Springboard Series Blog

Springboard Series/Windows Community Party at TechEd US

Stephen L Rose — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:47:00 GMT

PLEASE NOTE- The Springboard Series/Windows Community Party Event is now SOLD OUT and the registration tool is now closed.

To celebrate all of the great support we have received over the past year from IT pros, we are happy to announce the registration information for the Springboard Series Windows Community Party at TechEd North America*. The party is open to any attendees of TechEd North America in New Orleans and is located within walking distance from the conference center and hotels. Since there are only 350 tickets available, don’t delay. Last year’s party sold out in only 20 minutes!

The pass will be distributed onsite at the Windows Information Counter in the Microsoft Solutions Experience. You must bring your confirmation acceptance email to the booth and photo ID to receive your party pass and lanyard. No exceptions

Second, this will be my final time hosting the annual Springboard Community Partyas I will soon be taking on a new role at Microsoft focusing on strengthening relationships with our customers and partners in the U.S. I am extremely excited to take on this new role, but also sad that I will no longer be supporting the IT pro community via the Springboard Series. I want to thank all of you have supported our efforts over the past 5 years and want to assure you that the Springboard Series will continue to evolve to better help you in your efforts to support your infrastructure and end users. I personally am excited to see what new things the future will bring.

Save the Date!
Date: Wednesday, June 5th
Time: 7:00 – 11:00 pm CDT
Location: Broussard’s Restaurant in the French Quarter- 819 Rue Conti, New Orleans, LA

*Please be aware that we will not be having an event in Madrid. The registration link above is for the TechEd North America event only.

TechEd Primer

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:17:06 GMT

I had a great conversation with some folks via Twitter last week on what they should expect at TechEd as this was their first trip. This will be my ninth TechEd and I sometimes forget what it’s like for folks that have never attended. So for my Twitter pals, this primer is for you.

What is TechEd? - TechEd is Microsoft’s premiere event for IT professionals and developers. It provides hands-on learning, awesome sessions, deep product exploration, and countless opportunities to build relationships with a community of Microsoft experts and your peers.

Where and when is it? - TechEd North America will take place in New Orleans, June 3- 6. There is also a TechEd Europe in Madrid, Spain on June 25 – 28.

What should I expect? - Expect days filled with sessions that will answer your questions, fill your brain till it feels like it will burst, excite you about new products and features, evenings filled with great networking opportunities and conversations that will go late into the evening. It’s going to be hot and humid in New Orleans in June so bring comfy clothes and good shoes for walking, as sessions are at all ends of the conference center. Plan your days in advance. Register for sessions and use the schedule builder so you know when and where every key session you want to attend is and so you don’t miss anything. There are some more great tips for 1^st time attendees here.

Anything else? – Well, if you’re not certified, you can take advantage of this great opportunity to fulfill your certification requirements at a 50% discount at TechEd North America 2013. This opportunity is only available to registered TechEd North America 2013 attendees. Microsoft Certification can keep your skills relevant, applicable, and competitive, and with the Certification Center onsite at TechEd North America, you’ll have the chance to learn, practice, and talk one-on-one with the training experts on a variety of technologies. Microsoft Certification is an industry standard recognized worldwide.

Tell me more about the Windows Client Track-The Windows Client, Access & Management track focuses on four technology areas: Windows Client, Desktop Virtualization, User and Device Management, and Access & Information Protection. Sessions in this track help you plan, deploy, and manage Windows and applications. They help you understand the opportunities that the trends of consumerization and BYOD bring, empowering organizations with the knowledge to give their people the capability to work the way they want, on the devices they choose and how to enable those trends within your organization while keeping corporate policy and compliance standards.

What are some sessions I should plan to attend? There are tons but here are a few I recommend:

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Windows, But Were Afraid to Ask- Join Windows Product Managers Stephen Rose, Brad McCabe, Chris Hallum, Craig Ashley, and Michael Niehaus for an in-depth Q&A session covering all your questions ranging from features and security, through implementation and deployment. This is a great chance to meet the faces behind the product and get your key Windows questions answered by the experts.
How Many Coffees (New 2013 Edition) Can You Drink While Your PC Starts? - You can solve slow boot and slow logon in your enterprise! In this (new 2013 edition) “Case of…” style presentation we share real-world examples and insider tips from Microsoft IT and other enterprises on the causes of slow boot and slow logon. We measure user productivity gains/losses in terms of cups of coffee consumed while waiting for PC, but your business could measure the impact in millions of dollars per year. Be the hero that saves the Windows user experience from heavy handed management layers and badly behaving apps. We are living through a competitive “Bring Your Own Device” era where businesses are re-evaluating management control versus user satisfaction. Now is the time to achieve the right balance and optimize your Windows experience at work. In this session MC Stephen Rose sets the stage, while Matthew Reynolds from Microsoft Services walks you through diagnosis of the most common real-world slow boot and slow logon issues using the Windows Performance Toolkit. We also go beyond diagnostics to share stories of enterprises working their way toward improvement and some of the non-technical challenges they have overcome.
What's New in Windows 8 Deployment- Michael Niehaus - Now that Windows 8 is generally available, it is important for enterprises to begin integrating it into their plans. In this session, we dig into the technical aspects of Windows 8 deployment projects, including changes in the tools, technologies, and processes used for deploying.
Windows RT in the Enterprise- Michael Niehaus - In this session, learn about appropriate and inappropriate scenarios for using Windows RT in enterprise environments: challenges to overcome, as well as known issues and limitations.
Windows Store Apps: Enterprise LOB App Deployment Scenarios – Michael Niehaus- Using WinRT APIs and design principles, Windows 8, and Windows RT are introducing a new type of application. Enterprises are being encouraged to create these, as well as consume third-party apps. This session reviews the technical requirements, how side loading is performed, challenges that may be encountered in this process.
Securing Windows 8 Clients and Resources from Threats – Chris Hallum - Windows 8 offers a rich set of new features that change the game when it comes to Windows client security. Come join us to learn about one of the key scenarios that we’ve delivered which enables Windows 8 to secure clients and resources from threats in a completely new way. During this session we discuss Trusted Boot, Measured Boot, Remote Attestation, Virtual Smartcards, and even third-party features in the context of an end-to-end scenario where a company is able to ensure that a customer account is being accessed from a healthy device and is vetted using strong authentication before access to resources is granted.
Understanding Windows To Go: Supported Use Cases, Hardware Considerations, and Deployment Options in the Enterprise- Craig Ashley - With Windows 8 we redefined workforce mobility by introducing a new feature called Windows To Go, that enables enterprises to provide users a managed corporate environment on a USB drive that they can operate from multiple managed or unmanaged PCs. In addition to reviewing Windows To Go messaging, this session focuses on key supported use cases and deployment considerations, answering top frequently asked questions, and providing guidance on deploying and managing Windows To Go in the enterprise.

