USB Keys Certified for Windows to Go Use

A great question was asked at during today's #CANITPRO camp by an attendee: "Which USB keys has Microsoft certified for use with Windows To Go?"

For those who are unaware, Windows To Go is a new Windows 8 enterprise feature enabling the creation of a Windows To Go workspace booted from a Microsoft certified USB key, regardless of the operating system running on the PC. Windows To Go workspaces uses the same image enterprises use for their desktops and laptops and can also be managed the same way. Windows To Go is not intended to replace desktops, laptops or any other mobility offerings. It does however provide support for efficient use of resources for alternative workplace scenarios.

While Pierre was showing off his Kingston DataTraveler Workspace for Windows To Go key to attendees of today's class I thought it would be helpful to post the list on our Canadian IT Professional blog.

As of the date of this posting, the following are the USB drives currently certified for use as Windows To Go drives:

• IronKey Workspace W300 (http://www.imation.com/wtg)
• Kingston DataTraveler Workspace for Windows To Go (http://www.kingston.com/wtg/)
• Spyrus Portable Workplace
• Spyrus Secure Portable Workplace
• (You must use the Spyrus Deployment Suite for Windows To Go to provision the Spyrus Secure Portable Workplace. For more information about the Spyrus Deployment Suite for Windows To Go please refer to http://www.spyruswtg.com/)
• Super Talent Express RC8 for Windows To Go (http://www.supertalent.com/wtg/)
• Western Digital My Passport Enterprise (http://www.wd.com/wtg)
• (It is recommend that you run the WD Compass utility to prepare the Western Digital My Passport Enterprise drive for provisioning with Windows To Go.  For more information about the WD Compass utility please refer to http://www.wd.com/wtg)

Be advised that applications you may want to use from the Windows To Go workspace should be tested to make sure they also support roaming. Some applications bind to the computer hardware which will cause difficulties if the workspace is being used with multiple host computers

Further information regarding the Windows to Go offering can be found here.