Hey - what do you think of using Droplet to run ...
# _generalj
jvitech
09/27/2024, 1:48 PMHey - what do you think of using Droplet to run the new Teams v2 on Windows Server 2016?
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James Rankin
09/27/2024, 1:50 PMDroplet is pretty much vaporware, isn't it?
James Rankin
09/27/2024, 1:51 PMHard to see how an evolving platform like Teams would be easy to run in a container on a legacy OS, all the "container" based solutions I've seen pretty much rely on a static base. But I'm willing to be surprised
James Rankin
09/27/2024, 1:52 PMBut it begs the question why would you even need to run Teams on Server 2016? Why not use the browser version?
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jvitech
09/27/2024, 3:14 PMNot sure about vapourware. At the end "worker" of Droplet is Linux with windows emulation so no MS License needed. Pretty interesting.
We still have W16 with Teams v1 working with offloading. We are trying to keep our W16 for another year as we are in the beginning of a long procurement process.
Offloading of the Web version didn't work well for me ... maybe you had better luck and you would it consider good for an enterprise? We have Linux thin client, no Internet but as Teama v1 optimization / WebRTC uses UDP, no proxy needed, happy offloading internally. Anyhow it's possible but again when I tested to offload the web version, I struggled with issues.
But if it was my conf and it can be stable, I'll put the effort in! thx
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James Rankin
09/27/2024, 3:24 PMVaporware is what I've heard from people in the industry, just sayin'. Also might be interesting to hear how MS approach it from a compliance standpoint.
Most 2016 I see is on the way out with pressure from security so using the web version isn't necessary much, but I use it for instances where there are legacy OSes kicking about. If you need offloading though that's an extra thorn in the side.
But I think the point about the moving parts in Teams is probably your worst worry - as I said, most containerized stuff I've had to do is, by its very nature, quite static. A fluid product like Teams sounds like a load of problems waiting to happen if you wrap it up in something third-party
James Rankin
09/27/2024, 3:26 PMAlso not sure how the container people themselves would see it - my experience with these products is that they are very much aimed at legacy applications. What you are doing is essentially flipping it around to let a legacy OS run a very modern app. Would be interesting - but unfortunately maybe in the sense of the Chinese proverb 😉
James Rankin
09/27/2024, 3:28 PMDunno if it is worth your time but you could definitely use Citrix Browser Content Redirection to do offloading of "old" Teams web version - might be worth a look with the new, unimproved Teams 2 web flavour
James Rankin
09/27/2024, 3:29 PM(not entirely sure if the web version of Teams is any different when v1 and v2 are involved, probably not)
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Ryan Gallier
09/27/2024, 4:09 PMWhat a neat idea. If you do get this going, please let us know, or blog it. 🙂
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jvitech
09/27/2024, 5:34 PMThanks a mill James! You have some good points :) The moving part of Teams will make the packaging a pain ... also Teams integration with Outlook which mean you need to have Outlook containerised + FSlogix and if like us you have business apps integrated with Outlook, well you need the full stack containerised for a good experience ... hm. Without mentioning the perf impact of the Windows virtualisation by Linux and probably an optimization not working. Tricky, as you said, legacy apps are better for this. I'd still like to do a quick PoC for the crack and sharing the finding. If I ever do it, I'll post an update, who knows!
I tried BCR with Teams v2 and it wasn't great, I couldn't get it working despite having done lot of tests, tweaking, it worked maybe one time and I couldn't test the offloading quality.
I may just get Citrix support involved... but we use certificate for the 2FA and it's not available on non-business devices and with BCR the authentication happens on the endpoint doing the offloading so it won't work.
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Danny
09/27/2024, 6:33 PMThought teams 1.0 will be around for another year at least on VDI
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Ryan Gallier
09/27/2024, 6:35 PMJuly
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jvitech
09/27/2024, 7:37 PMTime is ticking for us :/
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Ryan Gallier
09/27/2024, 7:37 PMSame here
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Ingmar Verheij
10/06/2024, 6:16 PMNext week at AppManagEvent there's a session about Droplet, that might be interesting. Didn't hear from them before so I'll definitely check their solution out.
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Ingmar Verheij
10/16/2024, 6:01 AM@jvitech I visited their booth last week to get a better understanding of what Droplet does and what their role could play in the ecosystem. To start with the last; they provide a solution to run legacy apps (dependent on older technology/OS) from your modern workspace.
(my interpretation from what I saw/heard) Their solution does this by isolating the application from your modern workspace by running it from within a VM - that runs a legacy OS - and publishing it as a seamless application. You can run the app from your own device, or hosted on a server (acting like a multi-user presentation server).
So for those applications that can't be ported to a modern OS Droplet could be a solution. Another interesting solution could be CloudHouse where they guarantee to make any application work and from within their own container, but on your modern OS. Less overhead, more native.
Best solution probably is to replace/retire the application, if it's that old and unmaintained your business probably should depend on it. In reality that doesn't always work, recently worked with a client who's mechanics had to maintain trains that run Win95 and needed to be serviced
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jvitech
10/16/2024, 10:30 AMHi @Ingmar Verheij Thanks a mill for your feedback! I agree Droplet is good for legacy apps, similar than publish app, if you can't retire it. I'll keep CloudHouse in mind. For now my client still didn't make up his mind on our upgrade path.
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