Will you be showing any cool devices in the Windows booth? - Yup. We’ll have cool stations showing off the latest hardware as well as experts to answer your questions on Windows 8, Windows 7, MDOP, Desktop Virtualization, Security, BYOD scenarios, and all up desktop management.

What if I want to purchase one of the devices? Will you be selling them? - For the first time at TechEd, attendees will be able to purchase Microsoft’s latest consumer products including Microsoft Surface, Windows 8 PCs, and Windows Phones directly from the onsite Microsoft retail store. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with Microsoft store employees who can answer questions, provide technical support, and demo the products. Best off, you will be able to take home that device they you been eyeing!

What about the Springboard/Windows Community Party I keep hearing about? - I will be doing a blog post on the party in the next week or so. Last year the party sold out in less than an hour so make sure to keep an eye out for that post.

What if I am going to TechEd by myself? – My first year at TechEd I went by myself and came back with tons of new friends I still am close with today. Some of the friendliest folks at TechEd are members of TheKrewe. They are a group of IT pros from across North America and are some of the nicest folks I have met anywhere. Look for them wearing an azure blue hat with their twitter handle on the back and the words “TheKrewe” on the front. Just tell them that Stephen Rose and Springboard said I should meet you and voila! Conference buddy! Also, Microsoft MVP’s and MCT’s are also great people to meet. They are some of the top tech trainers, bloggers, forum supporters and user group leaders from across the world. They are great contacts for you to make.

Are there still opportunities to attend or is the show sold out? – There are still a few passes left so if you plan to attend, you should book today. Click here for information on registering for TechEd.

What if I can’t attend? – Well, we are sorry to miss you! Good news is that some of the sessions are recorded and will be available here on Channel 9.

What’s New in Application Virtualization 5.0 SP1 and User Experience Virtualization 1.0 SP1

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:16:55 GMT

As you may have seen, on Wednesday, we announced that MDOP 2013 is now available and detailed the new updates and features made to Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM). But some of you might be saying, “What about Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V), and Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 5.0? What is updated in these products?”

As you have heard us say over and over, your feedback is very important and helps drive what we build. Both UE-V and App-V 5.0 were released five months ago and we have seen these technologies adopted by companies like Eastman, NTTX, Etisalat Lanka. As more organizations continued to test and deploy these solutions, the more feedback we received. This feedback drove us to release service packs for UE-V and App-V 5.0 in MDOP 2013.

App-V 5.0 is already a preferred way to deploy Office 365 ProPlus (Click-To-Run) in an enterprise with no sequencing required, but we know that one of most widely deployed version of Office by our customers is Microsoft Office 2010. With this in mind, we focused our efforts on the SP1 release of App-V 5.0 to provide Microsoft Office 2010 support. One of our goals for Office 2010 support on App-V 5.0 is to provide our customers feature parity with Office 2010 on App-V 4.6. We are pleased to have released the Microsoft Office 2010 Sequencing Kit for Application Virtualization 5.0 that will give end users a consistent experience with virtualized Office. This now allows virtualized Office 2010 to open, edit, and save Office files hosted with Microsoft SharePoint; search indexing support for Office file types; redirect URL protocol to virtualized Outlook 2010; print to virtualized OneNote 2010 – to name a few! This sequencing kit is used in conjunction with Microsoft Office 2010 Deployment Kit for App-V that provides the required Office 2010 licensing service. For more information on the supported scenarios for App-V and Office, please refer to this Knowledge Base article.

With UE-V 1.0 SP1, we tackled a few areas but the biggest area of focus was providing support for Microsoft Office 2007. UE-V already supports Office 2010 right out of the box – which is great for many customers – but the feedback we received was that some companies wanted to roam the Office 2007 experience. To support these organizations, we created settings location templates that cover Office 2007 applications like Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Communicator, Visio, Project, and more. We also heard from you that the Office 2010 settings location template needed some updates. Taking that feedback to heart, UE-V now has a settings location template for Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010 and some minor changes to the existing template to provide an even better roaming experience.

Additionally in both App-V 5.0 SP1 and UE-V 1.0 SP1 we expanded our language support. App-V now supports 24 languages in the Sequencer and client, while the server will be supported in 11 languages. UE-V 1.0 SP1 supports 24 languages in the client and 11 languages in the Generator.

This covers the major changes we introduced with App-V 5.0 SP1 and UE-V 1.0 SP1 but there are few more minor updates we made. Check out the what’s new docs for App-V 5.0 SP1 and UE-V 1.0 SP1 to learn about all the other changes. To download the new versions, head over to the Volume Licensing Service Center, or use your TechNet+, or MSDN+ subscriptions.

Lastly, don’t forget to visit the Springboard MDOP Resource Zone on TechNet for additional whitepapers and videos on UE-V, App-V 5.0, and all the other MDOP technologies.

Get Ready to Deploy MBAM 2.0

Stephen L Rose — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:03:01 GMT

Today’s post is from Chris Hallum- Windows Security Product Manager

Today’s an exciting day for us here at the annual Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) in Las Vegas, as we just announced the general availability of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2013 for Software Assurance, which includes a major update to Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) as well as a series of Service Pack updates for APP-V, UE-V, DART, and AGPM. As mentioned in our announcement on the Windows For Your Business blog the big star in the MDOP 2013 release is MBAM 2.0 which is designed to help you make significant costs reductions when it comes to provisioning, managing and supported encrypted devices (running Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows To Go) within your environment.

For those of you that have been following our previous MBAM posts here on Springboard or have participated in the MBAM 2.0 beta program, you’re likely already familiar with the feature set and I’d wager that you’re eager to learn more about how to deploy the final build within your environment. For those of you new to MBAM 2.0, or for anyone who may need a quick refresh, I’d like to quickly point out the key features that you will find in this release:

Self-Service Portal: The Self-Service Portal helps end users perform the most common support tasks without need of help desk assistance.
System Center Configuration Manager Integration: Integration with System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 and 2012 enables organizations to integrate MBAM’s compliance management and reporting capabilities within your existing SCCM infrastructure.
Windows 8 Support: Support for managing Bitlocker on Windows 8 and Windows to Go devices has been included along with the ability to take advantage of new WinPE capabilities that will dramatically reduce encryption times.
Compliance reporting calculation improvements: Reporting has been updated so that devices are only marked as non-compliant when they’re in a state that is less secure than the minimum requirements defined in policy. This differs from MBAM 1.0 where compliance was based on strict adherence to policy and resulted in devices appearing non-complaint even when they were in a more secure configuration than policy required.

