Last month, Gavriella Schuster discussed the features you will see in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 and today I’m pleased to announce its availability! Over on the MDOP Team blog, Ran Oelgiesser provided details about what you can expect with the latest release and today he shares some of the customer and partner feedback, so below I’ll just touch on the highlights.

If you’re not using MDOP, we recommend you take another look because it can provide immediate savings with little IT investment, especially when integrated into your Windows 7 plans. For example:

• By using Application Virtualization, you can optimize your Windows 7 deployment by reducing PC provisioning time, simplifying application delivery and update, and increasing productivity with user roaming
• You can enhance your Windows 7 manageability by addressing common system/application failures (with DEM), repairing unbootable PCs (with DaRT), and controlling Group Policy change (with AGPM).

If you are an MDOP customer, you can now download MDOP 2009 R2 through Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS).  If you want to evaluate MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP software is available at MSDN and TechNet (in accordance with your MSDN or TechNet agreements, except for AIS).

Beyond MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP roadmap includes:

1. Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) V 1.0 SP1 – This updated tool will support Windows 7 and enable enterprise deployment of virtual Windows XP environments to support incompatible applications. A Beta version of MED-V 1.0 SP1 will be available by the end of 2009 and final release is scheduled for the first quarter of calendar year 2010.
2. Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 2.0 – AIS 2.0 can track your existing assets to improve Windows 7 deployment planning and will have a series of enhancements that customers have requested: Enhanced hardware inventory, new Silverlight-based user interface, scale to 100,000 PCs, improved volume license reconciliation and ability to track virtual applications. The AIS 2.0 beta is now available (registration closes by October 24th) and the final release will be available in H2 CY2010.

Encouraging feedback

Already MDOP has been licensed for over 21 million desktops worldwide and more customers are looking forward to MDOP 2009 R2 and Windows 7! Below are a few quotes from some of our top customers who are seeing real and immediate value with MDOP:

BMW completed a proof of concept of application delivery with Application Virtualization. “We expect cost savings on desktop support once we start deploying App-V with Windows 7,” said Mr. Bernhard Huber, Head of IT Workplace Systems at BMW. “We are also considering AGPM [Advanced Group Policy Management] and MED-V [Enterprise Desktop Virtualization] at a later stage of Windows 7 deployment.”

Heinz Koehler, VP of Infrastructure for E.O.N., Power and Gas Company with 85,000 desktops that are being upgraded to Windows 7, talks about MDOP: “We also expect to use App-V to help reduce the packaging and testing costs of applications and use MED-V to help resolve any application compatibility issues.”

“…MDOP, specifically App-V, has been a hidden gem our customers have found to help them quickly deploy, and then easily manage and maintain their applications in an efficient manner.  In an economy when they are being asked to do more with less, the timing couldn’t have been better for MDOP 2009 R2 to help our clients meet their IT initiatives…,” said Rand Morimoto, President of Convergent Computing.

In addition, Answers Research recently surveyed 1000 IT pros across five countries (commissioned by Microsoft) and we found out that:

• 66% of MDOP customers deployed three or more of the MDOP products
• 52% of them deployed MDOP across more than half of their PCs
• 94% of MDOP customers said they would recommend MDOP to a colleague
• When comparing MDOP and non-MDOP customers, customer satisfaction with Software Assurance increases by 25%

To sum up, MDOP 2009 R2 is available today and it’s there to help you save money and reduce complexity, especially with your Windows 7 deployment. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this new release!

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2009, the industry's largest and most important annual gathering of CIOs and their senior IT leaders is taking place this week in Orlando, Florida.

During this year’s event, which will focus on how business technology can help customers return to growth by balancing cost optimization and risk mitigation, Microsoft will be helping customers to understand how they can realize the benefits of Windows 7 through the following activities and sessions:

Windows 7 Early Adopter Customer Panel: Tuesday, October 20th, 2009   12:30PM - 1:30PM ET (Moderated by Michael A. Silver - Gartner)

A panel of Windows 7 early adopters will discuss Windows 7 planning, deployment tips and rollout plans. During the panel, attendees will share their experience on planning for a successful deployment and the immediate results they received deploying Windows 7. Featured Gartner Research VP & Distinguished Analyst Michael Silver will facilitate the panel discussion. Please visit Gartner.com for a replay of this webcast on October 22nd.

Windows 7 Unplugged-- Tips From Microsoft's CIO Office: Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 2:00Pm - 2:20PM ET (Rick Merrifield - Microsoft)

In this interactive session, the Chief Architect in Microsoft’s IT department will share insider tips on how to plan, pilot and rollout Windows 7. Learn how your organization can benefit from applying the Windows Optimized Desktop to increase end user productivity, enhance security and reduce costs by automating IT management.

