Redirect-IT® is a one-of-a-kind, sophisticated registry and file system redirection engine designed to eliminate common multi-user conflicts arising from software design limitations and lazy programming techniques. Contrary to best practice recommendations, many programs are ineptly designed to store user configuration settings, personal preferences, and other data in a shared location such as the machine registry (HKLM) or a common file or folder. On a single-user workstation, this does not constitute a problem. However in a multi-user shared environment such as Terminal Server, this limitation inevitably results in access conflicts, data corruption, and loss of personal settings.

Unfortunately, these limitations cannot be mitigated by means of application compatibility scripts or other traditional workarounds. One potential solution to this problem would be to modify the application's code, which could be costly, time-consuming, and often times an implausible option. Another possibility would be to leverage one of many available software virtualization technologies on the market today. But this, too, could be very expensive, let alone an overkill proposition.

Redirect-IT® offers an effective solution that obviates the need for drastic corrective measures involving application code rewrites, virtualization, or even Citrix AIE (Application Isolation Environment). By intercepting and redirecting common registry and file operations, Redirect-IT® seamlessly creates a private instance of select HKLM sub-keys and common files in the user's registry (HKCU) and home folder (or AppData folder), respectively.

 

Using the Provision Management Console (PMC), the administrator creates one or more redirection rules specifying:

1. The problematic application.
2. The associated HKLM sub-keys, common files, and common folders that should be redirected.
3. The alternate locations to which the specified HKLM sub-keys, common files, and common folders should be redirected.

Redirect-IT® operates completely in the background and unbeknownst to the running application. Using its powerful Application Compatibility Enhancements (ACE) engine, Redirect-IT® performs the following corrective steps:

1. Intercepts registry and file operations targeting the common data (i.e., HKLM sub-keys, common files, and common folders) specified in the redirection rules.
2. The common data are copied from their original locations to the user-private locations (i.e., HKCU, home folder) specified in the redirection rules. This step is optional and performed only if user-private instances of the common data don't already exist.
3. Performs the desired registry and file operations (i.e., enumerate, list, read, write, delete, etc) on the user-private instances of the data.

Below are examples of three bad apps, namely, BadApp1, BadApp2, and BadApp3. As shown in figures 1 and 2, BadApp1 is designed to store the user’s preferences under HKLM\Software\XYZ.

Figure 1– BadApp1.

Figure 2– BadApp1stores the user’s preferences in HKLM.

BadApp2 is a variation of BadApp1. As shown in figures 3 and 4, it is designed to store the configuration file containing the user’s preferences in the program folder.

Figure 3 – BadApp2.

Figure 4 – BadApp2 stores the configuration file containing the user’s preferences in the program folder.

Finally, BadApp3 is a simple data entry application. As shown in figures 5 and 6, it is designed to store customer information records in the Data folder under the program folder.

Figure 5 – BadApp3.

Figure 6 – BadApp3 stores customer information records in the Data folder under the program folder.

Redirect-IT is a rule-driven solution; it allows the Administrator to define the precise actions that must be executed in order to correct the behavior of an inept application. Figure 7 is a screenshot of the Provision Management Console (PMC) in which three corrective rules have been created for BadApp1, BadApp2, and BadApp3. Figures 8, 9, and 10 depict the specifics of each rule.

BadApp1: access to HKLM\Software\XYZ is to be intercepted and redirected to HKCU\Software\Quest Software\Software\XYZ.

BadApp2: access to C:\Program Files\XYZ\badapp2.cfg is to be intercepted and redirected to %HomeDrive%\XYZ\badapp2.cfg. If XYZ or badapp2.cfg doesn’t already exist in %HomeDrive%, create XYZ and copy badapp2.cfg into it.

BadApp3: access to any file in C:\Program Files\XYZ\Data is to be intercepted and redirected to %HomeDrive%\Data. If Data or the files being accessed don’t already exist in %HomeDrive%, create Data and copy the files into it.

Figure 7 – The Provision Management Console.

Figure 8 – BadApp1’s registry-based corrective rule.

Figure 9 – BadApp2’s file-based corrective rule.

Figure 10 – BadApp3’s folder-based corrective rule.

Figure 11, 12, and 13 demonstrate the results of the corrective redirection rules. For BadApp1, configuration settings originally destined for HKLM have been successfully redirected to HKCU. For BadApp2, the XYZ folder was created in the user’s home folder (Z:\) and the configuration settings were stored in badapp2.cfg under XYZ. Finally for BadApp3, the Data folder was created in the user’s home folder (Z:\) and customer data were stored in the Data folder.

Figure 11 – The result of BadApp1’s corrective rule.

Figure 12 – The result of BadApp2’s corrective rule.

Figure 13 – The result of BadApp3’s corrective rule

BadApp1, BadApp2, and BadApp3 are simple examples of inept programs. Correcting the behavior of more complex programs may require multiple redirection rules. Redirect-IT includes a logging facility which can used alongside other popular tools such as FileMon and RegMon to assist the Administrator in determining the registry keys, files, and folders that should be redirected.

 

Licensing

• Standalone per-server license
• Per concurrent user - Part of the vWorkspace Power Tools Edition
• Per concurrent user - Part of the vWorkspace Enterprise Edition

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