Q: How do I use Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) to run applications on my iPad or other non-Windows device?

A: You can't stream App-V applications to an iPad or any other non-Windows device. Remember that App-V is an application virtualization technology. It allows an application to run locally on a client OS without actually being installed. App-V basically creates a blob containing the installed application in a virtual file system, virtual registry, and other virtual components that are brought into the App-V "bubble." When the application is run, it thinks it's actually installed and executed on the local OS. If you're working on an iPad, for example, this local OS would be iOS, and Windows applications can't run on iOS—so it won't work.

The solution is a presentation virtualization solution, such as Remote Desktop Services (RDS), which runs the actual applications on a Windows server and just sends the screen output for the application over the RDP protocol. It can send to non-Windows devices. You could use App-V on the RDS server for easier application management and to avoid application-to-application compatibility problems.

You might need to also include Citrix products. They build on top of RDS and have greater support for non-Windows client devices. They also have logic to detect the end client type: If it's a Windows OS, they might stream the application down in native App-V format, and if it's not Windows, they would use presentation virtualization to deliver the application.