This blog post i delivered by the blog sponsor Systancia who presents (both text and some cool videos) news about their AppliDis product.
First fully HTML5 console
Right from the start, AppliDis was designed with a built-in web administration console. The new version is based fully on HTML 5, which means that it works with any HTML 5 compatible browser.
The new console, with its integrated background task management system, allows you to multitask, (one or more windows at the same time), and will avoid you having to keep reloading pages. System maintenance checks are done on a system-wide level, providing you with the best possible product support.
The Model-View-View-Model (or MVVM for short) used by the console is a design pattern based on MVC (Model-View-Controller) and MVP. It aims to more clearly separate the user interface from the business logic behind it.
The decision to re-engineer the workspace is the result of ergonomic and usability studies carried out on our clients’ usage of the system. We have also targeted navigation, tablet use, and simplicity in managing both small and large amounts of data quickly.
AppliDis Provision Server
AppliDis Provision Server, a new feature of AppliDis application and desktop virtualization solution, builds on a hypervisor (VMware / Microsoft) to manage the application life-cycle within an application server farm. Application servers are grouped in silos, according to the type of applications installed. A silo is made up of a master or replica machine, as well as a number of clones depending on the number of users. The system manages operations within each silo, allowing it to provision, maintain, and scale up or down instances.
AppliDis Fusion 5 has introduced the idea of schedules, which allow you to hold off maintenance operations on silos to avoid inconveniencing users. Updating a silo (in other words carrying out an operation to update the clones) can be incremental: some of the servers will stop accepting connections and will wait for users to disconnect, while the rest of the servers will continue to accept users’ requests as per normal. This approach, which introduces the option of migrating over at a time when very few users are logged into the system, adds the ability to update the system without interrupting production.
AppliDis Booster
AppliDis Booster, feature of AppliDis application and desktop virtualization solution, guarantee access time to your applications.
The static version of AppliDis Booster, available since version 4 is based on three functionalities:
- Profile virtualisation/streaming. This doesn’t mean loading the user profile when the session is launched, but individually loading each profile resource exactly when it is needed. This can help reduce loading time considerably.
- Static pre-loading. As soon as it detects that the user wants to access AppliDis (by connecting to the portal, for example), the system preloads a session in order to speed up launching the application, which the user would otherwise need to wait for.
- Static post-closing. When the user closes the application or shuts down their computer, a configurable retention time will keep the session alive and ready to be used. If it is then opened again during the retention period, access is instantaneous.
AppliDis Fusion 5 has introduced a whole new technological approach, developed with the help of a specialist AI research lab.
Based on data collected from how users work with the applications and virtual desktops, AppliDis can automatically learn how to predict each user’s future movements. Predicting usage is all about being able to preload the application that the user wants to work with ahead of time. This basically means that predicting usage will take advantage of the application server farms in order to improve usability.
In terms of algorithms, normalised histograms are generated in real time for each user. The system uses a real-time machine learning algorithm, employing specifically developed algorithms created by our R&D partner, and is based on statistical prediction techniques (rather than being manually programmed), determining probabilities from continuously updated models of the various data points sampled. It works right out of the box for a new user, according to other groups of similar users in terms of functionality (same type of application, same service, etc.).
To simplify the system for administrators, as much as of the internal algorithms’ workings as possible are hidden. The only thing the administrator needs to define is the “desired” opening time for a specific group of users. The system tries to assess the impact on application server farm resources, thus allowing it to gauge the power required. This could be, for example, to prioritise loading time for a specific group of users which needs to have faster access to their workspace.
Once chosen, the system will look at current load time and try to adapt its behaviour in order to get as close as possible to the desired value. It can take anything from several hours to several days for the system to learn, according to the amount of data available. Graphs allow administrators to oversee the systems’ capacity as well as error rate.
In order to improve the algorithms, Systancia allows clients to send back anonymous statistics from their predictive usage algorithms. This allows us to measure, across the board, the effectiveness of the predictions, as well as the productivity gained by using the system.
AppliDis BoxOnair
AppliDis Fusion 5 offers a new approach to mobility in order to make it productive for organisations. AppliDis BoxOnAir’s unique functionality meets the need for mobility and multi-device access, making it easy for users who are working out of office to access their workspace without compromising security. Smartphones become a way of “carrying” applications and, with AppliDis BoxOnAir, users can load them securely back onto the nearest device.
With AppliDis BoxOnAir, the system doesn’t need to authenticate on destination media, and the only requirement is HTML 5 compatibility. Pairing media to smartphones is based on either QR codes or other simple codes, with other systems in the pipeline. It’s easy to do from your smartphone and can be either temporary or permanent. While using your smartphone, you can immediately add or remove destination media, and can “push” applications or virtual desktops onto them. The first version is available for Windows phone, Android and iOS.
Video demo