Considerations for running a .NET windows application from a network share

Question

With .NET 3.5 SP1 we can now run windows applications over the network by default. Even with the earlier versions, with some effort (setting up code access security) , we could run executables from a network share.

My question is, what are the implications of distributing applications by putting them on a network share. For, e.g. how is performance impacted, are there any more security considerations apart from CAS etc.

And how does it compare with distributing applications by say, installing them locally by manually copying the files across or using smart client?

Answer 1

Well, the obvious difference with explicit local copying is that you can use it even when the share is unavailable. If the app can run from a share, it would be equally trivial to make it work from (say) a ClickOnce deployment marked for offline use. Then you get the advantages of offline use and caching on the client (so it doesn't have to copy anything the 2nd/3rd/etc time) - but it is still really easy to update automatically.

Note that ClickOnce deployments can also be network share deployed, so to me it makes sense to go this route. You also get to sign the overall deployment (not just individual files), specify trust, etc. Plus it'll work without .NET 3.5SP1, and it won't matter whether it is a mapped share ("f:\") or a UNC ("\\fooserver\bar") - I believe the 3.5 SP1 tweaks only apply to mapped shares?

Finally, you also get things like the ability to use file associations. So many wins, and so few problems. I'd use ClickOnce ;-p