A simple test of speedy delivery
To better understand the behavior of each application virtualization solution, I constructed a rudimentary test bed featuring Microsoft Office 2003. Using the packaging tools from each solution, I created a virtualized Office image and then used each solution’s distribution mechanism to deploy the image to a Windows XP-based client session.

Click for larger view.

During deployment, I monitored the client session to measure peak network traffic, recording the total bytes sent and received per second in Windows Performance Monitor. I also timed the initial launch of multiple Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access) in an effort to gauge the efficiency of the three delivery methods.

Note: All testing was conducted under Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 (SP1). In the case of SoftGrid, a Windows Server 2003-based Active Directory environment was created to support the SoftGrid server components. For Symantec SVS Pro, I used a non-Active Directory Windows Server 2003 instance. Thinstall didn’t require any server components; however, I did use the SoftGrid server to host a cached share point containing Thinstall-packaged executables.

Microsoft SoftGrid 4.2
When I first reviewed SoftGrid in July 2006 ("SoftGrid opens a stream toward application manageability") I found a product with tremendous promise saddled with an overly complex sequencing process and myriad runtime limitations. It’s now a year later and virtually nothing has changed. Version 4.2 is still plagued by UI quirks and omissions, the failure to automatically share the Content folder during the server installation process being the most glaring (unforgivable, really). There has been no real improvement in application compatibility; for example, SoftGrid still can’t handle applications that employ headless services (such as systems management agents). In fact, other than support for Windows Vista as a client OS, SoftGrid is effectively unchanged from its previous incarnation.

All of which makes the logic behind Microsoft’s decision to acquire SoftGrid from its original developer, Softricity, all the more apparent. The Redmond giant has a history of obtaining half-baked products for the purpose of gaining access to a particular core technology -- in this case, the SoftGrid virtualization client and streaming engine. Microsoft needs these code nuggets in order to flesh out its grand scheme for a subscription-based computing model (see my blog post, "Microsoft's Virtualization Endgame," for details). And barely 12 months since the acquisition, the gutting has begun.

For example, Microsoft recently announced a new packaging tool for SoftGrid, one that allows customers to redistribute SoftGrid-encoded applications using Microsoft’s Windows Installer service. This makes it easier for customers to decouple the virtualization client layer from the streaming server layer, effectively making the SoftGrid OSD package format a viable stand-alone delivery platform, much as the company’s VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) format functions for virtual servers. It also helps SoftGrid applications play better with existing configuration management environments because the OSD is wrapped within the widely supported Windows Installer (MSI) package format.