Windows Optimized Desktop-- Windows 7 and Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack: Wednesday, October 21st  3:30PM -4:30pm ET (Gavriella Schuster - Microsoft)

The Windows Optimized Desktop is designed to help with today’s imminent IT challenges while ensuring your future success. Come learn how Microsoft Windows 7 and the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2009 R2 together provide better user productivity, stronger data protection, security and PC management and automation improvements that can help you  save costs and improve IT efficiency.

Mastermind Keynote with Stephen Elop, President, Microsoft Business Division Thursday,  October 22nd 11:00am - 11:45am (Moderated by Neil MacDonald and Brian Gammage - Gartner)

Gartner analysts Neil MacDonald and Brian Gammage will moderate an interview with Stephen on a variety of topics top of mind for Symposium attendees. As president of the Microsoft Business Division, Stephen oversees the Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions and Unified Communications Groups here at Microsoft and is a member of the company's senior leadership team that sets overall strategy and direction for the company.

Windows 7 Hand On Labs— Monday, October 19th - Thursday,  October 22nd Various times (Various presenters)

30 minute, proctor led, interactive sessions where attendees can experience the following features of Windows 7: Windows 7 UI features, Internet Explorer 8 & Web Slices, Problem Steps Recorder, Med-V (using Internet Explorer to launch a Med-V web site), and using BitLocker which will include a 1GB key drive to activate BitLocker as a giveaway, with pre-loaded content including the current product guide and the Microsoft Optimized Desktop datasheet.

Thank you again for all of you who tuned in live for our most recent virtual roundtable. We had so many questions asked during the broadcast, we were unable to get to all of them so I am dedicating this blog post to the questions and to the answers provided by our product teams involved in the broadcast.

To view all the questions and answers, click here.

For more information and resources on application compatibility with Windows 7, please visit our page on TechNet here.

Did our VRT wrap-up post wet your appetite for more? Looking to learn about virtualization as a application compatibility tool? No need to worry if you missed the live event as the is now available to stream or download here.

Windows 7 Application Compatibility Part 2: Virtualization

In part two of this Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable on Windows 7 Application Compatibility, you'll hear from Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich and a panel of experts on how virtualization tools can help you with application compatibility concerns whether you're migrating from Windows Vista or Windows XP.

 
Here’s your chance to get powerful insight into how presentation virtualization, desktop virtualization and application virtualization can reduce testing times, expedite deployment, and ultimately help you streamline PC management. Also covered are the latest desktop virtualization technologies from Microsoft including Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V), Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V), and Windows XP Mode for Windows 7.

To see part one of this Virtual Roundtable or to view any of our previous roundtables, click here.

As always, visit the Springboard Series for the latest tools, walkthroughs, FAQs and information for IT pros around Windows 7 and visit our Talking About Windows Event Portal to see all the latest IT pro events worldwide on Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 in your area. More events are being added every day!

Date: Thursday, September 24
Time: 9:00am Pacific Time

https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard

Hear Mark Russinovich, Chris Jackson, Jeremy Chapman and our panel of experts chat about how virtualization tools can help you with application compatibility concerns whether you’re migrating from Windows Vista or Windows XP. Join us to discuss how presentation virtualization, desktop virtualization and application virtualization can reduce testing times, expedite deployment and ultimately help you streamline PC management.

We’ll cover the latest desktop virtualization technologies from Microsoft, including App-V, MED-V and XP Mode for Windows 7. Plus we share tips and tricks and demonstrate free tools to analyze and fix applications while answering your questions live during the event. Join live on Thursday, September 24^th, 2009, 9:00am Pacific Time. Missed Part 1? Watch the replay.

For IT Pro tips, tricks and resources for Windows 7, visit the Springboard Series

As part of the “virtual” experience, you may submit your questions about Windows 7 Application Compatibility to the panel live during the event—or submit questions in advance to vrtable@microsoft.com.

With the release of the XP Mode Release Candidate, there has been a lot of talk and confusion around when XP Mode is a ideal solution and when you should look at Med-V as a solution . I thought I would take a few minutes to clear up any confusion.

Well, let me start with actually talking a bit about [Windows] XP Mode. 

We introduced Windows Virtual PC in Windows 7 with new capabilities, such as support for USB (Universal Serial Bus) devices, and seamlessly integrating the Virtual PC applications into the Windows 7 desktop and making them available for the users from the start menu.  Windows XP Mode is just a preconfigured Windows XP virtual image and it is available for any user that has Windows 7 Pro [Professional] and above.  The whole Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small business users run Windows XP application on Windows 7 in case that the application would not run on a Windows 7 operating system. 

However, you ask why people need something beyond that, then with [Windows] XP Mode, users are required to setup their Windows XP applications themselves.  I mean each physical PC has its own virtual Windows XP environment and is controlled and managed by the end-user.  It is not designed for IT environments or centrally managed deployments.  And this is exactly where you need MED-V.  MED-V adds everything that is required to support the larger deployments of [Windows] XP Mode.  It includes the provisioning of an IT configured virtual machine, customizing the specific XP environments on the end-devices to connect to the [Microsoft] Active Directory® domain and to adjust the settings of the

Virtual PC to the specific parameters of the device.  So it adjusts them according to the network setting of the device, according to the amount of memory available, and other settings on the PC.  Finally, MED-V will also offer monitoring and troubleshooting for all those Virtual PC deployed in the environment.

