Before setting up a Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) management server, you need to install several prerequisites, mainly for IIS and the SQL Server database engine.
The Application Virtualization Management Server performs both the publishing function and the streaming function. The server publishes application icons, shortcuts, and file type associations to the App-V clients for authorized users. When user requests for applications are received the server streams that data on-demand to authorized users using RTSP or RTSPS protocols. In most configurations using this server, one or more Management Servers share a common data store for configuration and package information.
The Application Virtualization Management Servers use Active Directory groups to manage user authorization. In addition to Active Directory Domain Services, these servers have SQL Server installed to manage the database and data store. The Management Server is controlled through the Application Virtualization Management Console, a snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console.
I am running the App-V management server on Windows Server 2008 R2. There are several ways to install the IIS features, but I use the dism.exe command.
Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM.exe) is a command-line tool that can be used to service a Windows® image or to prepare a Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) image. It replaces Package Manager (Pkgmgr.exe), PEimg, and Intlcfg that were included in Windows Vista®. The functionality that was included in these tools is now consolidated in one tool (DISM.exe), and new functionality has been added to improve the experience for offline servicing.
DISM.exe also has an online option for modifying a running system. I use the following command to add the IIS components required by the App-V server. This lets me install them from the command line or a script without opening Server Manager.