I just returned from Las Vegas, where, this morning I attended Brad Anderson’s keynote address at the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) where he announced the beta release of Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM). It was great to hear the audience’s enthusiastic response to the announcement and to see the high-level of interest expressed by visitors to our booth at MMS.
On top of the announcement, right before lunch, the lead MBAM program manager and I presented details about the product to MMS attendees. In the session, we talked about MBAM’s ability to help you deploy and provision BitLocker, improve compliance and reporting, and reduce support costs through helpdesk tools and allowing a standard user to perform basic BitLocker tasks. As part of that session we revealed how to go to get the beta install files and documentation (note that you need a Windows Live ID) and shared that MBAM will be generally available in the third quarter of 2011.
Now that you can get the beta, we hope that you download it and set it up in your test lab so that you can begin to see how it will help you better manage BitLocker. If you have any feedback, as you use the beta, we would love to hear it. The best way to share your thoughts with us is to use the feedback tool here.
From everyone in the MDOP team, thanks for your interest in MBAM.
Today at MMS, we annouced that we will release a new version of the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT). DaRT 7 will be part of MDOP and will be released in Q3 of calendar year 2011.
DaRT 7 is the next generation of this popular product that is built to help drive the cost to support Windows based PCs even lower. DaRT 7.0 will speed up recovery and provide IT organizations with more flexible ways to deploy it.
Remote diagnostics and recovery
Flexible deployment options
Increased Customization
More information can be found on the Springboard blog where I sat down with Stephen Rose for a discussion about the upcoming release.Customer can sign up today for the DaRT 7 public BETA that will be released in early April.
Hello, I’m Dave Trupkin, Senior Product Manager for App-V and MED-V, the two Desktop Virtualization products in MDOP. Today is a very special day for everyone on the MDOP team here at Microsoft, and especially those who work on App-V and MED-V. This morning we announced the general availability of MDOP 2011!
You can access App-V 4.6 Service Pack1 and MED-V 2.0 as part of MDOP 2011 through the Microsoft Volume Licensing website, MSDN or TechNet.
App-V 4.6 SP1: Application Virtualization Made Easy, Fast and Predictable
As businesses deploy App-V, they convert their traditional applications to App-V virtual applications through a process known as sequencing. In this release, we’ve redesigned the sequencing process to make it even easier for new users to get started quickly. We provide step-by-step guidance for common packaging tasks, like creating a new package, updating a package, or packaging add-ins or middleware. We’ve also added diagnostics to help alert packagers to potential issues before they become problems. App-V 4.6 SP1 is our easiest to use release ever.
“Even people with absolutely no virtualization experience can sequence applications.”
– