Getting started with Application Migration
An outline of the steps you need to take after installing Application Migration to get you migrating applications through your OS Deployment Task Sequences.
Introduction
Migrating applications with Application Migration involves working with Application Migration and Configuration Manager.
Application Migration is used to identify the applications that are installed in your environment and to create migration rules that define how each application should be migrated. It is also used to define sets of applications required by specific roles (Role-based application sets) and to preview the results of a migration on a specific device.
Configuration Manager automates the installation of the required applications (based on migration rules and role-based application sets) in a Task Sequence. The Application Migration Task Sequence step returns a list of Configuration Manager Applications and Packages that need to be installed, which are then installed through the Install Application and Install Package Task Sequence steps.
Note
Application Migration can only upgrade or migrate an application if the target application and version (the one you want to upgrade to) is packaged for deployment in Configuration Manager. This guide assumes you already have the applications you need packaged in Configuration Manager.
Getting started with Application Migration
The recommended approach to get started with Application Migration is:
Configure Tachyon Providers to support the Auto Install feature. Refer to Post-install configuration.
Set up Tachyon platform to synchronize inventory data and Application/Package information from Configuration Manager. The inventory data is automatically normalized by the 1E Catalog into consistent Vendor, Title, Version and Edition (VTVE) identifiers and is used to show what applications are installed in your environment. Application and Package information imported from Configuration Manager is used to define the 'target' application in a migration rule to be installed by Configuration Manager. Refer to Post-install configuration.
Set up users and assign the appropriate roles in the Tachyon platform. All users that will be working with Application Migration must be added to the Tachyon platform and assigned the Application Migration Administrator role. Refer to Requirements: Accounts needed to use Application Migration.
Normalize the imported Configuration Manager Applications and Packages by associating them with a Vendor, Title, Version and Edition from the 1E Catalog. This makes it easier later on when defining migration rules, although the association for a particular application can also be defined when you create the migration rule. Refer to Manage associations.
Work through the installations in your environment from the Installations page and define migration rules. As you review each application, you can:
Exclude it if it is not an application you want to migrate (e.g. it is an application that is included in your base build, or is a runtime library or other component that is always installed through another application installation).
Create a migration rule to define how the application should be migrated (e.g. upgraded, replaced or retained).
Note
There will typically be thousands of software titles in your environment. The Installations page in Application Migration will display the most commonly installed applications at the top, so you can focus on these as you work your way down the list. You can also filter the list by title or vendor if you want to start by defining rules for a few specific applications.
Refer to Using the Installations page.
Update your Configuration Manager OS Deployment Task Sequences to include the Application Migration step. Application migration occurs on a device when a Task Sequence is executed that has the 1E Application Migration step included. Refer to Using Application Migration in a task sequence for details.
Preview the expected results of Application Migration on a device. Before deploying an Application Migration Task Sequence to a device, you can see what effect Application Migration will have on the applications currently installed on a given device by Previewing post-OS migration application states.
Deploy the Application Migration Task Sequence to devices. Deploy your updated Task Sequences as required to upgrade or reinstall Windows, or to transfer the data and applications from an old device to a new one.
Once you are familiar with the above process, you can start to investigate the following features of Application Migration.
Creating exceptions for specific departments or locations. In some cases, you may have a migration rule for an application that you want to apply to most devices but require a different rule for the same application on a specific group of devices (e.g. a department or location. For example, you may want to upgrade AutoCAD 2018 to AutoCAD 2019 everywhere except in the Seattle office, where they need to retain AutoCAD 2018 as they are working with a client on the older version. You can do this in Application Migration by
Creating Management Groups in the Tachyon platform that correspond to the departments or locations for which exceptions are required. Refer to the Management Groups - tutorial.
Creating a Global migration rule in Application Migration. By default, migration rules are Global unless a specific Management Group is selected when the rule is created.
Creating the exceptional migration rule for the appropriate Management Group. Selecting the Management Group from the drop-down on the Installations page will filter the list of installations to show only the software installed on the devices in the selected Management Group. It also means that any rules that are added from that view apply only to the selected Management Group. Refer to Using the Installations page for more information on creating the migration rules from the Installations page. You can also create rules limited to specific Management Groups from the Manage Rules page (refer to Managing migration rules for more information). However, it is easier to create a migration rule from the Installations page as the selected application's Vendor, Title, Edition, and Version are pre-populated in the Edit Rule form.
Installing sets of Applications based on the user's department or location. In addition to migrating applications that were previously installed on a device, Application Migration can be used to install pre-defined application sets onto a device based on the department or location that the device is in, You can do this in Application Migration using the Role-based Application Sets feature by:
Creating Management Groups in the Tachyon platform that correspond to the departments or locations for which application sets are to be required. Refer to the Management Groups - tutorial.
Creating one or more Role-based Application sets and adding them to the appropriate Management Group. Refer to Role Based Application Sets.
Installing applications in a specific order. Application Migration normally installs applications in the Task Sequence in no particular order. In some cases, when some applications are installed together they need to be installed in a certain order. You can do this in Application Migration by adding the applications that have specific installation order constraints to the Application installation sequence. Refer to Setting the Install Sequence for applications.