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)

On Monday (February 4th), we announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1).  Overall, people are excited to hear that we have reached this milestone, but some are disappointed they are not able to immediately download it.

In my blog post on the subject, I noted that we were going to make SP1 available to customers in stages to make sure we delivered a great experience.  As I explained, one reason for this is that we are working through an issue with a small set of hardware devices that may not function properly after the Windows Vista-based PC they are installed on is updated to SP1.  This is an issue with the way the device drivers were re-installed during the SP1 update process, not with the drivers themselves — these drivers worked on Windows Vista RTM and they work on Windows Vista SP1.  For new PCs with Windows Vista SP1 pre-installed, this is not an issue. 

We are working with the manufacturers of these devices to get the drivers and their install programs updated, and also working on other solutions we can use to ensure a smooth customer experience when updating to SP1 over Windows Update.

My blog post also noted that when beta testers encountered this issue, the problem was typically corrected by simply uninstalling and reinstalling the driver.  This type of issue can be addressed by our more technical customers since they are comfortable reinstalling drivers.  While most people think that it’s smart that we are releasing SP1 in stages, some people asked why we haven’t made SP1 available to technical customers sooner.

We’ve heard the feedback and I want to update you on our plans and progress for making SP1 available to our beta participants, our Volume Licensing customers, and our MSDN/TechNet Plus subscribers:

• Late Friday we made SP1 RTM available to individuals and companies who participated in the SP1 beta program
• At the end of this week we will be making the English version of Windows Vista SP1 available to Volume Licensing customers.  Other languages will follow soon after
• Later this month, SP1 will be available to MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers

For broad availability, we are still planning to release in mid-March, since we want to be sure that everyone has the smoothest experience possible.

I want to be super-clear on one point:  Windows Vista SP1 is final.  It has been fully released to manufacturing and we do not plan to make any changes to the SP1 code prior to public availability.  We are confident in the quality of Windows Vista SP1 and know that it will help improve our customers’ experiences with Windows Vista.

Our goal here is to address the needs of our customers while delivering the best experience.  Please keep the comments coming.  We are listening!

- Mike

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)

< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Hi Folks,

Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office are here!  And, you are probably thinking that it’s time to take advantage of these 2 great technologies.  But, you need to get answers on a few practical questions first:

• Would my existing PCs run Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office? Should I buy new ones or upgrade them instead?
• Would my devices still work? Would most of the device drivers be available from Windows Vista installation DVD and/or Microsoft Windows Update site?

Well, I have good news for you!  Today, our team is happy to announce the availability of the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 tool at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007.  This network-wide readiness assessment tool is designed to make it easier for Microsoft partners and customers to determine their existing PCs’ readiness for Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office.  It’s a great tool to accelerate migration and deployment planning for Microsoft customers and partners.

How it Works?

• Step 1 - Network Inventory:

• Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 connects securely and remotely from a networked PC and reaches out to each PC on the network, whether they are in an Active Directory domain/forest or in a peer-to-peer/workgroup environment.
• Hardware and device data were collected through the WMI protocol (Windows Management Instrumentation) and other Windows networking protocols all without deploying any software agents on the individual PCs.

• By analyzing the hardware and device data from each computer, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 can assess your existing computers’ hardware compatibility and device compatibility for Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office. It also offers hardware upgrade recommendations if required for each PC.

• Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 offers the auto-generation of 2 readiness assessment reports: a summary report in Microsoft Word and a detailed spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
• The Summary Report provides business decision makers with a high-level view of percentage of existing computers that can run Windows Vista and how many more computers can take advantage of Windows Vista with minor level of memory, hard drive and other upgrades.
• The Detailed Spreadsheet Report provides technical decision makers with a detailed view of the information they need to plan for a desktop deployment/migration.

What’s New with Version 2.0?

Backed by popular demand, we have added many features in this release:

• Enterprise-Scale Scanning - Scan up to 25,000 computers per domain/workgroup in every scan (Note: multiple scans are possible for larger networks)
• Office 2007 Hardware Assessment - Assess PCs for hardware compatibility with 2007 Microsoft Office
• Customized Inventory using Active Directory - Choose computers of specific organizational units (or OU’s) within an Active Directory domain/forest where the inventory would be conducted
• Customized Inventory using Flat-File Import - Target a specific set of computers for the inventory and assessment by importing a specific flat file of computers (such as computer host names, NetBIOS names, or Fully Qualified Domain Names - FQDN)

What is the IT community saying about Windows Vista Hardware Assessment?  Visit these blogs to find out more.

• Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing
• John Obeto on Microsoft (Network World)
• Josh’s Windows Connected Blog

Where Should I Start?

• Download the tool today and see how it can benefit your Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office migration planning
• Sign up for one of my July webcasts on TechNet and Partner Readiness web sites
• Look for the 6-language localized version that will go live in the coming weeks that will enable you to create readiness assessment reports in your own language including French, German, Japanese, Korean, Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese
• Tell your success story using the tool and email us at: wvha-tap@microsoft.com
• Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay tuned for my future blog posts where I will share with you our customers’ success stories and what’s new at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007
• Check out the Windows Vista Business Value Assessment Tool if you are a Microsoft Partner - you’ll be amazed how powerful this ROI tool is!  (IT Blogger, James Senior, gives you the inside scoop HERE!)
• Visit the Solution Accelerators home page to download other great Windows Vista tools including Windows Vista Security Guide, Data Encryption Toolkit and Business Desktop Deployment 2007

See you next time…

Baldwin Ng (Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators)

wvhafdbk@microsoft.com