What is the difference between SVS Runtime and the regular SVS product from Symantec?

Q:
Lance asked, "what's the difference between SVS Runtime and the regular SVS product from Symantec?"

A:
Ultimately, the difference is simply whether or not the SVS Agent is installed with a license key. If no license key is used, SVS defaults to Runtime Mode. Unlicensed SVS (or "SVS Runtime") is designed to be broadly and freely redistributed by application vendors.

There are functional differences between SVS Runtime and regular licensed SVS from Symantec. The regular SVS product allows customers to repackage any software into the Symantec Virtual Software Package format using .VSA (or Virtual Software Archive) files. .VSA files may then be centrally managed and delivered via any standard management framework (such as Altiris, Microsoft System Center, etc.) or with the Symantec Streaming system that is available in the SVS Professional version of the product.

SVS Runtime enables customers to use software that is packaged by the vendor as a .VRA file, or Virtual Runtime Archive. Application developers use Wise Installation Studio (WIS) to build .VRAs for their products. Software vendors may also freely redistribute the SVS Runtime to their customers, and the final output of WIS is an .EXE installer that contains the .VRA plus the SVS Agent embedded. When it runs, the installer checks to see if SVS exists on the machine. If it does, the .VRA is imported and activated; if it does not, SVS is installed in runtime mode and then the .VRA is installed and activated. When laid down by a software vendor's installer, SVS Runtime is the core SVS application virtualization agent, with no Graphical User Interface (GUI) or server components.

In Runtime Mode, SVS only allows use of .VRAs. In Standard (licensed) Mode, SVS can use either .VRAs or .VSAs (and also create layers and .VSAs).