Windows Vista Team Blog : Featured News, IT Pro

Update: Windows Vista and the Optimized Desktop

Chris Flores — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:45:00 GMT

A few months ago, first in January, and then again in May, Shanen Boettcher, General Manager of Windows Product Management for the Enterprise, commented on our vision for the Optimized Desktop. Today, he posted on the MDOP Team Blog about the new virtualization product releases, licensing changes, and partnerships that will help customers harness the power of Windows Vista in their organization by optimizing both the end user and IT management experience through a tight integration of physical and virtual resources. Highlights include the RTM (Release to Manufacturing) of Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 (called "App-V" for short), Microsoft's desktop virtualization technology that allows applications to run completely isolated from one another (and much more), App-V support in Microsoft System Center and Microsoft Configuration Manager, which tightens integration of physical and virtual resources across desktops and servers, and an expansion of the Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop license to help prepare Windows Vista customers for the next generation of PC users.

There's a lot of great information in Shanen's blog post, not just about what the news is, but WHY it is so important for our customers. You can read the full post here.

Video Demo: Identifying Security Vulnerabilities for Your Desktop Infrastructure

Baldwin Ng — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:20:00 GMT

Whether you are planning to deploy Windows Vista or already did, it is important that you keep security high on your list and make sure that all of your desktops are secured. So, how do you know if your desktops have Windows Firewall settings turned off? What if some desktops do not have Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware software installed?

To quickly get an answer, please check out the new Security Center assessment feature that we have added to the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 released in June. It auto-generates a security assessment report on your existing desktops as part of the "Windows Vista hardware assessment" migration report.

What's Next?

Start identifying these security vulnerabilities today with a free download of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit. You may also view the new MAP Toolkit demo video and learn how to get the Security Center assessment report as well as the hardware compatibility assessment report for Windows Vista migration.

Cheers,

Baldwin Ng

Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team

Essential Tool for the Job - Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 for Windows Vista (RTM Announcement)

Baldwin Ng — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:53:00 GMT

RTM Announcement - Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1

Hello,

It's been a few months since I last blogged about the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 - formerly known as WVHA or Windows Vista Hardware Assessment. Today, I'd like to announce the RTM release of this tool with new capabilities including desktop security assessment, Hyper-V virtualization assessment, and more.

As you know, many of the IT pros out there like you are now spending a lot of time planning for Windows Vista deployments. But many question and challenges remain:

Are my existing PCs compatible to Windows Vista when it comes to Hardware and Device Compatibility?
Will my PCs have BIOS issues after the upgrade to Windows Vista?
Which of my PCs are ripe for an upgrade to Windows Vista? (e.g. CPU too old so it's time to replace them; or just add 512MB system memory and the PCs would be Windows Vista capable!)
What kind of software has been installed?
Are all of my PCs secure? Is Windows Security Center installed? Do they have Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware software installed? How about Windows Firewall settings?
What about application virtualization readiness?

The MAP Toolkit 3.1 is designed to address all of these desktop-side issues from a single tool! The MAP Toolkit is a platform of tools that combines the strength of agentless discovery and report generation capabilities from the previous generation (Windows Vista Hardware Assessment). The pie-chart below is part of an auto-generated readiness report from the MAP Toolkit and it illustrates the level of hardware readiness for Windows Vista upgrades across the desktop infrastructure.

As a matter of fact, if you view the latest MAP Team RTM blog post from yesterday, you will find that the MAP Toolkit 3.1 also havs many server-side and virtualization features including a Hyper-V virtualization candidates assessment and SQL Server discovery!!

Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 RTM Version
Read documentation about MAP operations on TechNet
Learn tips and see video demos on MAP Team Blog
Join MAP Fan Clubs on TechNet Forum or Facebook
Very importantly, download other Windows Vista Solution Accelerators like the MDT Toolkit, Windows Vista Security Guide and more as well!

Cheers!
Baldwin Ng (Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators - Virtualization Lead)

Need answers about Windows Vista? New Windows Client TechCenter Launches

Chris Flores — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:01:00 GMT

Unfortunately I was unable to make TechEd this year. Today marks the start of a highly eventful week at our yearly conference for IT professionals. Roughly 10,000 attendees will gather at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FLA.

This year at TechEd we are launching the new unified Windows Client TechCenter. The new TechCenter is now the official new home to the Springboard Series of online resources (www.microsoft.com/springboard). This is a critical component of the Windows Vista deployment and management story. With Windows Vista we built a number of capabilities into the product itself, as well as number of tools to prepare for implementation. The piece that's been missing is structured guidance along adoption path that helps IT Professionals learn how new features and capabilities can assist common tasks and also how to pre-empt and address key challenges upfront... We're aiming to deliver this final piece through the new Windows Client TechCenter, which shares candid best practices from real-world experiences. For instance, check out Springboard Series articles such as Five Windows Vista adoption "Gotchas" and how to get beyond them. The new site offers a consolidated repository of resources across the adoption lifecycle, new troubleshooting zones and community components.

Exclusive to readers of this blog, I was lucky enough to catch up with our very own Microsoft Technical Fellow, Mark Russinovich, a widely recognized desktop guru in his own right and a major sponsor of this effort, to understand more.

