Microsoft Windows Vista
Enterprise Community Technology Preview Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet
February 2006
The Microsoftฎ Windows
Vista Community Technology Preview (CTP) released today is the fourth in a
series of early Windows Vista builds being released to an extensive technical
community. The CTP program was designed to involve customers and partners in the
various stages of Windows Vista development by facilitating timely and relevant
feedback.
As with previous Windows Vista
CTPs, this CTP will be distributed to testers in the Windows Vista Technical
Beta Program, and will be available to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDNฎ)
and TechNet subscribers.
Windows Vista Means Business
Windows Vista delivers great
value to businesses by seamlessly connecting people to information, enabling
increased mobile and remote productivity, significantly reducing deployment and
support costs, and providing a more secure and compliant desktop platform.
Microsoft Corp. has enhanced the features and capabilities within Windows Vista
as well as the suite of deployment and upgrade tools specifically to support the
corporate IT professional and to make it easier to deploy and use Windows Vista
in a business environment. With this release, Microsoft is encouraging
enterprises to begin deploying and testing Windows Vista on a limited number of
machines in a nonproduction environment and to begin learning about the
innovative deployment technologies being offered along with Windows Vista, which
are designed to help IT professionals jump-start and better manage the
deployment process.
New and Enhanced Deployment
Tools and Technologies
According to Microsoft research
manual deployments can cost upwards of $1,000 per PC. With the advanced
deployment tools and technologies delivered with Windows Vista, Microsoft
focused on simplifying the deployment process. Utilizing the deployment
capabilities and tools available with Windows Vista along with a modern IT
infrastructure will make it easier for businesses to reduce cost-per-desktop
deployment into the sub-$100 range.
Windows Vista image-based
deployment makes the deployment process as efficient as possible. Images, or
structured files containing machine instructions and data, are the fastest way
to deploy an operating system, but they have not historically been part of the
standard installation of the Windowsฎ operating system, requiring
additional software and many hours of labor to maintain. To help reduce the
complexity of the deployment process, Microsoft based the installation of
Windows Vista on the file-based disk imaging format called Windows Imaging
Format (WIM), modularized Windows Vista to make customization and deployment of
the images easier, and made other significant deployment enhancements to the
core operating system.
In addition, Microsoft has
focused on creating a complete set of tools and technologies that enable an IT
professional to plan, test, build and deploy desktops across an organization
more efficiently than ever. These tools include the following:
Tools for planning
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Tools for testing, building
and deploying
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Windows Automated
Installation Kit. An enhanced version of the Windows Automated
Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is available on the Windows Connect site
at http://connect.microsoft.com.
This suite of tools is designed to help corporate IT professionals
deploy Windows Vista onto their desktops. Microsoft has completely
redesigned these installation technologies for Windows Vista to meet OEM
and corporate deployment requirements and enhance flexibility,
reliability and performance. These tools comprise an end-to-end solution
for planning, engineering and deploying desktops, and include the
following:
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Windows System
Image Manager. The Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM)
brings a set of significantly improved image creation
technologies to Windows Vista IT professionals that makes it
easier to customize, add and configure components such as a
new language component or a set of device drivers within an
image. As well, with Windows SIM users can now create an
unattended Extensible Markup Language (XML) answer file, or list
of instructions, to edit and configure components offline within
a system image. This same list can then be incorporated online
in the installation process during system setup, causing
specific instructions to configure the desktop to engage
automatically as the image is being deployed to the PC. |
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Windows
Deployment Services. Windows Deployment Services is the
updated and redesigned version of Remote Installation Services
for the next version of Windows Server, code-named Longhorn.
Windows Deployment Services is a complete solution for remotely
deploying Windows-based operating systems through network-based
installation. It reduces the management costs associated with
deployment by providing IT managers with a way to deploy Windows
Vista across their desktop environment without having to be
physically present at each computer or having to install it
directly from CD, DVD or other physical media. |
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Windows
Preinstallation Environment 2.0. The Windows AIK tool suite
also includes a test version of the Windows Preinstallation
Environment (Windows PE) that works in conjunction with this
Windows Vista CTP. Windows PE 2.0 replaces MS-DOSฎ as
the standard deployment environment for Windows Vista. Windows
PE 2.0 is now freely available to all corporate customers.
Windows PE 2.0 includes the following deployment advances:
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A
pre-installation boot environment has features for
installing drivers, troubleshooting and recovery of the
operating system. Nearly all Windows Vista deployment
tools will take advantage of Windows PE to significantly
streamline processes and reduce the cost of deployment. |
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In
enterprise environments, Windows PE will enable IT
departments to create scripts and applications to
further automate deployment. For example, an IT
administrator could set up a Windows Deployment Services
remote deployment infrastructure, create a configuration
script (or program instruction), and build a custom
Windows PE image (by adding drivers) to enable a highly
automated deployment process saving money and making
better use of limited IT resources |
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User State
Migration Tool 3.0. This enterprise tool is focused on
making sure that user settings and data transfer well from
previous versions of Windows to Windows Vista. The User State
Migration Tool includes new and improved functions, including
encryption capabilities for more secure migrations that are
completely scriptable and can run unattended, which enables IT
professionals to easily develop XML-based scripts for
enterprisewide migration. By ensuring an easy transition to the
new operating system, enterprises will significantly reduce
costs associated with a loss in end-user productivity.
