Salamander 'breaks' SVS

SvA · Post by **SvA** » 26 May 2006, 16:19

Since most of you probably don't know SVS, I will briefly introduce it in order to allow you to understand the problem I am experiencing:

SVS stands for 'Software Virtualisation Service' by Altris (see Altiris® SVS Home Page for more information. Personal edition is free). You can find downloads of SVS and virtualized demo applications at www.svsdownloads.com and extensive information about the product, it's working and ways to use it at Altris Juice.

With SVS, one can capture software installations into layers, which can be turned on and off at will. Any files (and registry keys) created or modified by a program from within the layer are stored to the layer. While the layer is active, it's files are visible to programs from outside the layer, the base system. If such an outside program modifies a file which is stored in a layer, the resulting file is no longer saved to the layer but to the underlying base system.

I now discovered, that some program files 'escaped' the layer where I did not expect this to happen. I could finally trace it back to opening that file's properties from within Servant Salamander (Version 2.5 RC1). This does not happen when opening properties from Windows Explorer.

Do you have any idea as to what operation of Salamander could be regarded as a write operation by SVS that triggers migrating the file from the layer to the base system? Dou you see any chance to change this behavior of Salamander?

I know, this is a very special request. I would appreciate it highly, though, if you could look into it, believing that software virtualisation will become an important technology in the future.

Post by **Jan Rysavy** » 26 May 2006, 16:46

Nice problem

I suppose you mean the Properties command from context menu?
Is there difference when you choose the OK / Cancel button from Properties dialog box?

Could you please test Total Commander (or another non-unicode file manager)?

SvA · Post by **SvA** » 26 May 2006, 18:39

Jan Rysavy wrote:Nice problem

Jan Rysavy wrote:I suppose you mean the Properties command from context menu?

Yes, that's exactly right.

Jan Rysavy wrote:Is there difference when you choose the OK / Cancel button from Properties dialog box?

No, no difference.

Jan Rysavy wrote:Could you please test Total Commander (or another non-unicode file manager)?

I tested Total Commander 5.51 and SpeedCommander 10 (I don't actively use them, I don't know about their unicode support). Both show the same strange behavior

I guess I will have to contact Altiris support, then...