We are very excited to finally announce the availability of BDD 2007! This solution gives you all the tools and technologies as well as the guidance to optimally deploy your Windows Vista desktop. Get it from
www.microsoft.com/desktopdeployment, the one-stop shop for everything related to desktop deployment!
We have blogged and written about BDD and the deployment tools in the past but here is a quick refresher:
The Microsoft® Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 is THE recommended best practice methodology for consistent, repeatable and cost-effective deployments. BDD delivers end-to-end guidance to efficiently plan, build, test, and deploy operating systems and applications, including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Office 2003 and the 2007 Office system. Microsoft has been working with leading deployment partners to enhance and develop this industry guidance in addition to providing Microsoft's implementations of BDD methodology.
BDD provides tools and best-practices that can enable you to:
- Follow best practices (this we find to be very important) in planning, building and deploying desktops
- Create a software and hardware inventory to assist in deployment planning.
- Set up an initial lab environment with deployment and imaging servers. A pilot is critical in the success of your overall deployment plan
- Automate desktop image creation. Huge wins here with our new imaging technologies...
- Ensure that the desktop is hardened to improve security within the environment.
- Deliver lite and zero touch deployment scenarios (see below)
Microsoft has two implementations of BDD methodologies (lite and zero touch) that include/use the following Microsoft technologies:
- Systems Management Server 2003 R2
- Windows Automated Installation Kit - WAIK (contains ImageX, Windows System Image Manager and Windows Pre-installation Environment 2.0)
- Windows Deployment Services
- Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0
- User State Migration Toolkit 3.0
The Lite Touch version of BDD is most useful for companies that might not have a management infrastructure, but want to take advantage of the solution to do a full, end-to-end deployment. Dont be fooled by the terminology "Lite Touch" - this is a very capable solution! Microsoft's recommended and high-end BDD solution is our Zero Touch implementation, using the enterprise-class infrastructure that SMS 2003 provides. We have also been partnering with leading ISVs and SIs in the deployment space to enhance BDD guidance and methodology - you can find their BDD-based solutions by checking out the partner section of the deployment website.
BDD 2007 is a lightweight download (approx 30MB) that brings down the BDD workbench - think of this as your deployment "studio" where you can find all the guidance/documents, build images, add drivers, add applications, create unattend files, create deployment points and finally deploy. The workbench allows you to download and install all the deployment tools, get guidance and technologies such as the WAIK, ACT 5, USMT and others. When new tools or guidance documents are posted at Microsoft.com, the BDD Workbench will be the place to get this from. We are very excited about this new update capability!
This has been a lot of work and I am positive you will be very happy with the work of the BDD team - Vista and Office promise to be the easiest versions ever to deploy! Try it out now, download the solution and have fun deploying (we can really say that now)!