Each of these features were present in the MBAM 2.0 Beta 2 release and have since been improved, however, please note that a number of all new features have been added to the final release which include:

Support for managing Windows to Go devices
BitLocker pre-provisioning with WinPE including the use of Used Disk Space Only Encryption on Windows 8 devices
Windows 8 Operating System Drives can now be protected with the Password protector
Improved scalability and performance will enable you to deploy MBAM with less infrastructure
Devices left in “protection suspended” mode will automatically resume protection after reboot
MBAM can take ownership of the TPM without requiring a reboot (if TPM turned on in BIOS)

That covers the key new features but you’re looking for more details please take a look at our Announcing Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) 2.0 - Beta 2 blog post from last November.

Now with the preamble behind us let’s quickly overview how you can approach deploying MBAM 2.0 within you’re environment. The first thing that you will need to consider is which of the two topology options you want to use which include:

Stand-alone
System Center Configuration Manager integrated

Stand-alone mode was available in MBAM 1.0 and in 2.0 it’s fundamentally the same. This means that you’ll need to plan to deploy the following components across one or more servers:

·Administration and Monitoring Server
Self-Service Server
Recovery Database
Compliance and Audit Database
Compliance and Audit Reports
Policy Template

The following architectural diagram depicts a typical configuration where the server components are deployed across two servers while the policy template is deployed to a workstation that is used for policy authoring. This type of configuration can scale to ~200,000 managed devices.

Figure 1: Stand-Alone Topology

If you’re using SCCM within your environment, we recommend that you take a serious look at the SCCM integrated mode as this will offer you a number of benefits including the ability for you to:

Deploy several MBAM components within the SCCM infrastructure that you already have deployed
Consolidated the MBAM compliance reporting within the SCCM desktop reporting system
Scale out to 200,000+ managed devices

The SCCM integrated mode enables you to deploy the following MBAM components on your Configuration Manager Primary Site Server:

Compliance Reports
Compliance Database

Please note that a new database will not be created for the Compliance Reports and instead the Configuration Manager site database will be used to store all MBAM compliance data. The Compliance Reports themselves will be deployed to the Configuration Manager reporting service point and the Configuration Manager client will perform all compliance related data collection. The MBAM client will still need to be deployed but it will scale back is responsibilities such that it will just manage recovery data collection and compliance enforcement.

The remaining MBAM components can are essentially deployed as if they’re in Stand-Alone mode configuration. The components that you will deploy outside of the SCCM infrastructure include:

Administration and Monitoring Server
Self-Service Server
Recovery Database
Audit Database
Audit Reports
Policy Template

The following architectural diagram depicts a typical configuration where the server components are deployed across three servers while the policy template is deployed to a workstation that is typically used for policy authoring.

Figure 2: System Center Configuration Manager integrated mode

Once you’ve decided which topology mode is best for your environment the next step is to determine how to get there from your current state. The list of potential options include:

Fresh Install of MBAM 2.0 in Stand Alone mode; Previous version of MBAM not Deployed
Fresh Install of MBAM 2.0 in SCCM Integrated mode; Previous version of MBAM not Deployed
MBAM 1.0 deployed; Upgrade to 2.0 in Stand Alone mode
MBAM 1.0 deployed; Upgrade to 2.0 in SCCM integrated mode

The sections that follow will provide you with a brief overview of the server deployment process for each of these options.

Fresh Install of MBAM 2.0 in Stand-Alone mode; Previous version of MBAM not Deployed

If you’re deploying MBAM into your environment for the very first time you’ll find the process quite easy as the MBAM server setup will walk you through the experience and it will flag any pre-requisites that you need before you start the installation.

To deploy MBAM in the stand-alone topology, perform the following steps:

Determine where you will deploy each MBAM component. A common deployment configuration is one where the IIS related MBAM components are deployed to one server while the SQL components are deploy to another.
Deploy SQL Server, SQL Reporting Services, and an instance of the IIS Server Role on the applicable servers.
Configure SQL Server to support encrypted connections to the SQL Server Database Engine (optional).
Provision a certificate suitable for encrypting communication (SSL) between the MBAM client and the IIS server that will host the MBAM Administration and Monitoring Server component (optional).
Install the MBAM server components. The pre-requisite checker will help insure that the servers meet all pre-requisites before attempting the install.

Once these steps are complete the MBAM server infrastructure should be fully operational.

Fresh Install of MBAM 2.0 in SCCM Integrated mode; Previous version of MBAM not Deployed

If you’re deploying MBAM into your environment for the very first time you’ll find the process quite easy as the MBAM server setup will walk you through the experience and will flag any pre-requisites before you start the actual installation.

To deploy MBAM in the Configuration Manager integrated mode, perform the following steps:

Determine where you will deploy each MBAM component. A common deployment configuration is one where the IIS related MBAM components are deployed to one server, the SQL components are deploy to another, and in this case the compliance related components will be installed on the Configuration Manager server.
Deploy SQL Server, SQL Reporting Services, and an instance of the IIS Server Role on the applicable servers.
Configure SQL Server to support encrypted connections to the SQL Server Database Engine (optional).
Provision a certificate suitable for encrypting communication (SSL) between the MBAM client and the IIS server that will host the MBAM Administration and Monitoring Server component (optional).
Configure the SCCM permissions required to install MBAM.
Edit and import the configuration.mof file.
Edit and import the sm_def.mof file.

8. Install the MBAM server components. The pre-requisite checker will help insure that the servers meet all pre-requisites before attempting the install.

Once these steps are complete the MBAM server infrastructure should be fully operational.

Note: When setting up the “Configure MBAM Services” policy for SCCM integrated mode you do not need to configure the MBAM Compliance service endpoint setting as Configuration Manager will automatically collect all compliance information.