So here are some breakdowns to answer common questions

What is Windows XP Mode, Windows Virtual PC and MED-V?

• Windows Virtual PC is a type II hypervisor in Windows 7 – i.e. it enables users to run multiple instances of Windows on a single device.
• Windows XP Mode leverages Windows Virtual PC and a preconfigured Windows XP image to create a virtual Windows XP environment
• MED-V is the management layer for IT professionals on top of Virtual PC.
• Windows XP Mode does not replace MED-V.

The breakdown

Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small businesses users to run their Windows XP applications on their Windows 7 desktop.

• Windows XP Mode is available as part of Windows 7 Professional , Ultimate and Enterprise.
• Windows Virtual PC will enable users to launch many older applications seamlessly in a virtual Windows XP environment from the Windows 7 start menu
• Windows Virtual PC includes support for USB devices and is based on a new core that includes multi-threading support
• Windows XP Mode is best experienced on new PCs from OEMs but will also be available for customers as a separate download.

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) is designed for IT Professionals.

• MED-V enables Virtual PC deployment in larger organizations
• MED-V provides important centralized management, policy-based provisioning and virtual image delivery to reduce the cost of Virtual PC deployment.
• MED-V is part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP)
• MED-V v1 builds on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 to help enterprises with their upgrade to Windows Vista when applications are not yet compatible.
• MED-V v2 will add support for Windows 7 and Windows Virtual PC.
• MED-V v2 beta will be available within 90 days of Windows 7 GA.

Which customers should use Windows XP Mode?

Windows XP Mode is suitable for small and medium business users, who are able to set their XP applications themselves or with the help of an IT professional.

Each device has its own virtual Windows XP environment, that is controlled and managed by the end user.

Windows XP Mode is not designed for large, centrally managed deployments, and is not suitable for organizations that have widely deployed business applications that require Windows XP.

How does MED-V adds management to Windows Virtual PC?

To provide a managed, scalable solution for running virtual Windows XP applications, MED-V addresses many of the IT challenges around deployment and management including:

• Deployment – deliver virtual Windows images and customize per user and device settings
  • Automate first-time virtual PC setup based on an IT customized script – including assignment of a unique computer name, joining to AD domain
    (for instance: assign the virtual PC a name that is derived from the physical device name or the username to simplify identification and management)
  • Adjust virtual PC memory allocation based on available RAM on host, so that the virtual PC does not take significant resources from the user
• Provisioning – define which applications and websites are available to different users
  • Assign virtual PC images according to users and groups
  • Define which Windows XP applications will be available to the user through the start menu
  • Define which websites (e.g. internal sites that requires a previous version of Internet Explorer) are redirected automatically to Windows XP
• Control – assign and expire usage permissions and Virtual PC settings
  • Control the network settings of the Virtual PC (e.g. whether it connects through NAT or DHCP, whether its DNS is synchronized with host)
  • Authenticate user before granting access to the Virtual PC
  • Set expiration date, after which the Virtual PC is not accessible to the end user
• Maintenance and Support - update images, monitor users and remotely troubleshoot
  • Update images using TrimTransfer network image delivery – update a master Virtual PC image, and MED-V will automatically distribute and apply the changes to all endpoints
  • Centralized database aggregates events from all users, and provides troubleshooting information on malfunctioning virtual PCs
  • Administrator diagnostics mode allows faster resolution of Virtual PC issues
  • Run on multiple platforms – MED-V will work on both Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and will not require processor-based virtualization support

How do I purchase MED-V?

MED-V is licensed as part of MDOP subscription that is available for purchase for Software Assurance customers.

What are the key features of new version of Windows Virtual PC?

Easy setup of Windows XP Mode – Once both the Windows Virtual PC and the virtual Windows XP environment are installed, Windows Virtual PC provides a simple wizard to setup the Windows XP Mode with just a few clicks. 

USB Support - Users can access USB devices attached to Windows 7 directly from Windows Virtual PC.  These devices include Printers and Scanners, Flash Memory/Sticks and External Hard Disks, Digital Cameras and more.

Seamless Applications – Publish and Launch applications installed on Windows Virtual PC directly from the Windows 7 desktop, as if they were installed on the Windows 7 itself.

Folder Integration between Windows 7 and Windows Virtual PC– Access your Windows 7 Known Folders:  My documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, Video, from inside the virtual windows environment, such as Windows XP Mode

Clipboard Sharing – Cut and paste between your Windows 7 and Windows Virtual PC.

Printer Redirection – Print directly to your attached printer from your Windows Virtual PC applications either in application mode or desktop mode.

SPECIAL THANKS TO Ran Oelgiesser and Fei Lu for their help with this post.