Summary
There are two deployment options for ThinApp Factory:
- OVF: can be deployed directly to vCenter server 4.x, 5.0, downloadable above in appfactory-appliance.zip
- Installer: can be run from a Windows OS to assist with deploying the Virtual Appliance to vSphere 4.1 U1 or Workstation 8.0, downloadable above in ThinApp-Factory-Setup-Full
Update – Version 0.3.2 includes the recently released ThinApp 4.7.3 version.
The ThinApp Factory is a virtual appliance that brings centralized administration and automation to the process of creating virtualized Windows applications with VMware ThinApp technology. ThinApp Factory utilizes vSphere API’s to spawn workloads which automatically convert fileshares of application installers into ThinApp application containers. These workloads can be run in parellel to maximize throughput and increase ROI for virtualization projects. Packagers and administrators can now utilize ‘Recipes’ during this packaging process. Recipes are simply small json files which contain a redistributable blueprint of the customizations and optimizations necessary for packaging complex applications.
These recipes can be created and now exchanged freely with other customers via the ThinApp community site.
Key Features
- Automates packaging of application installers into virtualized Windows applications.
- Leverages vSphere, vCenter for automation of workloads to efficiently package 1000’s of applications.
- Provides and utilizes ‘Recipes’ as redistributable blueprints for application packaging.
- Provides a lightweight web UI with a dashboard for administrators to use for the entire workflow of packaging to distribution.
- Enables administrators to import and edit existing ThinApp projects and modify package.ini, registry, and file settings through the web UI.
- Integration with Horizon Application Manager application catalog for automated population of application metadata and deployment with the Horizon ThinApp Agent.
System Requirements
ThinApp Factory is packaged as a virtual appliance with the following configuration: vCPUs: 2 vRam: 2 GB vHDD: 500 MB
Compatible Browsers
- Internet Explorer 8 or 9
- Firefox 3.5 or later
- Chrome 11.0 or later (not supported with use of VRMC and manual capture)
- Safari 5 or later
Instructions
There are two deployment options for ThinApp Factory
- OVF: can be deployed directly to vCenter server 4.x, 5.0, downloadable above in appfactory-appliance.zip
- Installer: can be run from a Windows OS to assist with deploying the Virtual Appliance to vSphere 4.1 U1 or Workstation 8.0, downloadable above in ThinApp-Factory-Setup-Full
Note: The VRMC is also included as a download for your convenience. This is used by ThinApp Factory in the local browser to display when using the manual capture method.
Once the virtual appliance has been deployed and powered on, you can access the ThinApp Factory from a web browser by entering the IP address of the virtual appliance. See ThinApp Factory Installation Guide.
Video
Change Log
Engineers
 | Mike MorrisWorks in the ThinApp Prime Team group. |
I am trying to deploy ThinApp Factory for the first time, I get to the point of pickup DataStore and nothing show up on the list. What I am doing wrong?
I am getting a weird error at 35-50% precapture, when trying to auto-capture.
Error: Cannot open VM: [ThinApp_0116] XPSP3 Instance 0cd94/XPSP3 Instance 0cd94.vmx, The datastore corresponding to the given datastore path is not found
I can confirm that the datastore is valid.
Is it just me or is anybody else having problems creating a workpool? I get a “404 Not Found”
I am having the same issue….500 Internal Server Error. I did find the following site that talks about this but the steps haven’t seemed to help.
http://vstorage.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/thinapp-factory-fixing-adding-workpool-error/
I am going to try and rebuilding the application from scratch to see if that helps.
I’ll let you know the results.
Ok…I got it to work.
I made sure that I added a DNS entry for my ThinApp Factory Appliance and then used DNS instead of IP when walking through the OVF deployment wizard. Trying to change this after the vApp was deployed did not work. I had to build the vApp from scratch.
I have been tring to get TAF to work. But I get hung on a Provisioning stoping at 10%
I have been working with the fourms but I am at a dead end. I am willing to do anything to get this working,
When I was at VMworld and saw the Demo, I know I had to have it :)
http://communities.vmware.com/message/2122173#2122173
I found if I delete a published app and then re-build that same app and try and publish it it says “Application with that name already exists” I am wondering if its becaus I didn’t click on unpublish first before I deleted the app? Or when I hit the delete button it should also send the unpublish command or ask me if I also want to unplublish the app before I delete it. I am using version 0.3.1. Thanks
I’m trying to run the new installer to upgrade my current ThinApp Factory appliance, but when I try to launch the installer, I get an error: “C:\Deployer\setup.exe is not a valid Win32 application.”