MBAM 1.0 deployed; Upgrade to 2.0 in Stand Alone mode

If you’ve already deployed MBAM 1.0 and want to upgrade to 2.0 in stand-alone mode you can easily do so using the process described below. Using this process will enable you to maintain all existing recovery and compliance and audit reporting data:

Uninstall the MBAM 1.0 server components from each server that is participating in the MBAM server infrastructure. Please note that the Recovery and Compliance databases will not be deleted and can be used when you deploy the MBAM 2.0 components.
If not previously configured in the MBAM 1.0 deployment consider setting up the SQL Server to support encrypted connections to the applicable SQL Server Database Engine (optional).
If not previously configured in the MBAM 1.0 deployment consider provisioning a certificate suitable for encrypting communication (SSL) between the MBAM client and the IIS server that will host the MBAM Administration and Monitoring Server component (optional).
Install the MBAM server components. The pre-requisite checker will help insure that the servers meet all pre-requisites before attempting the install. During setup you will able to use the Recovery and Compliance and Audit databases from the previous 1.0 deployment

Once these steps are complete the MBAM server infrastructure should be fully operational.

Note: When installing the database components please make sure to use the same database names as you used for the 1.0 deployment as in this case setup will use the existing databases. If not new compliance and recovery database will be created.

MBAM 1.0 deployed; Upgrade to 2.0 in SCCM integrated mode

If you already deployed MBAM 1.0 and want to upgrade to 2.0 in System Center Configuration Manager integrated mode you can easily get there using the process described below. Using this process will enable you to keep all existing recovery data and audit reporting data however new compliance information will need to be collected from the managed devices. This process occurs automatically as managed devices start communicating with the new MBAM infrastructure. We recommend that you maintain a copy of the MBAM 1.0 compliance database for scenarios where the compliance status of a device that never makes contact with the new infrastructure must be determined.

To deploy MBAM in the Configuration Manager integrated mode, perform the following steps:

Uninstall the MBAM 1.0 server components from each server that is participating in the MBAM server infrastructure. Please note that:

Recovery and Compliance and Audit databases will not deleted.
The previous Recovery database can be used when you deploy the MBAM 2.0 components
The previous Compliance and Audit database can be used when you deploy the MBAM 2.0 components however it will just be used for auditing.
All compliance related data will need to be recollected from the managed nodes as the data is not migrated

If not previously configured in the MBAM 1.0 deployment, consider configuring the SQL Server to support encrypted connections to the applicable SQL Server Database Engine (optional).
If not previously configured in the MBAM 1.0 deployment consider provisioning a certificate suitable for encrypting communication (SSL) between the MBAM client and the IIS server that will host the MBAM Administration and Monitoring Server component (optional).
Configure the SCCM permissions required to install MBAM.
Edit and import the configuration.mof file.
Edit and import the sm_def.mof file.
Install the MBAM server components. The pre-requisite checker will help insure that the servers meet all pre-requisites before attempting the install. During setup you will able to use the Recovery and Compliance and Audit databases from the previous 1.0 deployment
Update the “Configure MBAM Services” policy such that it no longer defines a MBAM Compliance service endpoint as Configuration Manager will automatically collect all compliance information.

Once these steps are complete the MBAM server infrastructure should be fully operational.

Note: When installing the Recovery and Audit database components please make sure to use the same database names as you used for the 1.0 deployment as in this case setup will use the existing databases. If not a new audit and recovery database will be created.

There’s obviously a far more detailed set of procedures and information that you’ll need to get MBAM 2.0 fully deployed, but I hope that this post gives you enough information to make a few of the key decisions such that you can enjoy accelerated progress when the time comes. The key documents that you’ll want to use for planning and deployment include the Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring Deployment Guide which can be found in the Download Center, and the Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring 2 Administrator’s Guide which is available on the Springboard Series on TechNet.

365 Days Remaining Until XP End Of Support. The Countdown Begins

Stephen L Rose — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:05:00 GMT

Today marks the start of the 1-year countdown of when we stop supporting Windows XP. Many of you saw the post this morning on the Windows For Your Businessblog. Over the past few months I have gotten a lot of questions on what that means exactly. Here are some answers to help explain what end of support is and what you need to do to move to a modern OS like Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Microsoft will end Extended Support on April 8, 2014. Why?

In 2002, Microsoft introduced its Support Lifecycle policy based on customer feedback to have more transparency and predictability of support for Microsoft products. Per this policy, Microsoft Business and Developer products – including Windows and Office products – receive a minimum of 10 years of support (five years Mainstream Support and five years Extended Support), at the supported service pack level. Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will go out of support on April 8, 2014. If your organization has not started the migration to a modern desktop, you are late. Based on historical customer deployment data, the average enterprise deployment can take 18 to 32 months from business case through full deployment. To ensure you remain on supported versions of Windows and Office, you should begin your planning and application testing immediately to ensure you deploy before end of support.

What is the difference between extended and mainstream support?

Think of mainstream support as “full”. In other words, mainstream support means Microsoft supports a product with its full offerings including paid incident support, hotfix support, security updates, etc. This support for Windows XP ended in April of 2009.

When a product enters the extended support “phase”, the game changes:

Extended support is only available for commercial customers
We still provide security updates at no charge to all customers

On April 8, 2014, we will end the extended support for our commercial customers and we will no longer provide security updates for commercial or consumer customers.

What does End of Support mean to customers?

Simply, it means you should take action to move off of Windows XP. After April 8, 2014, there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates. Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after their end of support date may expose your company to potential risks, such as:

Security & Compliance Risks: Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks. This may result in an officially recognized control failure by an internal or external audit body, leading to suspension of certifications, and/or public notification of the organization’s inability to maintain its systems and customer information.
Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support: Back in 2011, many independent software vendors (ISVs) were already unlikely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP.

So no new patches after April 8^th, 2014?

Microsoft will keep hosting all patches and service packs released through April of 2014, but no new updates will be released after this date.

I heard that my anti-virus software company will continue to support Windows XP after April 8, 2014. Does that mean I am protected?

No. Securing an operating system requires a multiple layers of defense and an anti-malware is just one part of the end-to-end security stack. When EOS for Windows XP occurs on April 8, 2014 and Windows is no longer being serviced, the system and any anti-malware solutions deployed to it will no longer be able to protect the device, user and data against new and emerging threats. Vulnerabilities that are discovered in Windows XP or possibly even applications running on it will remain unpatched and many types of malware will be able to take permanent residence within devices. This can occur even if the device is running an up to date anti-malware solution. Based on this, it’s critical that organizations and consumers migrate to a modern operating system.

What is a “modern operating system”?

