Substitute for Novell Application Launcher

[cepacs]

We are currently using Novell with Zenworks and we use Novell's Application Launcher. The Application Launcher puts an icon on your workstation desktop called "Novell Applications" and if you double click it, all your applications are inside (for us, mostly network applications). The nice thing is that you don't have a ton of icons cluttering your desktop. You can also put application links on the desktop, but applications that are not often used can be placed under the Novell Applications icon. Is there a way to do this in Windows using AD? I know Windows has roaming profiles, but not sure if you can accomplish the same thing. We have several Windows 2003 server.

Thanks!

[cluberti]

Not really, at least not in AD. Server 2008 and Citrix Presentation Server (installed on a 2003 server) allow application publishing over terminal services (2008) or Citrix app publishing services (2003 + Citrix), but that's it. You can also use Software Installation policies (intellimirror) to preinstall apps or install apps on first use, but nothing non-local via group policy.

[bennebiest]

We did a Novell migration for a customer last year. And we had the same need of new NAL as you're having right now.

Microsoft doesn't offer a sort of Application Launcher as Novell does.

Only the shortcut way. Either in start menu or explorer view.

(Explorer view can be closed by the end user, the NAL couldn't be closed)

So a colleague did some vb.net programming and created a simple GUI. To launch applications.

We migrated to Softgrid (called App-V now).

Our application launcher just executes the sfttray.exe with "application name" as parameter, to start an application.

[cluberti]

I have to second softgrid (Application Virtualization) as a potential replacement. I almost forgot about that.