Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit Team Blog

Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Microsoft® Forefront™ Unified Access Gateway Now Available!

2009-12-15T16:09:00Z

The Solution Accelerator team has released a new guide: Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway . This free guide outlines the critical infrastructure design elements that are key to the successful implementation of Forefront Unified Access Gateway (Forefront UAG). The logical three-step process presented in this guide includes selecting the Forefront UAG features required, determining the number of instances, and designing the infrastructure. If access logging is required, the guide leads the...(read more)

Updated Infrastructure Planning and Design Guides for Virtualization!

2009-12-01T02:10:00Z

The Solution Accelerators team has released two updated guides to further assist organizations in selecting the right virtualization technologies for their business needs: • Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Selecting the Right Virtualization Technology • Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services To select an appropriate virtualization technology, organizations can look to the updated IPD Guide for Selecting the Right Virtualization Technology...(read more)

IBM Hardware Pack for Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, v1.1.

2009-11-21T20:04:00Z

Our friends at IBM have been working hard to provide customers direct insight into IBM Hardware, and guidance for consolidated workloads for IBM System X and Blade servers using MAP 4.0. Take a look at the announcement. I am very proud to announce that the IBM Hardware Pack for Microsoft Assessment and Panning Toolkit, Version 1.1 The IBM Hardware Pack for Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Version 1.1 helps our customers assess their current IT infrastructure needs (based on resource utilization)...(read more)

IPD Guide for Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway.

2009-11-12T22:00:00Z

Interested in Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway? Check out the new beta Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway, and learn a logical three-step process for selecting Forefront UAG features required, determining the number of instances, and designing the infrastructure. Download the IPD Guide for Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway (Beta) . If you like this guide you will probably like the IPD series as well. Download other best practices...(read more)

Learn more about MAP 4.0

2009-11-10T16:22:00Z

Check out this great article on MAP v4 This article explains the new features in MAP v4 including instructions on how users can fine tune their hardware assessments for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to their own hardware profiles. Additionally, it provides insight into the new features included in the server virtualization assessment. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ee677580.aspx...(read more)

MAP 5.0 Community Technical Preview (CTP) - Now Open!

2009-11-09T23:28:00Z

Get an early peek at the next release of MAP (version 5.0) when you sign up for the MAP 5.0 Community Technical Preview (CTP). One of the cool new features of MAP 5.0 is further support for heterogeneous environments. Traditionally, MAP had the ability to perform inventory and assessment of IT environments running only Microsoft platforms. In MAP 4.0, we added the support for heterogeneous environments by providing the ability to inventory servers running virtualization technologies from VMware....(read more)

[RTM News] Security Baselines for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8!

2009-10-31T00:13:00Z

The Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team is very pleased to announce the release of new security baselines for Windows® 7 and Windows® Internet Explorer® 8. These new baselines are now included with the Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series. Over the past few months, our team has collaborated with Microsoft security experts, multiple government agencies worldwide, and a large community of IT security professionals to develop and test these new security baselines. Now that Windows 7 has shipped,...(read more)

RTM News - Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for DirectAccess Now Available!

2009-10-26T16:41:00Z

With the new DirectAccess feature in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 you’ll now have the ability to allow remote users to seamlessly access enterprise shares, websites, and applications without the need to connect to virtual private network (VPN) systems. DirectAccess also gives IT managers the ability to update remote PCs anytime they are connected to the Internet, without the user being logged on to the machine. As you prepare to take advantage of DirectAccess, your first step should be about...(read more)

7 Deployment Tools for Windows 7

2009-10-22T17:37:00Z

Today, Windows 7 is released to cities around the world. Are you thinking about migrating your PCs to Windows 7 for your organizations? To help you with deploying Windows 7 successfully and quickly, Microsoft has been developing lots of great tools and best practice (available on Microsoft.com). Here's a list of my 7 favorite deployment tools to help you more easily and quickly plan and deploy Windows 7 to your organization. Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 4.0 - Download the MAP Toolkit...(read more)

Win Zune HDs Now - Infrastructure Planning and Design Guides Case Study Contest

2009-10-20T23:23:00Z

Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team is currently looking for deployment stories around the use of the Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Series . Winners chosen by the IPD Team will each receive a Zune HD music player. Infrastructure Planning and Design Series gives you architectural guidance for deploying Microsoft infrastructure products such as Windows Server 2008 R2, App-V, MED-V, DirectAccess, Hyper-V virtualization, System Center, SQL Server 2008, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online,...(read more)

Don't Compromise Your IT! Modernize It!

2009-10-18T02:05:00Z

Here's my latest blog post on the " Because It's Everybody's Business " site on Microsoft.com. The article titled " Don't Compromise Your IT! Modernize It! " lays out a few key challenges and solutions to help you save IT costs while maintaining agility and operational efficiency. Check it out! Baldwin...(read more)

Windows 7: The 10 Things to Do First for Windows 7

2009-10-17T18:33:00Z

Are you getting ready for Windows 7? Read the latest TechNet Magazine article, The 10 Things to Do First for Windows 7 , by Bill Boswell. Learn from the expert on how you can use tools like the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP) for Windows 7 , Application Compatibility Toolkit , Key Management Server, and more to accelerate your Windows 7 projects. By the way, if you haven't heard, Windows 7 PCs will be available in stores near you starting October 22. Start evaluating Windows 7 . You'll...(read more)

[Video Demo] Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit Demo #3 – Server Migration and Virtualization Assessments

2009-10-15T21:55:00Z

Have you considered consolidating your datacenter servers down to a more manageable number? Are your servers taking up too much of your IT budget simply to power and cool them? Did you know that many organizations like yours may have under-utilized servers lying around that ought to be virtualized? Try using the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit for Hyper-V to help you create an inventory of under-utilized servers and generate potential virtualization candidates. The new MAP Toolkit...(read more)

[NEWS!] Two New Infrastructure Planning and Design Guides for System Center Operations Manager and Windows Deployment Services

2009-10-13T20:10:00Z

The Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Team from Microsoft Solution Accelerators recently released two new IPD guides to help customers with deployment planning for these Microsoft products: System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 Windows Deployment Services (WDS) as part of Windows Server 2008 R2 You will find these 2 IPD guides key to shortening your planning and deployment time and costs. These guides offer easy to ready materials with decision flow charts etc. Download IPD Guides today...(read more)

[News!] Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 5.0 In Development (Beta Program Now Open)

2009-10-07T00:04:00Z

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 5.0 Beta Program is now open for registration. This upcoming release of MAP Toolkit will offer new areas including potential scenarios such as desktop migration assessment to Office 2010 and server migration assessment from Linux platforms to Windows Server 2008 R2. If you are not a current beta group member of MAP Toolkit, join the MAP Toolkit Beta Program now! If you are a current member of the MAP Toolkit beta program, view the MAP Toolkit Beta Page...(read more)