Forward Path

Aug 14, 2017

Forward Path is a powerful business decision engine that is built into AppDNA. Forward Path makes it possible to model different deployment scenarios and compare their impacts. You can create scenarios that reflect organizational decisions and create different automation task scripts based on the results. For example, when preparing a migration to Windows 8, you could create a Forward Path scenario to determine which applications are suitable for deployment as App-V packages, which should be deployed to the desktop, and which require redevelopment.

By associating task scripts with the various outcomes, you can automate the App-V sequencing and MSI packaging using Install Capture. This requires a virtual machine that has been set up and configured as explained in Install Capture.

Forward Path scenario

A Forward Path scenario is a script that defines the logic for a Forward Path report. The logic is applied to each application that is selected for inclusion in the report. The report has columns for application name, manufacturer, version, and source path, and the scenario logic provides values for an Outcome column and optionally for Cost, RAG, and Description columns, and up to 20 custom columns. If the logic puts RAG values in any of the custom columns, AppDNA automatically generates a pie chart summary of the results for that column when you run the report.

Note: The Configure Modules wizard automatically creates a scenario called My Enterprise Selections tailored for your projects. AppDNA automatically updates this scenario if you change options in the Configure Modules wizard. You cannot edit the My Enterprise Selections scenario directly. However, you can use it as a template for your own scenarios.

Forward Path task script

Forward Path tasks are typically used to automate the creation of production-ready App-V and XenApp packages, based on logic within the Forward Path report. However, Forward Path tasks can be configured to do many other tasks, such as copying files and sending emails.

A Forward Path task script is a script that defines an action to be performed for a value in the Outcome column generated by a Forward Path scenario. For example, if an application virtualization scenario marks an application with a green RAG status, a task script can automatically sequence that application using the App-V sequencer and publish the sequence to a test environment for immediate testing.

To run any task scripts that are associated with the selected Forward Path Scenario, click Evaluate Tasks in the Forward Path report viewer.

To change which applications are selected, go to the Application List screen.
To change the active scenario for the duration of your AppDNA session, select the scenario you require in the Forward Path report viewer. (You can change the active scenario more permanently in the Forward Path Logic Editor.)
To run the task scripts associated with the selected applications, click Start.
To evaluate the active scenario for the selected applications, click Refresh on the toolbar. The information that appears includes the following:
- The MapUNCPathDriveLetter column shows the mapped drive letter if the task script has used the ApplicationDetails.MapUNCPath property to map the \\server\share portion of installation directory to a drive letter.
- The Install Command column shows the command that launches the application installation. If not overwritten by the task script, this shows the Active Directory or Configuration Manager installation command if the application is linked with an Active Directory or Configuration Manager managed application. Otherwise this column shows a command based on the location and method by which the application was imported into AppDNA.
- The InstallWrkDir column shows the working directory used by the installation command. When this is blank, the default working directory is used.

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