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Windows 7 Migrat ion: Formulat ing a Smart Applicat ion Compatibility Test ing and Remediat ion StrategyApplicat ion Compatibility Test ing: The Right Plan Needs the Right ToolsSince the release of Microsoft® Windows 7® in October 2009, enterprise migrat ion to the new operat ing system (OS) has achieved solid “mainstream” status. Worldwide, this migrat ion is a technology event of unprecedented proport ions. According to IDC, there were 435 million genuine (non-pirated) copies of Windows XP in use at the end of 2009. As support for XP comes to an end, migrat ing to the Windows 7 operat ing system is the strategy of many organizations. According to a recent survey conducted by IDC, 89% of those companies surveyed said that they have definit ive plans to begin a migrat ion in a 24-month period.1

However, compared to other large-scale technology migrat ions of the past, the move to Windows 7 at most organizations is not a single, enterprise-wide “forklift” transit ion. For example, a recent Windows 7 Applicat ion Migrat ion survey by Flexera Software2 shows that the majority of organizations (54%) are complet ing their migrat ion either by business unit or geography, or as part of a hardware refresh. Only 18% of the survey’s enterprise respondents are approaching the task as a single migrat ion project.

Applicat ion compatibility is the biggest concern of most enterprisesThis phased approach removes the constraints of managing enterprise Windows 7 migrat ions as a monolithic project. But regardless of how quickly or slowly Windows 7 may be rolled out across an enterprise, best pract ices demonstrate that applicat ion compatibility test ing should be completed before each individual migrat ion starts. The Flexera Software survey further indicates that some 70% of respondents have begun, or plan to begin, applicat ion compatibility test ing up to six months before the Windows 7 OS is rolled out to users.3 Clearly, applicat ion compatibility test ing plans made today will impact the downstream ease, and cost, of execut ing this major project.

Applicat ion compatibility is, in fact, a big part of the total scope of a Windows 7 migrat ion project – which causes a high level of concern in enterprise IT organizations. For example, industry research released in 2010 showed that, among survey respondents, 86% were concerned about software compatibility (both packaged and internally developed applicat ions), consistent with similar levels of concern (88%) expressed in 2009.4

1. The survey gathered responses from 390 IT professionals in North America. Excerpted from, “Migrat ing to Windows 7? Technology Points to Consider,” IDC Technology Spot light, September 2010.

2. Windows 7 Applicat ion Migrat ion Survey performed by Flexera Software in September 2010. The respondents comprised 776 IT professionals at organizat ions in Europe and North America. 3. Ibid.4. “Windows 7 Adopt ion: A Survey of Technology Professionals,” Dimensional Research, January 2010.

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The applicat ion compatibility challenge affects not only desktop applicat ions but also Web applicat ions since Windows Internet Explorer 8 & 9 are the only Microsoft browsers available in the Windows 7 operat ing system. Internet Explorer 8 & 9 uses new rendering and script ing engines, which are the core elements that Windows Internet Explorer uses to display HTML and CSS content and run scripts. These changes can introduce applicat ion compatibility issues when migrat ing applicat ions to Internet Explorer 8 & 9 from a previous browser version.

Compounding the pressure IT organizations feel is the extensive amount of t ime required to test applicat ions manually. Even assuming only one day of test ing t ime per applicat ion, many experienced IT teams are challenged to scope the size of their Windows 7 applicat ion compatibility project. With this one-day test ing benchmark, enterprises with 2,000-3,000 applicat ions could face up to nine person-years of test ing t ime requirements – a commitment that’s simply not feasible in today’s resource-constrained environment.

A streamlined approach to Applicat ion ReadinessTo speed the migrat ion to Windows 7 and implement a best pract ices approach, many enterprises are adopting a six-step plan to quickly achieve Applicat ion Readiness. As indicated in Figure 1 below, the six steps comprise: Ident ify, Rat ionalize, Assess Compatibility, Plan, Fix & Package, and Deploy. This paper focuses on two crit ical steps that, leveraging automation, can dramatically speed overall migrat ion: Assess Compatibility, and Fix & Package.

Complementary solut ions: Flexera Software AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility* and Microsoft Applicat ion Compatibility Toolkit (ACT)Clearly, assessing compatibility helps organizations scope and budget the migrat ion project – a “must” to

allow enterprises to accurately allocate t ime and resources for the “Assess Compatibility” stage. AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack and Microsoft ACT are two complementary tools that can help an IT organization determine exact ly what budget and staff resources are required. Again, automation is the key concept, since it drives significant savings of t ime, cost and IT resources.

AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack and Microsoft ACT analyze applicat ion compatibility as follows:

• AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack, part of the Flexera Software AdminStudio Suite, uses stat ic analysis to automatically test applicat ion compatibility. Stat ic analysis analyzes the applicat ion package configurat ion and binary file data. Stat ic analysis does not require the configurat ion, installat ion or ut ilizat ion (running) of an applicat ion. Rather, it uses codified algorithms to profile applicat ions, and then provides rapid assessment of potent ial applicat ion compatibility issues.

• Microsoft ACT uses dynamic analysis as the process for applicat ion compatibility test ing. Dynamic analysis requires that ACT run in the background on a user’s computer and applicat ions are monitored to get feedback on their compatibility with Windows 7.

In addit ion to applicat ion compatibility assessment, in the Fix & Package stage, these tools respect ively address the two most common components of Windows 7 compatibility issues:

• Issues with the installat ion package: For example, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack can quickly ident ify and automatically remediate an applicat ion package with an installat ion process

Figure 1: A structured, six-step approach to Applicat ion Readiness speeds the move to Windows 7 while reducing costs.

Deploy

Fix & Package

Plan

Assess Compatibility

Rationalize

Proc

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Identify Identify deployed and used applicat ions

Eliminate duplicate applications

Determine suitability for migration/upgrade

Plan migration in line with business objectives

Convert applications to required format

Deploy packaged applications

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issue, or components that are incompatible with Windows 7. For example, in applicat ions where certain areas of the disk and registry are protected, causing them to be incompatible with Windows 7, the AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack can remediate the problem automatically by generat ing a standard MSI transform in seconds.

• Issues with applicat ion code: Both AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack and Microsoft ACT ident ify applicat ion code that will fundamentally not run on Windows 7 without developer intervent ion. These issues are sometimes remediated with shims5 or by returning the code to the applicat ion developer.

By applying the right tools during the right phase of the Applicat ion Readiness process, enterprises can migrate to Windows 7 quickly and cost-effect ively. The Flexera Software AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack, in part icular, can help IT organizations automatically ensure that over 95% of their applicat ions are ready for Windows 7.6

Proper tools and procedures help ensure that third-party packaged applicat ions and internally developed applicat ions are all ready to go live on Windows 7. As Chris Jackson (“The App Compat Guy”), a Principal Consultant and the Technical Lead of the Microsoft Windows Applicat ion Experience SWAT Team, prescribes, “In the end, a balance between … [automated] tools … and manual effort is what most people end up doing to build the plan that really works for them. Bringing it all together, you can build the optimal mix of low cost and reduced risk during an app compat project.” 7

Formulat ing an Applicat ion Compatibility Game Plan: Solut ion OverviewAdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack and Microsoft ACT present two different, highly complementary funct ions in applicat ion compatibility test ing. Each product offers unique strengths:

• With a focus on installat ion package issues, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack reduces the manual effort, and thus the overall cost, of the migrat ion project. It scans both installat ion package and applicat ion code issues to automatically determine if an applicat ion will be incompatible with Windows 7, and can then automatically remediate many of these issues with MSI transforms. A transform is a collect ion of changes applied to an MSI installat ion without modifying the original source file. For most applicat ions, this fast, low-effort approach is ideal.

• For applicat ion code issues, both AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack and Microsoft ACT contain tools and documentat ion to evaluate runt ime compatibility issues. Microsoft ACT provides an approach to mit igat ing these before deploying applicat ions on Windows 7 through using shims.

AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack: An overview AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack significant ly reduces the t ime and effort involved in a migrat ion to Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Internet Explorer 8 & 9 by automatically assessing and fixing applicat ion compatibility issues. With over 10,000 automated checks for Windows 7 compatibility and auto-resolut ion of 98% of installat ion package related issues, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack simplifies scoping and delivery of a Windows 7 migrat ion.Beyond Windows 7 migrat ion projects, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack handles new applicat ion requests and tests Web-based applicat ions for their compatibility with Internet Explorer 8 & 9 to reduce the cost of day-to-day IT operat ions. AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack is part of the AdminStudio Suite, which powers an enterprise’s Applicat ion Readiness process for migrat ions to Windows 7, applicat ion virtualizat ion and day-to-day applicat ion packaging operat ions.

How AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack works: “Vast and fast”In simplest terms, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack allows enterprises to test and remediate applicat ions without having to load or install them. Instead, it tests the installat ion package and applicat ion code for issues that would manifest, if the applicat ion were installed and run on Windows 7.

First, fully automated, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack analyzes the applicat ion installat ion package to check for compatibility issues with Windows 7, without a requirement to perform the actual installat ion. It also scans applicat ion binaries for potent ial compatibility issues which could occur at the applicat ion’s runt ime. Next, it then generates a status list of the scanned applicat ions, labeling them as either:

• Red = Likely to be incompatible due to an applicat ion code issue, with no automated remediat ion available

• Amber = Likely to be incompatible, but with an installat ion package issue, likely to have an automated remediat ion option available

• Green = No known compatibility issues; will likely run without remediat ion.

5. Shims are pieces of program code that simulate the behavior of older versions of Windows for legacy applicat ions that rely on incorrect or deprecated funct ionality, or correct the way in which improperly written applicat ions call unchanged APIs.

6. See detailed analysis in Sect ion II.7. “What are the ACT Compat ibility Evaluators Really Good For?”, Chris Jackson, www.blogs.msdn.com/members/cjacks, February 24, 2010.

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In this way, the AdminStudio solut ion can automatically test thousands of applicat ions (“vast”) for potent ial Windows 7 compatibility issues in just minutes (“fast”), helping enterprise teams to quickly scope and address their applicat ion compatibility challenge. By comparison, test ing applicat ions manually, in the average enterprise environment, would require mult iple person-years of t ime and resources.

Fixing installat ion package issues with AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility PackAdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack tests for a broad range of potent ial installat ion package compatibility issues, automatically performing over 10,000 tests on each applicat ion. It allows common applicat ion compatibility problems to be quickly ident ified and remediated far faster than by manual evaluat ion methods, which can take several days. As detailed below, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack offers the ability to automatically address 98% of installat ion package issues ident ified.8

Report Results Init ial Analysis After FixingGreen 34% 94%

Amber 61% 1%

Red 5% 5%

Figure 2: After analysis and fixing with AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack, an average of 94% of applicat ions receive the “Green” designat ion and are ready for deployment. Another 1% are “Amber,” and thus have their compatibility issues ident ified. The remaining 5% of applicat ions cannot be remediated by automated methods, and require further invest igat ion.

AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack remediates the installat ion by generat ing a standard MSI transform in seconds. By applying a transform to a base installat ion package, the installer can add or replace data in the installat ion database. The installer can only apply transforms during an installat ion; during this process, the installer registers a list of transforms required by the product during the installat ion. The installer must apply these transforms to the product’s installat ion package when configuring or installing the product.

AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack can auto-generate transform files to address installat ion issues, saving significant amounts of t ime over manual repair methods. The large decrease in Amber applicat ions is of part icular note. Here, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack direct ly enables very significant cost and t ime savings, since otherwise these applicat ions would have to be manually repaired. This auto-fixing removes the need for specialized, in-depth Windows 7 packaging skills to remediate issues.

Furthermore, the table below illustrates AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack’s success in automatically

remediat ing the top five applicat ion compatibility issues with Windows 7.9

Windows 7 Compatibility Issue

% Applicat ions Affected

% Fixable

Legacy Help Files 36% 100%

Windows Resource File and Registry Issues

35% 100%

UAC File Header Issues 24% 100%

Custom Action Security Issues 19% 100%

Legacy Control Panel Applet Security Issues

13% 100%

Figure 3: In extensive real-world test ing, AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack completely and automatically remediat ing the top five applicat ion compatibility issues with Windows 7.

Test ing with Flexera Software AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack helps ensure that 95% of applicat ions will run on Windows 7.

Addit ional AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack Solut ion Highlights

• Mult iple applicat ions can be dragged-and-dropped into AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack, to speed the test ing process

• No limit to the number of applicat ions that can be tested or fixed

• Does not require applicat ions to be installed as it looks through the actual files

• Can be used to drive the budgeting process for the migrat ion project

• Provides detailed information on issues, to direct a packager or programmer

• Ensures a consistent approach to test ing for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8 & 9 compatibility issues

Microsoft Applicat ion Compatibility Toolkit (ACT): An overviewMicrosoft ACT is a free toolkit that allows IT organizations to collect an inventory of applicat ions and monitor actual users’ act ivity for potent ial applicat ion compatibility issues with Windows 7. It also has diagnost ic tools for the most common set of potent ial problems, and the ability to mit igate certain applicat ion code issues using shims.

