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

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

Hello IT Pros!

February 27 is a big day.  Windows Server 2008 will be officially launching in Los Angeles with Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, kicking off in just a few hours. 

In support of this very important technology milestone as well as the Windows Vista SP1 release, the Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team has just released the third-generation of the agent-less infrastructure assessment platform called Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator 3.0 (or simply MAP).  Through the use of remote WMI calls and secure inventory engines, the MAP tool enables you to quickly inventory a wide variety of networks (AD-managed, IP ranges, and workgroups), securely assess IT environments of servers, desktops, applications and devices, and auto-generate specific and actionable reports and proposal documents in a matter of hours.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE BLOG POST...

GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD MICROSOFT ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING (RTM BITS)

Thank you,

Baldwin Ng (Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Assessment and Planning)

To jump start TechEd IT Forum in Barcelona, Spain, this week, I’d like to highlight some announcements that IT professionals are really going to appreciate.  We’re updating the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) to further assist IT professionals in complex enterprise environments in their desktop manageability pursuits.  Our improvements to MDOP should help IT pros save the companies money by further driving down total cost of desktop ownership.

First off, we’re today announcing the public beta availability of Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5, an integral component of MDOP.  Formerly known as Microsoft “SoftGrid Application Virtualization” and now with the 4.5 release moniker “Microsoft Application Virtualization,” this package transforms applications into virtualized, network-available services.  IT professionals will be able to use Microsoft Application Virtualization to deliver localized applications within localized environments.  Microsoft Application Virtualization supports product localization across 11 languages and has support for internet-facing scenarios as well.  It’s now available via Microsoft Connect as a public beta and will become generally available in Summer 2008.  For more information on what’s new in Microsoft Application Virtualization version 4.5, please browse to the Microsoft Application Virtualization site.

Creating a software inventory of an entire IT environment can be quite a task and with the Microsoft Asset Inventory Service, IT professionals have a new tool to help them complete that task.  MDOP customers can now download the Microsoft Asset Inventory Service 1.0 (AIS) by following instructions at the Volume Licensing site.

And finally, we’re adding Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit, as well as Windows Server 2008, support to the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT).  DaRT 6.0 will enable IT staff offline removal of malware and viruses from infected PCs.  On top of that, DaRT 6.0 now can unlock BitLocker volume encryption and allow IT professionals to use DaRT functionality on a BitLocker-encrypted drive. DaRT 6.0 is available via private beta currently and will be made more broadly available in Spring 2008. DaRT 5.0 is available today for download by MDOP customers.

Stay tuned, as this is just the beginning from TechEd IT Forum in Barcelona.  I’ll bring you coverage of further developments throughout the week…

To jump start TechEd IT Forum in Barcelona, Spain, this week, I’d like to highlight some announcements that IT professionals are really going to appreciate. We’re updating the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) to further assist IT professionals Read More……(read more)

Microsoft Deployment is the next version of Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007. Microsoft Deployment, the fourth generation deployment accelerator, enables deployment of servers and desktops. Its tools and end-to-end guidance reduce deployment time, Read More……(read more)

When chatting with people about the deployment of Windows Vista within their organisation, one of the topics that comes up is software compatibility. It’s a no brainer that their business applications continue to work whilst they are enjoying the benefits Read More……(read more)