I’m trying to import the OVF to Workstation 8.03 but I get the following errors:
The import failed because C:\AppFactory.ovf did not pass OVF specification conformance or virtual hardware compliance checks.
Click Retry to relax OVF specification and virtual hardware compliance checks and try the import again, or click Cancel to cancel the import. If you retry the import, you might not be able to use the virtual machine in VMware Workstation.
When I click retry I get:
Line 117: Unsupported element ‘Property’.
Has anybody sucessfully imported directly into Workstation 8, or seen this issue?
Thanks
I believe the ThinApp Factory only works on esxi.
Cheers Robbie
ThinApp Factory works fine with Workstation 8.x but make sure you enable sharing first.
Edit -> Preferences -> Shared VMs -> Enable Sharing
I have the same error using the installer.
did someone find the fix to this ?
When will a new release be available. This is a very cool application does not work well with DV switches and keep having trouble while trying to rebuild/publish a package.
Is there a way to tell the ThinApp Factory to generate an MSI file and compress the project folder? These settings are required if you use the built-in ThinApp integration on the VMware VIew 5.x Admin page.
Thanks!
We are having the same issue. Does anyone have a solution for this? We have a work around by using a ThinApp VM and running the Build.bat to regen the MSI.
Thanks,
Chad
Correction: We do not have a work around. I was mistaken.
-Chad
I noticed during build a quick command prompt pops up and uses the package.ini to build the file which has the build msi flag as off would be nice if in a future release we can have a checkbox to have build MSI also
Jonathan,
I have a workaround that I got from VMworld. What you need to do is:
1. Upload the App
2. Capture App
3. When finished open “Tasks”
4. Edit package
5. Build Options – New Value “MSIFilename”
6. For the new value name “Enter what name you would like to give it” example. IE.msi
7. Save
8. Then you will notice a new option to rebuild that package
Good Luck!
-Chad
sure – if you are capturing for the first time then just make a recipe that adds a line to the package.ini to enable any parameter needed – the package build process is no different than the regular process – it is just automated. Alternatively you could capture once, then edit the project thru the ThinApp Factory interface using the package.ini gui to add options you need then rebuild – all done thru the ThinApp Factory GUI
Trying to install app factory to our instance of vsphere 5 using the exe file but it fails everytime with no error message other than please send log file to VMWare. Anyone any ideas where it needs to be sent the message was far too vague.
Many Thanks
I would suggest you try the ovf file or post your question on the boards: communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/desktop/thinapp/factory
Tried to install the Full install on my Windows 7 x64 SP1 host, and it comes to the “Appliance Configuration”, screen where it’s asking for “Select a datastore for Thinapp Factory and it’s related VMs”, and I can’t select anything, and the Next button is grayed out.
I have deployed the OVF to vSphere/vCenter 5 host, and starting to play with that now…
I would suggest you post your questions on: communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/desktop/thinapp/factory
Well, as some others report in the community i can create a workpool too – but it doesn’t install windows 7. It hangs on the Welcome Setup wizard.
After adding a installed windows 7 machine, it seems good – but it does not execute the capture task in the vm….
Using vcenter.
I would suggest double checking that the variant of the Window 7 ISO is the same as the one you choose from the drop down list.
I have set this up Thinapp Factory as per this blog – http://wp.me/pS7i7-ae and it works fine.
Just make sure you get datacenter, cluster and datastore names right as well as authentication against vCenter.
When I go to Settings > Workpool > Add with ThinApp Factory running in Workstation 8, I get a 404 Not Found error. Seems the page /workpools/create doesn’t exist for some reason.
Doug – check with our forum for installation and support – http://bit.ly/OU8ZfH – you do need to use standard ports and not distributed ports on vSphere – also make sure your VC can resolve the AppFactory fqdn
Doug – this one came up in the forum over the weekend and was resolved. You should try making sure WebDav ports are open beween TAF and your vCenter
I’m using Workstation 8 – not vCenter and vSphere. Or am I misunderstanding something here? Didn’t think I needed vCenter/vSphere to test in WS8??
I’m having the same issue as Doug. Can’t get it to work in Workstation.
I’m receiving the same 404 error when trying to create a workpool. I’m using vCenter 5 and ESXi 5 within my environment. I do not have any firewalls in front or behind the hosts/guests.