Specifically, Microsoft ACT’s lightweight compatibility agents are deployed to a client’s product ion Windows XP computer to monitor and locate potent ial compatibility

8, 9. Based on data from 200 Flexera Software Partner engagements over a 12-month period.

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issues that would occur if an applicat ion were running on Windows 7. After deployment to the client computer, agents can run in the background for a specified interval, the default being three days. In doing so, testers ident ify some specific issues; the toolkit’s two main compatibility evaluators ident ify Session 0, Graphical Ident ificat ion and Authent icat ion (GINA) and deprecation errors as follows:

1. Windows Compatibility Evaluator (WCE): This diagnost ic tool ident ifies potent ial compatibility issues due to deprecated components in the new operat ing system, GINA DLLs, and the isolat ion enforced for service applicat ions.

2. User Account Control Compatibility Evaluator (UACCE): Ident ifies potent ial compatibility issues due to an applicat ion running under a Protected Administrator (PA) or Standard User (SU) account on the Windows Vista® or Windows 7 operat ing system. When running, UACCE monitors your running applicat ions to verify interact ions with the operat ing system and ident ify potent ially incompatible act ivit ies. This component also applies shims.

It should be noted that while providing some issue detect ion, the fact that Microsoft ACT runs on product ion PCs means it has to be very lightweight to avoid any performance impact to the user, and this limits the number of compatibility issues it can detect. The fidelity of issue detect ion can be great ly enhanced using automated test ing solut ions such as Flexera Software’s AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack.

Finally, Microsoft ACT provides addit ional analysis tools that can help the remediat ion team to zero in on specific root cause analysis and create shims.

Mitigating applicat ion code issues with Microsoft ACTMicrosoft ACT can be used to apply shims to mit igate compatibility issues. This technique inserts remediat ion code between the applicat ion’s code and Windows 7 code, to enable redirect ion of file and registry writes, or to make changes to return codes from the operat ing system to the applicat ion – in effect “lying” to the applicat ion and overriding responses that would otherwise cause compatibility issues. For some runt ime issues, shimming provides a convenient remedy, with the alternat ive being redeveloping the applicat ion itself.

Shimming addit ionally addresses one of the most common applicat ion compatibility problems, caused by a requirement in Windows 7 that most users work in standard user mode instead of administrator mode. Because users in standard mode have fewer system rights, they are less likely to inadvertent ly install malware. But that also can cause compatibility problems with programs written for Microsoft XP that typically assumed users were running as administrators.

Shimming transparent ly communicates to the applicat ion that the user had administrator rights, or it simply bypasses the test. Since the user is st ill in standard user mode, no security is compromised, and no new applicat ion code needs to be rewritten.

To Test or Not Test?

Chris Jackson, of Microsoft Corporat ion, offers a simple formula:

“Only the applicat ions for which the cost of failure t imes the probability of failure is greater than the cost of test ing should be further tested manually.”

Real World Test ing Strategies: A Complementary ApproachFlexera Software AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack and Microsoft ACT each provide a unique value to applicat ion compatibility test ing and remediat ion. The following act ion plan is applicable to most enterprises with 200 to 5,000 applicat ions. Within the context of an overall six-step Applicat ion Readiness strategy, it illustrates how both methods can be used in a complementary fashion to address this model’s two key steps ident ified in Sect ion I as being crit ical to speedy migrat ion: Assess Compatibility, and Fix & Package.

Phase 1: Gather informationIf there is not already a process in-place, Microsoft ACT can help provide an applicat ion inventory to assist IT organizations understand and rat ionalize their applicat ion assets, and decide which applicat ions need to be migrated. Microsoft ACT’s compatibility evaluators can provide some limited issue detect ion at this point. Specifically, these runt ime compatibility evaluators could be act ivated to run on the XP machine to ident ify common system calls that would cause issues on Windows 7.

Phase 2: Analyze applicat ion installat ion package compatibilityAll applicat ions that will be in product ion in the Windows 7 environment should be tested to make they will install and run, using the automated test ing capabilit ies of AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack. The results of the automated test ing provide report ing on which applicat ions have compatibility issues with installat ion. AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack categorizes the applicat ions as “Red” (likely to have compatibility issues installing or running on Windows 7 / 64-bit / etc.), “Amber” (likely to have compatibility issues, but a straightforward or automated solut ion is likely available) or “Green” (likely to have no issues), and gives detailed information on any potent ial issues detected.