A modern OS refers to Windows 7 and Windows 8 as well as a modern browser like IE 8, 9 and 10. These are hardened, secure operating systems built to support users’ needs around security, mobility and overall flexibility. Windows 7 and Windows 8 offer users a great experience while reducing costs and increasing IT manageability.

Can’t I just upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 or Windows 8?

No. You will need to do a clean install. This means you will need to migrate the users’ data and reinstall or repackage all their applications for the new OS. This will take some time to test all of the hardware, peripherals and applications to ensure they will work with Windows 7 or Windows 8. I have listed some free tools at the end of this post to help with all of those areas.

What if I choose to stay on Windows XP and not migrate?

Using XP after April 2014 is an “at your own risk” situation for any customers choosing not to migrate.

How long has Windows XP been around?

Microsoft will have supported Windows XP for nearly 12 years next April.

Are there good financial reasons to leave XP?

According to IDC: *

Over a three-year timespan, organizations that make the move to a modern OS will see a 137% return on investment.
When taking into account the time needed to manage XP systems relating to items such as downtime, malware, and other maintenance, Windows 7 increases productivity by up to 7.8 additional hours per year per worker.
Annual costs on maintenance for systems running Windows 7 compared to XP drop by a massive $700/year.

I have never done application compatibility testing or deployed an operating system. Where do I start?

First of all, start by downloading the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT). It removes the need for disc imaging, migrates your data in place during deployment, and (best of all) it’s free.

Here are some other tools to help make your move from easier:

Download the Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation to start to test your applications.
Check out the features in Windows 8, get answers to frequently asked questions, see videos on key features or watch some video training to prepare yourself here.
Learn how to create an application inventory, assess compatibility, explore deployment options, and learn how to prepare for deployment here.
Considering virtualization options? Learn about Client Hyper-V, App-V and more here.
Ready to Implement security and control measures? Click here.
Automating the Migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 End-to-End
Migrating User Files and Settings from Windows XP to Windows 7
Windows XP to Windows 7 Migration Guide
Windows Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals (check the Windows compatibility status of more than 27,000 applications)
Video: Windows XP to Windows 7 Migration Using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010

Still need more information?

Enterprise Decision Makers should visit the Windows Enterprise site to learn about other customers who have moved to a modern OS and to see the cost savings in moving to Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 8 Enterprise.

IT pros should visit The Springboard Series on TechNet to learn how to Explore, Plan, Deliver, Operate and Support Windows 7 and 8 in your environment

Small Business should go to the Small Business Zone to learn how Windows 8 Pro can be a great fit for your organization.

* Source: Mitigating Risk: Why Sticking with Windows XP is a Bad Idea (IDC/Microsoft White Paper), Al Gillen, May 2012

Planning To Join Us At The MMS Conference In Las Vegas?

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:33:09 GMT

If you are planning to join us at the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) April 8th – 12th, in Las Vegas, here are some of the Windows and MDOP sessions you may want to check out:

DC-B318 What's New in Windows 8 Deployment- Now that Windows 8 is generally available, it is important for enterprises to begin integrating it into their plans. In this session, we will dig into the technical aspects of Windows 8 deployment projects, including: changes in the tools, technologies, and processes used for deploying.

DC-B319 Windows RT in the Enterprise- In this session, you will learn about appropriate and inappropriate scenarios for using Windows RT in enterprise environments: challenges to overcome, as well as known issues and limitations.

DC-B302 Demonstrations of Assessment and Deployment Kit Tools - With the release of Windows 8, a new and updated set of tools has been released. This session will provide an overview of all the tools in the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK), paying close attention to the changes and enhancements in existing tools, as well as new tools added in this version.

DC-B305 Application Compatibility for Windows 8 - Are you considering the potential impact of a migration to Windows 8 for some or all of your devices? The #1 blocker of deployments has historically been App Compat. In this session you will learn the strategy and technology successful deployments have used, and how to incorporate them into a sensible, risk–managed deployment that invests appropriately in applications.

DC-B320 Windows Store Apps: Enterprise LOB App Deployment Scenarios - Using WinRT APIs and design principles, Windows 8 and Windows RT are introducing a new type of application. Enterprises are being encouraged to create these, as well as consume third party apps. This sesson will review the technical requirements, how sideloading is perfomed, challenges that may be encountered in this process.

UD-B310 Deploying and Managing Windows 8 with Configuration Manager 2012 SP1- Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 supports the management of Windows 8. In this session we will provide a deep technical overview of the capabilities in SP1 that support deploying and managing Windows 8 features. This includes, but is not limited to: enhancements in Operating System Deployment, such as support for Windows To Go, changes to Application Management to support new Windows 8 applications, and changes to the Configuration Manager client to effectively manage Always-on Always-Connected capable Windows 8 devices.

DC-B321 Making PC Recovery Easier with the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset - It's a common situation: a user deletes a file off their laptop and realizes they need it back, or a PC that blue screens on boot and the user needs it working ASAP. This session will show you how the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) can be used to help solve these problems and many more while helping accelerate desktop repair onsite and remotely.

DC-B310 Develop a Successful Flexible Desktop Strategy in Today’s Digital Era - New desktop technologies such as BYOD, VDI, Slates, Consumerization, among other pressures are causing many IT environments to consider re-architecting their desktop infrastructure. In this session you will see predictions, market trends, and then proceed to separate myths from facts by proposing a mobile workspace strategy that focuses on meeting your users’ desktop requirements based on roles / personas, and enabling technologies rather than implying that one technology solution would fit all.

DC-B312 What's New with Windows 8 Bitlocker and Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Management 2.0 - In this session, you will learn about the top new features in Windows 8 Bitlocker and how Bitlocker Administration and Management 2.0 will enhance the management of Bitlocker drive encryption on Windows 7 and 8 PCs with new capabilities, such as: System Center Configuration Manager integration, Self–Service Portal, and more.

DC-B317 Deploying Windows To Go in the Real World - Windows To Go is a new and very useful feature in Windows 8, and creating a Windows To Go drive is pretty straight forward. In this session you learn how to make the needed customizations for the enterprise network, so when the end user plugs the device into a computer, it will be domain joined, customized to fit the organization and include all applications

Also, make sure you swing by the Desktop Virtualization and MDOP booths with your questions and the Windows booth to see the latest Enterprise ready devices.

Automating DaRT Remote Assistance

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:52:57 GMT

As mentioned in our previous post on the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset 8 (DaRT), this toolset can prove to be invaluable when it comes to repairing a PC that won’t boot, or even in helping you shift your desktop repair planning from being reactive to proactive. What you may not know is that some of DaRT’s features can be automated for even easier use.

