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1E 8.1 (on-premises)

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.

Accessing Application Migration

Application Migration is implemented as a Tachyon consumer application, and is accessed through the Tachyon portal. To access Application Migration:

  1. If you're not logged into Tachyon:

    1. In a browser, enter the URL for Tachyon.

      Note

      The URL for Tachyon is the base URL specified on the Tachyon Portal screen, followed by /Tachyon. For example, if the base URL is https://tachyon.acme.local you need to enter https://tachyon.acme.local/Tachyon to get to the Tachyon Portal.

    2. On the Tachyon portal menu, click Application Migration to open it.

  2. If you're already logged into Tachyon:

    1. Click on the Switch App menu at the bottom-left of the console

    2. Select Application Migration from the list of applications.

The Application Migration navigation panel
The Application Migration navigation panel

The Application Migration navigation panel has a number of items that let you perform different functions related to configuring and running Application Migration, you can choose from:

Menu item

Description

Installations

On the Installations page you can view installed applications in your environment, see how frequently they're used, and whether migration rules exist. You can also create and modify migration rules and exclude applications you're not interested in.

Please refer to Using the Installations page for more details.

Manage Rules

Migration rules are used to define what happens to previously installed applications during an OS deployment. These rules can include usage criteria, allowing you to choose to only install previously installed applications if they were being used, or perhaps replace a rarely used application with a less costly alternative.

Please refer to Managing migration rules for more details.

Role Based Applications

A Role Based Application Set defines a set of applications that should be installed on a computer for a user performing a particular role, or perhaps working at a particular location.

Please refer to Role Based Application Sets for more details.

Preview Device

Before deploying the OS Deployment Task Sequence, you can preview the effect that Application Migration will have on the software installed on a device. This can be for existing or new build devices. This is done from Preview Device, where you can see the following menu items:

Menu item

Description

Existing Device

Post-migration application status for existing computers undergoing an in-place upgrade or a computer refresh.

New Device

Applications to be installed on new-build computers by Management Groups or device attributes.

Please refer to Previewing post-OS migration application states for more details.

Install Sequence

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 applications that have specific installation order constraints to the Install Sequence.

Please refer to Setting the Install Sequence for applications for more details.

Exclusions

Products can be excluded from consideration by Application Migration, helping you to focus on the important products and minimizing effort during the Application Migration workflow.

Please refer to Managing product exclusions for more details.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts arising from having more than one migration rule for a computer belonging to more than one management group can be easily resolved before the migration takes place.

Please refer to Viewing and resolving migration rule conflicts for more details.

Getting started with Application Migration

The recommended approach to get started with Application Migration is:

  1. Configure Tachyon Providers to support the Auto Install feature. Refer to Post-install configuration for details on how to set up the providers.

  2. 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 for details on how to set up the connector.

  3. 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 for details on setting up users to use Application Migration.

  4. 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 for details on how to associate each of the Configuration Manager Applications and Packages with a known Vendor, Title. Version and Edition from the 1E Catalog.

  5. Work through the installations in your environment from the Installations page and define migration rules. As you review each application, you can:

    1. 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)

    2. 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 for details on how to start creating migration rules for each of the applications installed in your environment.

  6. 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 on how to update your existing Task Sequences to include Application Migration.

  7. 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.

  8. 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 for information on creating Management Groups

    • 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 for information on creating Management Groups

    • Creating one or more Role-based Application sets and adding them to the appropriate Management Group. Refer to Role Based Application Sets for details on working with 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 for details on how to use this feature.