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Enhanced
imaging technologies. The toolkit also includes numerous
enhancements to the Ximage tool and the Windows Imaging
technologies. These improvements enable IT professionals to
create images that span multiple CDs, choose different
compression options, and edit images offline, addressing varying
imaging scenarios as well as optimizing deployments. More
information about these imaging tools can be found on the
Windows Vista TechNet site at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista. |
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Improved Desktop Management
Another important element of Windows Vista is the improved overall
manageability of the desktop. Windows Vista will significantly improve the
overall manageability by delivering features that decrease the cost of keeping
systems up to date, reduce the risk of disruptive changes to the desktop by
users or applications, and improve the ease of centrally managing desktop
settings and configurations. Manageability enhancements in Windows Vista include
the following:
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An enhanced Microsoft
Management Console 3.0. The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a
framework for managing Microsoft Windows-based environments. MMC
provides a simple, consistent and integrated user interface and
administration model. In Windows Vista, the Microsoft Management Console
3.0 is enhanced to improve reliability and enable a more consistent
administrative experience. For example, actions are now exposed on an
Action Pane, so administrators can more easily discover the capabilities
of any management tool that uses the MMC framework. Reliability is
improved by a task model that enables multiple management takes to run
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Improvements to Group
Policy. Group Policy enables IT administrators to automate
one-to-many management of users and computers, simplifying
administrative tasks and reducing IT costs. In Windows Vista,
enhancements to Group Policy offer more reliable and secure application
of policy settings and greater responsiveness to changing network
conditions. The enhanced Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is now
integrated into the operating system. Finally, Group Policy now supports
multiple local Group Policy objects, allowing an IT administrator to
establish different policies for different users on the same machine.
This improves security and manageability in shared-use environments such
as libraries and schools. Additional enhancements to Group Policy
include these:
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Expanded
policy settings. Group Policy settings have been expanded to
cover a number of new scenarios that include printers,
troubleshooting and diagnostics, and power management. In
addition, Internet settings and Internet protocol security (IPsec)
and firewall settings are now integrated with Group Policy,
enabling centralized control for these important policy
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Control over
removable storage devices. In response to requests from
enterprise customers, Windows Vista also includes policy
settings to provide centralized control over removable storage
devices. Two types of policy settings are available in Windows
Vista: those that allow IT professionals to control device
installation by specifying what types of devices can and cannot
be installed on a given machine. In addition, Windows Vista
provides Group Policy settings that allow administrators to
specify read/write access for the removable storage devices that
have been installed. This allows administrators to have very
granular control over removable storage devices and create
profiles based on user or machine. |
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New instrumentation
and events. Instrumentation and events offers insight into what is
happening inside Windows and are the foundation for effective
management. IT professionals need this information and well-designed
tools to access it to perform common management tasks such as
troubleshooting problems, monitoring performance and managing system
configurations. New and enhanced instrumentation and events features
include the following:
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Enhanced
Windows event logging service. This feature provides ongoing
information about system operations by letting Windows
components flag and keep track of events. In Windows Vista,
events must meet strict standards to ensure that they are
meaningful, can be acted on and are well documented. |
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A new Event
Viewer. In addition to providing improved performance and
scalability, the Windows Vista Event Viewer enables users to
filter and sort events, control which type of events are logged,
more easily discover events, and attach a task to a given event. |
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Task Scheduler.
Windows Vista features a new Task Scheduler that provides controlled,
unattended management of tasks launched either according to a schedule
or in response to events or system state changes. This feature enables
proactive, ad-hoc system management that saves IT professionals valuable
time and resources. A task can notify an IT professional of a problem on
a desktop by e-mail, and it can launch a diagnostic program or an
automated resolution even when the machine is in standby or hibernate
mode. Administrators can also set up more complex and demanding tasks to
run in sequence or in response to multiple triggers and condition
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Other Notable Features
Windows Vista is now feature complete, and the Enterprise CTP is the first
feature-complete build being offered to participants in the CTP program,
providing them with a more complete version of the product to test sooner in the
development process than with any previous Windows releases. In addition to the
deployment and management features highlighted, testers will discover new
features designed to help make accessing information easier and faster. Some of
the new enhanced features evident in this CTP include these:
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Windows Sidebar and
Gadgets. Windows Sidebar boosts personal productivity by providing
instant and seamless access to Gadgets, a variety of engaging,
easy-to-use and customizable mini-applications that provide information
at a glance and enable easy access to frequent tasks. Windows Vista
includes a built-in platform for hosting gadgets, which can be developed
by ISVs, IT departments and hobbyists. In the enterprise, Gadgets can
make employees more productive by offering quick information such as
industry news, CRM data and sales figures, document workflow status, and
IT infrastructure status and other information important to users.
Gadgets provide lightweight and easy-to-use ways to present information
from line-of-business applications and databases. With this CTP, a
handful of Gadgets, including a Web feed (RSS) viewer, shortcuts, a
recycle bin, photo slide show functionality, and a world clock, are
provided for Windows Sidebar. With this build, developers should begin
thinking about what Gadgets they can provide for their employees and
customers. |
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Welcome Center.
Welcome Center is a new start-up experience in Windows Vista that is
designed to present important setup tasks (such as adding user accounts,
transferring files and settings, and viewing basic tutorials), which the
user can complete at a convenient time. The Welcome Center is designed
to help users complete their important setup tasks and get to know their
PC. It also enables access to OEM offerings that deliver value to the
user as well as providing monetization options to OEMs. With the Welcome
Center, OEMs have broad flexibility to make various offers to the end
user during the startup process. Welcome Center will be accessible from
All Programs and Control Panel under the Start Menu. |
Although Windows Vista is feature
complete, many of its features will continue to evolve throughout the
development cycle, and the feedback received will continue to impact the overall
feature set and experience. This CTP is intended for use by developers,
enterprise IT professionals and the technical community that are part of the CTP
program. End users interested in testing prerelease versions of Windows Vista
should wait until the next CTP, which will be delivered in the second quarter of
this year and will conclude the beta 2 process.
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