Chris Flores: Some of us know you from your previous work with Sysinternals and the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) what have you been working on more recently?
Mark Russinovich: I spend a lot of time working with the software engineering team on designs and specifications as we evolve Windows. I also continue to build complementary tools to help IT Pros better manage and troubleshoot Windows environments. We release Sysinternals utilities that aren't necessarily tied to the latest product release or service pack like our recent ShellRunas utility for launching programs under different accounts. Our focus here is to help IT professionals solve arising technical issues and that has led me to work on the Springboard Series which I see as a key element for connecting with the needs of desktop specialists.

Chris Flores: So what is behind recent efforts with the new unified Windows Client TechCenter and the Springboard Series?
Mark Russinovich: Well to set some context, in the past it has been a bit of a tax to be interested in and to adopt our technologies. Not because we did not have a lot of content or tools but because very often when you are adopting something new, you don't know what you don't know and it's hard to find what you need in the context of what you are trying to do or where you are in terms of point-in-time tasks, like planning, deploying and managing an OS.

In the case of implementing a new operating system there are lots of questions and issues along the road to getting broadly deployed into production. The new Windows Client TechCenter and Springboard resources help offer more openness and empathy to these real-world challenges - so that we can more proactively help IT Professionals better understand both what they are up against and what's in it for them personally as they go down the technology adoption path.

Chris Flores: I think you just hit on something that really seems central to this effort - empathy -- can you explain what you mean?
Mark Russinovich: First imagine that you personally are in a position where you have to have the answers, and you have to spend your work day and often your weekend looking for them just to support the needs of your organization. 50% of your time is spent trying to keep the organization up and running another 10% of what you do are fixed tasks (backups and reports) but a good portion of your day goes on random stuff - say 40% on break/fix, helpdesk stuff etc. Well that's what desktop IT Professionals often have to go through and the last thing that you would want is for it to be difficult to get the answers you need or even for your needs not to be acknowledged when you try to search for solutions to your pains.

With that in mind, our goal here was to offer a more straight-forward and practical way of looking at things and give them a managed experience. Whether you are a Windows XP user today deciding whether or not to migrate or already on the path to Windows Vista, we offer one destination where you are able to proactively see recommended Springboard Series resources regardless of what OS your are managing and where you might be on the deployment or management trajectory. The new site also lets you connect with Microsoft and community subject matter experts and get answers and advice more easily on known challenges and the ones that you encounter. In this case, you'll see that we have added new task zones on Application Compatibility - where you can see more dynamic information on the most recent compatible third-party applications as well as tips and tricks and guidance on Performance and Hardware Requirements; Imaging and Security.

Chris Flores: Seems like there are new content assets too, such as the Springboard Virtual Round Table on Windows Vista Adoption where you took on some tough questions. How does that fit in?
Mark Russinovich: It's another way of connecting with the IT Pro community in a real way and to be proactive in addressing their questions and challenges. These are live virtual interactive events, broadcast over the Internet. Think of "Meet the Press for IT Pros". We take live email questions and answer them via an expert panel comprising IT Pro peers in the industry. We try to do these quarterly, the next one we are running is called "Let's talk Windows Vista security" on June 18th.

Chris Flores: Why are you personally so passionate about the community connection?
Mark Russinovich: It's the community feedback, open discussions and connection to the people doing the real work that helps keep me grounded and learn where we can do better in marketing, support, and in the product itself.

Chris Flores: Thanks Mark. Good luck with your sessions at TechEd and thank you for spending the time today.
Mark Russinovich: Thanks, sorry you weren't able to make it to Tech Ed this year. It's going to be a great event.

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2008 Released

Chris Flores — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:59:00 GMT

Today marks the release of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2008 - a set of tools for IT Pros managing IT environments for companies who have purchased MDOP plus Windows Software Assurance agreements with Microsoft. There are two key product updates in this release I'd like to highlight that I think IT Pros will find very useful - Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset 6.0 (DaRT) and Desktop Error Monitoring 3.0 SP1 (DEM).

For those of you not familiar with DaRT, it provides a set of tools for IT Pros to debug and troubleshoot unbootable PCs. DaRT 6.0 brings in some new tools worth taking note of. Tools such as Locksmith can reset a local administrator password, while Hotfix Uninstall can remove a bad hotfix. This is especially useful if the hotfix was the cause of the PC crash. Perhaps one of the simplest uses for DaRT is to recover files from the PC, even if they have been removed from the recycle bin. One of the new features in DaRT 6.0 is the Standalone System Sweeper, an antimalware product that runs while the Windows operating system is unbootable. This tool, which can receive updated virus/spyware definitions via USB thumb drive or online, will scan the PC's hard drive and is even effective at removing malware which use rootkits to avoid detection. DaRT 6.0 was previously available in beta, and Brandon had a chance to check it out late last year on the Windows Experience Blog.

DEM is a tool which allows the IT department to monitor all of the little application and operating system crashes that occur in an IT environment. You can think of it as a "Watson for companies." Whenever end users have a pop up error that normally says "Click to send to Microsoft," the Administrator can now use DEM to automatically redirect all of those errors to the DEM server. By tracking all of these errors, companies can create a more stable PC environment for their end users. They can also use it to track internally developed applications and use the feedback to improve their own development process. DEM 3.0 SP1 brings improved performance and scalability to the product, as well as an improved look-and-feel of the reports which can be generated for key metrics such as Top Application Crashes and Top Error Groups. Additionally, the new version of DEM can be upgraded to System Center Operations Manager 2007 through an in-place upgrade. This will allow IT Departments a deeper level of monitoring for your machines and the added ability to monitor your servers.

The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack continues to be an excellent way for IT Pros to effectively manage their PCs in the IT environment.