The Remote Assistance function is a key feature when physical access to a user’s machine is not possible. For those not familiar with the feature, it allows you to take control of another user’s DaRT session without ever having to leave your desk. The user can boot into DaRT and easily enable remote assistance, where they can then read you the IP address, ticket number, and port. Enter this into the remote assistance viewer software installed on your machine and - BAM - you have full access to the user’s session while they become locked out of the keyboard and mouse control. This is especially helpful if you and the other user are across town, across the country, or even across the globe from one another. To automate the remote control feature, all it takes is a simple two-step process:

Step 1: Create DaRT Recovery Image.

Once you have the DaRT Recovery Image tool installed, walk through the wizard to create the image:

Enable Remote Connections – The wizard gives you the option to enable the remote assistance feature - make sure to turn this on and, if you’d like, specify a port number that can be used.

Add files to the image – Check the box on the ‘create image’ step to edit it. This is important since you will need to add a script to the image in order to automatically start the remote assistance session.

Once the image is created and mounted, edit the Winpeshl.ini, which can be located in \windows\system32. Since everything in Winpeshl.ini runs when the DaRT image starts, it is a great place to integrate all the commands necessary to automate the start of the remote assistance session. Below is an example of what the Winpeshl.ini should be modified to look like:

[LaunchApps]

"%windir%\system32\netstart.exe -network -remount"

"cmd /C start %windir%\system32\RemoteRecovery.exe -nomessage“

"Copy Ticket File Central Server"

"%windir%\system32\WaitForConnection.exe"

"%SYSTEMDRIVE%\sources\recovery\recenv.exe"

Using these commands will enable the network and start the remote assistance program and force the session to wait for someone to connect.

As I mentioned above, the IP address, port, and ticket number are needed to connect to the session. However, to minimize user interaction, you can choose to use the ‘nomessage’ switch in the winpeshI.ini, which does not show this info. We did this because you can automate getting this information. When running RemoteRecovery.exe, a file named inv32.xml will be created in windows\system32. This file contains the IP address, port, and ticket number you need to connect to the remote machine. This is why the ini file has a section that says "Copy Ticket File Central Server". You will need to write a small script that will copy inv32.xml to another location to get the info to enter it into the viewer.

Step 2: Deploy DaRT image

Once the image is built, you need to setup a way to distribute it. If you have physical access to the machine, you can use a CD/DVD or a USB stick to boot into DaRT. In a scenario where this isn’t an option, there are two other avenues you can take:

Network Boot: Deploy DaRT to a WDS server on your network, and from there you can walk the user through PXE booting the machine and loading up DaRT.
Local install: Create a Windows recovery partition on your machines where DaRT can be stored, so you can walk the user through entering recovery mode. This is great for when users are not connected to the corporate network.

To learn more about how to deploy DaRT over your network or as part of a local install, check out the documentation on TechNet or our DaRT deployment guide. For more information on DaRT and all the tools it contains, check out the DaRT page on Springboard!

Better Together: App-V and Flexera Software AdminStudio

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:05:00 GMT

Greetings! Hope you are familiar with the recent MDOP product launched by now and are actively evaluating or deploying the technologies to help address the specific pain points of your organization. Today I want to take his opportunity to focus on one the partners for Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) - Flexera Software and how they are helping App-V customers profile applications that are good candidates for application virtualization and also easily convert applications into App-V packages.

Many companies are actively looking at incorporating application virtualization within their environments. Because virtualization alleviates many application to application compatibility issues, it’s certainly an attractive solution and, when done correctly, there is a significant cost advantage as IT doesn’t have to spend all that time on regression testing and they can focus on providing users on demand access to applications they need to get their work done. In addition, many of the trappings of preparing a deployable, packaged application are unnecessary when generating a virtualized application.

The key question then becomes: which applications can be virtualized? One way to find out is by using Flexera Software’s Virtualization Pack for AdminStudio. The Virtualization Pack identifies qualified applications painlessly and quickly. Not only that, but for applications that can be virtualized, the Virtualization Pack can convert those packages into App-V packages just as easily.

Qualifying App-V Applications

Let’s start by taking a look at how the Virtualization Pack qualifies applications. In this scenario, I’ve imported a dozen or so applications into the Flexera Software Application Catalog. Once in the catalog, I can use the Test Center to evaluate these packages. After evaluation, I can use a report to scope and budget my options: What are my problem packages? Which applications can I virtualize immediately? Which applications are going to take most of my time (and therefore budget) to migrate?

Importing applications is done through the Catalog tab of the Application Manager. Importing consists of reading the tables and summary information from the Windows Installer package into a SQL Server database. Reading this data into the database allows the Test Center to not only access that data directly, but also run comparisons against all other packages. In my case in the above image (this is just an example and not representative of a real customer scenario), Alive and E-Z Audit are not a good candidates for App-V, and however, AbsoluteFTP, Atomic Clock Sync and AuraLine are. From this report, I can drill deeper to find out the exact issues that prohibit virtualization.

A significant number of issues can be resolved automatically. Those issues are identified in the Test Center by the wrench icon. To resolve all issues across all applications, right-click on the ‘Applications’ root view and select ‘Resolve Issues.’ The same process can be done for individual applications—right-click on the application name and again select ‘Resolve Issues.’ Issue resolution is done through the creation of a corresponding transform (and, if necessary, a .CAB file) for the package. Re-running the virtualization tests with the transform applied removes the issues from the report view.

Once a test runs, there are two different ways to see the results. First, we can look at the individual application and see the status of each test (upper left). Second, we can aggregate the test results from each application into a report view (right). Both methods serve a different purpose. The first is intended for the packager working directly on the package. The second is intended for scope and budget meetings with the migration team.

Moving to App-V

After the virtualization evaluation is finished, we now have applications that can be intelligently converted directly to App-V. Converting to App-V within the Flexera Software environment can be done in bulk or individually. In our case, we could convert our existing (and remediated) applications through the Automated Application Converter (AAC). For future applications, they can be converted singly through the Flexera Software InstallShield product.

For bulk import, nothing is quicker than using the AAC. Point the AAC at a folder and, if necessary, a virtual environment and turn it loose. The AAC evaluates each package. In most cases, the conversion happens directly. If additional work is needed, it’s handled automatically: AAC spins up the virtual environment, converts the package to remove any limits to virtualization and creates the virtualized application. This process occurs with no interaction; the AAC processes each package until finished.

