Upcoming improvements to Win32 app supersedence

[Guest Intune_Support_Team]

By: Mandar Chen, Product Manager 2 | Microsoft Intune

 

 

 

The Win32 app supersedence feature enables admins to upgrade or replace existing Win32 apps with newer versions of the same or entirely different Win32 app in a controlled manner. Since its launch, we’ve received a great deal of positive feedback about how supersedence helps admins streamline app updates. We’ve also received feedback on how we could further improve the feature to serve you better, especially related to how supersedence interacts with both app dependencies and the enrollment status page (ESP). Our next update, expected in Q1 2023, aims to introduce major improvements to these areas, including:

 

 

• Creating supersedence and dependency relationships in the same app subgraph. A subgraph is a set of apps connected to each other through supersedence and dependency relationships. Note: If there is a conflict between supersedence and dependency intent, the Intune Management Extension (IME) will enforce the supersedence intent, if possible. Some intent may be blocked due to conflicts.
  
• Improving app tracking behavior during ESP.
  
• Supporting supersedence relationships during ESP.
  

 

 

 

These new improvements complement the current supersedence behaviors available today. For more information about what’s currently being offered, see Add Win32 app supersedence.

 

 

 

Improvements to app processing

 

	Old Behavior	New Behavior
General dependency processing	Even if the parent app cannot be installed, dependency processing will install as many dependency apps as possible regardless of the targeting on dependencies.	If a parent app cannot be installed, dependency app processing will halt until the blocking condition is resolved. Examples include instances when:

• The parent app is not applicable.
• One of several dependencies is not applicable.
• A dependency is in a failure state
• A dependency has a detect-only dependency relationship and is not detected
  

It’s possible for some customers using the dependency feature to achieve app sequencing to experience unexpected outcomes with this behavioral change.

Uninstalling dependency apps

Dependency apps can only be uninstalled if parent apps are no longer targeted.

Dependency apps can be uninstalled if all parent apps are also targeted with an uninstall intent.

Applicability & requirement checks

Applicability and requirement checks run only after determining that an enforcement action is needed based on the intent and detection status of the app.

Applicability and requirement checks run for all apps in every check-in. Apps are required to report this data to the service for analysis.

Detection checks

The IME runs detection checks for apps to determine two parts of enforcement. The first check determines whether enforcement is necessary. Once enforcement is completed, the second check determines the post-enforcement state of the app on the device.



Detection checks for child dependency apps may be skipped under certain conditions.

The IME runs detection checks for all apps in every check in (as permitted by the re-evaluation schedule) as part of its analysis of which apps to enforce and to report to the service.



Additional detection checks are performed before more time-consuming operations occur, such as download and install.

 

 

 

Improvements to app tracking behavior

 

Current Tracking Behavior	New Tracking Behavior

• All targeted apps are tracked, including apps that are not applicable to the device.
• Untargeted dependency apps are not tracked.
• Apps that are not applicable are reported by the Intune management extension as “Completed” to the ESP.
  

• All apps that need to be installed will be tracked.
• Apps that are not applicable to the device will not be tracked.
• Untargeted dependency apps will be tracked if their parents are installed.
• Apps that were previously tracked and no longer require installation will be reported by the Intune management extension as “Completed” to the ESP.
  

 

 

 

When will these new improvements be available?

 

 

These improvements are planned for Q1 of 2023, however, there is a longer than normal rollout for these updates and will occur in phases per-tenant. We’ll continue to update this post as the rollout begins and becomes available for all customers. Once the rollout has started, you’ll be able to determine if you’ve received the improvements if you can create apps with both supersedence and dependency relationships in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center or by checking the Intune management extension logs on an enrolled device. In the logs, look for the following text:

 

 

 

[Win32App] espSupportForSupersedenceEnabled : True, v2AppPrococesorDisabled : True

 

 

 

 

 

If v2AppPrococesorDisabled is set to true, then your devices are operating with the new improvements. The espSupportForSupersedenceEnabled value will only be true when the device is in ESP and is operating in the new mode.

 

 

 

Stay tuned to this post for updates on the rollout! If you have any questions or feedback, leave a comment below or reach out to us on Twitter @IntuneSuppTeam.

 

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