Build Appstack for SQL Management STudio

[robrie]

hello,

i try to build an appstack for sql management studio. I installation i can start the App without problem. Then i finnish the capture process. After assign the builded appstack to a desktop and start the application sql managament studio i get an error :

Did anyone already had run sql management studio as appstack ? or does anyone know the problem and how to fix it?

I already try to follow this article :

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/sqlserver/en-US/dc892fa6-b422-456f-bdea-1dedc2b77a1a/sql...

but without any success.

Regards,

Rob

[Lakshman]

Hi Rob,

Please try to build the AppStack on the master or base image VM instead of a clean VM.

[rwpg1980]

Hi Rob,

I'm experiencing exactly the same issue as you and have followed pretty much followed all the advice out on the internet on how to fix the issue.  I think the fixes offered are expecting the installation to be native rather than virtual.

However, during my exploration for an answer I found this > Packaging SQL 2012 Management Studio which refers to the same error message but using ThinApp.  It is quite a lengthy post but on the second page a post shares an official response from VMware stating it cannot be done due to MS security API's.

Stupidly I'm still going to explore this issue and try and leverage UEM to see if this can provide any additional clues.

I'll post again with the outcome.

Good luck,

Rob

[Ray_handels]

My guess is that this is no longer true.

We do have SQL Management Studio 2012 installed in an appstack. We did have the exact same issue as OP had after upgrading our replica with a complete new machine (which off course had different license information).

My first tip would be to package the application on a machine that is exactly the same as the golden image you are using.

We create a snapshot of the golden image, uninstall VM View agent, add it to the domain and use it as the packaging machine.

Second is to add the following key to the snapvol.cfg of the appstack template disk.

  exclude_registry=\REGISTRY\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OFFICESOFTWAREPROTECTIONPLATFORM

You could also try and update the appstack by removing any reference to this folder because there is no need for it to be in the appstack if office is installed in the golden image. Either your writable volume (if used) or your golden image should hold this information.

[rwpg1980]

Hi Ray,

Thanks for your input here but I would like to know if you have any documentation based on your installation of SQL Management Studio 2012.

I followed your advice with the only difference being that I added the exclude_registry key into the snapvol.cfg on the SQL appstack rather than altering our template disk.

For the record, our provisioning machines are based on the golden image.

Thanks,

Rob

[Ray_handels]

We did nothing more than just doing next next finish.

The one thing i would do though is to see if the KMS information has been updated after installing the SQL Server Management Studio.

Just run the ospp.vbs /dstatus command before and after installing to see if the record was updated. If so you could try to remove the OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform service, it is responsible for updating the license.

[Ray_handels]

SPAAAAAMMMMM!!!!

[robrie]

hi,

set the exclude_ stuff did not work for me. Did it work for you guys ? have someone a running appstack with sql management studio?

Thanks,

Rob

[RvdNieuwendijk]

I have deleted the spam post. Thanks for reporting it as abuse.

[solgaeDK]

I had the SQL Management Studio (SSMS) 2012 SP1 working as an appstack before, but recently, I re-captured the appstack that included the SQL Management Studio, and have the same issue as the OP stated.

The difference is that the first appstack I did was done on the master image itself (after uninstalling View Agent and Antivirus, and snapshotting it), while the second one was done via a separate capture machine.

It appears that there is some computer SID related config that the SSMS "License" depends on.

As someone said earlier, try capturing the appstack using the same exact image used by your desktop pools. I assume though that if your desktop pool uses Sysprep customization spec that resets the SID, it will not work.

[gpeck29adv]

We've been able to successfully put SQL Server Management Studio 2014 (as well as Visual Studio 2010 and Visual Studio 2005) into AppStacks. Here's what we found:

• Use a App Volumes capturing machine that is the SAME version as the image used for the base image. To clarify, we have the base image for our pool with a number of Snapshots. At one point we fought with this, and even though the provisioning machine was a clone of the base image, it was not the same snapshot. The provisioning machine was version 1.1 while the pool was using version 1.4 of snapshots. I didn't think this would matter....but it did. I rebuilt our provisioning machine(s) with the same version as the current pool, and the AppStack worked. I then tested with deploying a new snapshot to the pool, and the AppStack worked. Lesson learned: Just because it's a clone, make sure the install is done on the SAME snapshot version as the pool. The pool can be progressed from that point.

• DON'T CHANGE THE SID! We were deploying 4 provisioning machines so that 2 people could deploy 2 AppStacks at a time. Things tested fine, and even though we were on the same snapshot version, we still got license not valid messages once we added the AppStack to a pool desktop. Ugh! Then we realized that morning to deploy 4 of the systems, we used the Windows 7 customization with the box checked to change the SID. Once I redeployed and manually renamed the machines without changing the SID, and recaptured the AppStack...things worked.

Best I can figure is that SQL Server Management Studio 2014 (and VS2005 and VS2010) use the SID and sum date/time value to create the license in the software. If they don't match, you get the license messages. This is what has worked for us repeatedly. We are using App Volumes 2.9.

FYI: VS2010 needs to be at SP1 if you are going to put it together with SQL Server Manager 2014.