For individual applications, the Virtualization Pack extends InstallShield’s functionality to create virtualized applications. All of the options required to create a virtualized application are exposed within the user interface. This includes the ability to include diagnostic tools (registry and file system viewers), setting file / folder isolation, setting registry isolation options and enabling dynamic suiting.

If a virtual application requires more finesse, the Virtual Package Editor (VPE) is available. Functionally, the VPE serves as a lightweight version of the InstallShield environment. With the VPE, you can edit the App-V application directly.

As a quick note, currently App-V 4.6 SP2 and earlier is supported. The next release of AdminStudio includes support for App-V 5.0—including conversion from App-V 4.6 to 5.0.

Ready for Deployment

Since it’s already within our catalog, we can make the application directly available in System Center Configuration Manager.

Under the Deployment Data tab, I can add / modify the information about the package prior to distributing to System Center Configuration Manager. All of the relevant System Center Configuration Manager information is available: detection methods, identifying requirements and dependencies, and providing supersedence.

While not directly related to the scope of this blog, I want to point out that everything we’ve discussed can be automated. AdminStudio’s Virtualization Pack supports a rich set of automation (great for PowerShell!) as well as healthy command line arguments.

Wrap Up

To wrap things up, the AdminStudio Virtualization Pack does an incredible job evaluating and converting your applications to App-V. Based on the above steps, you’ll be able to integrate this product with App-V and also streamline your operating system migration process. If you are interested in learning about our customer success stories please go here. And If you’d like to give AdminStudio with Virtualization Pack a try, click here to register for your free 21-day evaluation. To learn more about App-V and other Microsoft Desktop Virtualization products, make sure to visit our Desktop Virtualization Zone on Springboard.

Did You Miss The Windows 8 Roundtable?

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:03:00 GMT

If you missed last weeks Windows 8 Virtual Roundtable, “What IT Pros Should Know About Windows 8 Enterprise”? Fear not as the full show is now available for on demand viewing!

Learn about apps, virtualization, deployment, advancements in security, managing devices, and more in this virtual roundtable featuring deployment experts from the IT community, IT pros who have been through the Windows 8 deployment process, and members of the Windows product team. Topics covered by the panel also include end user productivity, DirectAccess, BranchCache, Windows To Go, sideloading apps, and performance. Get valuable tips for deploying Windows 8 in the enterprise and take a walk through the latest Windows 8 devices.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;A href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/jj937958.aspx?ocid=wc-blg-sprblog&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;from=shareembed-syndication&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;src=v5:embed:syndication:&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;from=mpl_en-us_en-us-office-" target="_new" title="What IT Pros Should Know About Windows 8: 2-Minute Preview"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Video: What IT Pros Should Know About Windows 8: 2-Minute Preview&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/A&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

You can also check out all of our past Virtual Roundtables here.

Desktop Deployment Gurus Mix Things up to Explain the New Office

Stephen L Rose — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:31:00 GMT

Springboard Series Windows alum Jeremy Chapman and Yoni Kirsh are on a mission to help people understand the different delivery models for the new Office desktop apps. They decided to break from the tradition of whitepapers and blog posts – instead they opted for weekly video series, packed with demos, diagrams, software engineer interviews and XStream installations in the air, on land and on water.

&amp;amp;lt;A href="http://www.microsoft.com/resources/technet/en-us/office/media/video/video.html?cid=otc&amp;amp;amp;amp;from=shareembed-syndication&amp;amp;amp;amp;VideoID=9e0fcce2-1b52-433d-bad7-edfb47501c8e&amp;amp;amp;amp;src=v5:embed:syndication:&amp;amp;amp;amp;from=mpl_en-us" target="_new" title="The New Office: Garage Series for IT Pros"&amp;amp;gt;Video: The New Office: Garage Series for IT Pros&amp;amp;lt;/A&amp;amp;gt;

Jeremy has a knack for making otherwise mundane topics like desktop deployment a bit more fun with things like Deployment Jeopardywhere he and I cohost at events like TechEd and Microsoft Management Summit. While Yoni is a jack of all deployment trades doing real world deployment; he is as comfortable deploying Windows with MDT and SCCM as he is automating Office installation.

Episode 1 of the Garage Series for IT Pros just went live as the new Office service launched and while we tend to stay in the family with Windows themes, I think you’ll enjoy this series. Bookmark www.microsoft.com/garage and check out new episodes each week as they dive deeper and deeper under the hood of configuring, deploying and managing the new Office.

How Will You Spend Your Friday Morning?

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:16:08 GMT

How will you spend your Friday morning ? Hopefully, tuning in to our 11th Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable titled, “What IT Pros Should Know About Windows 8 Enterprise”. Want to learn about key Enterprise features? Have questions on Windows 8 for our panel of experts? This is your chance to ask, learn and participate. Ready to join us? Click here to get all the information. We go live at 9:00 am Pacific Time this Friday, March 1st.

Want to submit your question in advance? Go ahead and send it to vrtable@microsoft.com and we’ll try to answer it during our show.

We look forward to you joining us!

Sideloading Windows 8 Store Apps

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:45:05 GMT

This tip is an excerpt from an article entitled "Try It Out: Sideloading Windows Store Apps." To read the article in its entirety, visit the Windows Client TechCenter.

By now, you are familiar with Windows Store apps. There are some pretty cool ones available in the store, and publishers are adding more every week. A great thing about Windows Store apps is they are super simple to install (and uninstall). But what about line of business (LOB) apps? You probably do not want to publish them through the Windows Store since that would make them publically available.
Instead, you can sideload LOB apps. Sideloading simply means installing a Windows Store app without publishing it in and downloading it from the store. You install it directly.
There is some mythology around sideloading apps, possibly because many IT pros have yet to experience it firsthand. In reality, the process is super simple: it is nothing more difficult than running a few commands in Windows PowerShell. There are a few requirements that you have to set up in advance though, and those too are rather easy.
Here is the thing: The problem with seeing and doing this first hand is that you need to get your hands on an app that you can sideload. You cannot sideload an app you purchase from the Windows Store, and you might not be fortunate enough to have developers available who are working on them. So to get started, here is a checklist of the steps that can help you quickly and easily build your own app for testing purposes.

