation complexity stems from AppExpress’ multiple components, including the Application Server; the Application Depot, which houses published apps; and the Management Services Server, the Web server from which system administrators manage accounts.

To download applications a client user subscribes to an app through the client’s Start menu, AppExpress then streams over the applications’ prepackaged core functionalities. The client user has the option to either install the desired app automatically or manually.

If a user doesn’t use an app frequently, he or she can deactivate it, which removes it from the Start menu but doesn’t delete the subscription. This can be a handy means of minimizing and simplifying the Start menu.

Packaging applications for use in AppExpress requires some concentration. First, the AppExpress Publisher must be installed on a “clean” system for this purpose. Publisher takes a snapshot of the clean client desktop before and after application installation, then logs the differences in file and registry entries, compressing and encrypting the application. The packaged app can then be moved to the Application Server for use. To ensure security, AppExpress supports SSL and encrypts its streaming application code using PKI certificates and MD5 digest.

The management interface and features are rock-solid with controls housed on one centralized admin index page. Reporting options are numerous, including Group, User, and Application usage in addition to Subscriber Distribution. Administrators can edit, delete, disable apps and subscriptions, and check on app usage, user status, and license status from the application management console.

Despite a competitive per-seat cost of $65, the additional software cost of $25,000 per server makes AppExpress’ value proposition one that you must weigh carefully. If your IT managers are struggling with app management for a large number of users and hardware resources are limited, AppExpress is worth consideration.