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AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack provides a quick, comprehensive report of installat ion compatibility issues, giving IT organizations immediate visibility into the applicat ion migrat ion challenge. This information is essent ial to be able to scope the migrat ion project, request budget, and ident ify the resources required.

Phase 3: Remediate installat ion issuesAdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack will automatically generate transform files to address the majority of the “Amber” installat ion issues ident ified in Phase 2, saving significant t ime over manual remediat ion methods. It also provides information that can be used to address runt ime issues – an invaluable addit ion to Phase 4.

Phase 4: Identify business-crit ical applicat ions that require addit ional insightOnly top mission-crit ical applicat ions should be further tested manually, with test ing and remediat ion supported by tools from Microsoft ACT. What is crit ical is ensuring that users are able to use the software to perform the act ions and tasks crit ical to the business. This addit ional manual test ing has a higher cost in terms of its associated infrastructure and required resources, but is just ified in situat ions where the cost of applicat ion failure outweighs the cost of this test ing.

After these phases are completed, IT professionals will have a complete view of Windows 7 applicat ion compatibility issues.

In sum, both AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack and Microsoft Applicat ion Compatibility Toolkit play crit ical roles in the Applicat ion Readiness process. Using the right tool at the right t ime saves significant manual effort. There st ill will be a certain level of manual effort, because user test ing must be done, but it can be dramatically reduced if the proper applicat ion compatibility test ing tools are used beforehand.

The future: More compatibility test ing

While Windows 7 applicat ion compatibility test ing is at the top of most enterprises’ compatibility test ing agenda, Internet Explorer 8 & 9 and applicat ion virtualizat ion compatibility are important ancillary test ing issues that can also be addressed with Flexera Software AdminStudio Suite.

SummaryEven as Windows 7 migrat ion enters the mainstream, applicat ion compatibility remains the top associated concern for enterprises around the world. With many companies relying on thousands of Windows-based applicat ions for daily operat ions, an automated applicat ion compatibility test ing strategy is essent ial for overall success in Applicat ion Readiness. An approach that addresses the two key Applicat ion Readiness steps of Assess Compatibility and Fix & Package can significant ly accelerate applicat ion compatibility test ing and:

• Help to ensure an extremely high success rate with applicat ions in the new environment

• Save months of test ing t ime, as well as potent ially millions of dollars

• Provide a repeatable, standardized process for ensuring continuous Applicat ion Readiness.

As the leader in Applicat ion Readiness solut ions for applicat ion migrat ions, Flexera Software’s AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack automates the process of assessing installat ion compatibility across hundreds or thousands of applicat ions. AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack ident ifies and remediates installat ion package compatibility issues during the migrat ion process, to dramatically reduce IT organizations’ migrat ion project workload and costs.

Flexera Software’s AdminStudio Applicat ion Compatibility Pack is complemented by Microsoft ACT, which can assess and remediate some applicat ions’ Windows 7 runt ime issues. Working together, both of these solut ions address enterprises’ biggest concern with Windows 7 migrat ion as quickly as possible, allowing IT organizations to have a high degree of confidence that applicat ions will funct ion, and funct ion well, in the new Windows 7 user environment.

About Flexera SoftwareFlexera Software is the leading provider of strategic solut ions for Applicat ion Usage Management; solut ions delivering cont inuous compliance, optimized usage and maximized value to applicat ion producers and their customers. Flexera Software is trusted by more than 80,000 customers that depend on our comprehensive solut ions- from installat ion and licensing, ent it lement and compliance management to applicat ion readiness and enterprise license optimization - to strategically manage applicat ion usage and achieve breakthrough results realized only through the systems-level approach we provide. For more information, please go to: www.flexerasoftware.com

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Flexera Software LLC1000 East Woodfield Road, Suite 400Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA

Schaumburg (Global Headquarters):+1 800-809-5659

United Kingdom (Europe, Middle East Headquarters):+44 870-871-1111+44 870-873-6300

Australia (Asia, Pacific Headquarters):+61 3-9895-2000

For more office locat ions visit:www.flexerasoftware.com

Copyright © 2012 Flexera Software LLC. All other brand and product names ment ioned herein may be the trademarks and registered trademarks of their respect ive owners. AS_WP_App-Compat_June12