Set up the virtual machines – To experience sideloading for yourself, you will need two virtual machines (VMs): a domain controller and a client computer.
Create a Windows Store app – A Windows Store app is one that you can sideload so they are not just "floating around." As Microsoft does not recommend downloading apps from untrusted sources, the best alternative for trying out sideloading apps is to build an app. This is likely far easier to do than you would expect.
Install the root certificate – If you were deploying an actual LOB app, the developer would sign it with a certificate that is chained to a trusted root certificate. However, since you are just testing an app that is using a self-signed certificate, you need to install the root certificate on the client VM.
Verify the requirements – There are a small number of requirements computers must meet to sideload Windows Store apps on them. For a computer running Windows 8 Enterprise, the computer must be joined to the domain, you must enable the "Allow all trusted apps to install" Group Policy setting, and the app must be signed by a \ certificate that is chained to a trusted root certificate.
Sideload the app for a user – Sideloading the sample app for a single user is no more difficult than running a few commands in Windows PowerShell. However, if another user were to log onto the computer, the app would not be available to them.
OR
Sideload the app for all users – You can sideload an app for all users by using the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool. DISM is a command-line tool that you can use to service a Windows image–online or offline. If you are not familiar with DISM, see the Deployment Image Servicing and Management Technical Reference.

This is just a quick overview of the steps you would to take to experience sideloading Windows Store apps firsthand. For step-by-step guidance on how to complete step, please see Try It Out: Sideloading Windows Store Apps.

Windows 7 RTM End Of Support Is Right Around The Corner

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:50:10 GMT

Has it been that long already? Windows 7 SP1 was released almost two years ago. As a result of that release, Windows 7 RTM (with no service pack) will no longer be supported as of April 9th, 2013, following the standard Windows support lifecycle specifying that support ends 24 months after the release of a new service pack.

Rest assured that Windows 7 will continue to be fully supported for a long time, with mainstream support continuing until January 13, 2015, and extended support continuing until January 14, 2020. With that said, let’s answer some questions.

What is a Service Pack? – A Service Pack 1 (SP) is an update that addresses customer and partner feedback. SP1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2 is a recommended collection of updates and improvements to Windows that are combined into a single installable update.

How long will Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise be supported? - Windows 7 with supported service packs, mainstream support will continue until 1/13/2015, and with extended support for Windows 7 Enterprise and Professional until 1/14/2020.

When does support for Service Pack 1 expire? - Support ends 24 months after the next service pack releases or at the end of the product's support lifecycle, whichever comes first. For more information, please see the service pack policy here .

Where do I get Service Pack 1 for Windows 7? – Service Pack 1 can be downloaded here. The supporting documentation is here and Step By Step instillation instructions can be found here.

What is the difference between mainstream support and extended support?- The chart below covers the differences between Mainstream Support and Extended Support?

Besides being in the support cycle, are there other reasons to upgrade to Windows 7 SP 1? -
Windows 7 SP1 can help make your computer safer and more reliable. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 provides a comprehensive set of innovations for enterprise-class virtualization. This includes new virtualization capabilities with Dynamic Memory and Microsoft RemoteFX.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will help you:

Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
Meet your users' demands for greater business mobility
Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency

Need more information? Visit http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/ and to learn how to Explore, Plan, Deliver, Operate and Support Windows 7 click here or for Windows 8, click here.

What IT Pros Should Know About Windows 8 Enterprise: Deployment, Devices, Apps, and More

Stephen L Rose — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:05:30 GMT

Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable
Friday, March 1, 2013 - 9:00 AM Pacific Time

Windows 8 delivers experiences users want, offers key improvements around mobile productivity, and provides IT with a more secure, easy-to-manage infrastructure. Want to know more? Have questions about applications, virtualization, and managing devices (such as tablets) as part of your overall client infrastructure?

Join us live at 9:00 AM Pacific Time on Friday, March 1, 2013, for a virtual, interactive roundtable and learn about the key features and functionality in Windows 8 that can most benefit today's IT professional. Host and Windows Senior Product Marketing Manager Stephen Rose will be joined by Paul Fisher, Associate CIO at Seton Hall University; Bill Karagounis, Principal Group Program Manager with Microsoft Engineering; Mikael Nyström, Deployment Consultant and Microsoft MVP; and members of the Window product team who will share open and candid insights, dispel myths, and discuss real-world technical best practices around the adoption of Windows 8 in the enterprise.

Ask your questions live during the event with our online tool - or submit your questions in advance to vrtable@microsoft.com.

Secure your environment with SCM 3.0!

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:25:00 GMT

The Security Compliance Manager (SCM) is a free tool from the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team that enables you to quickly configure and manage the computers in your environment and your private cloud using Group Policy and Microsoft^® System Center Configuration Manager. This version of SCM supports Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and Internet Explorer 10.

SCM provides ready-to-deploy policies and DCM configuration packs based on Microsoft Security Guide recommendations and industry best practices, allowing you to easily manage configuration drift and address compliance requirements for Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and Internet Explorer 10, as well as other Microsoft applications.

Now you can easily configure computers running Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, Microsoft Office^® applications, and Windows Internet Explorer^® 10 with industry leading knowledge and fully supported tools. In addition to the latest software releases, you can also configure previous additions of Windows Server and Microsoft Office

NEW baselines include:

Windows Server 2012 Security Baselines
Windows 8 Security Baselines
Internet Explorer 10 Baselines

Key features include:

Support for Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and Internet Explorer 10 product baselines: Secure your environment with new baselines for the latest software releases.
Gold master support: Import and take advantage of your existing Group Policy or create a snapshot of a reference machine to kick-start your project.
Configure stand-alone machines: Deploy your configurations to non-domain joined computers using the new GPO Pack feature.
Updated security guides: Take advantage of the deep security expertise and best practices in the updated security guides, and the attack surface reference workbooks to help reduce the security risks that you consider to be the most important.
Comparisons against industry best practices: Analyze your configurations against prebuilt baselines for the latest Windows client and server operating systems.
Enhanced setting library for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 RS 2 SP1: Further customize baselines and take advantage of an improved GPO Import feature affinity

The latest version of SCM offers all the same great features as before, plus an enhanced setting library for Windows 7 SP1. SCM 3.0 provides a single location for creating, managing, analyzing, and customizing baselines to secure your environment quicker and more efficiently.

Next steps:

Download the SCM 3.0 from the Microsoft Download Center.
Help spread the word: tell your friends about Security Compliance Manager 3.0.
Thoughts? Favorite features? Feedback? Tell it to the dev team.

Want more information on a specific feature? Interested in speaking with the development team? Please contact Michael Tan.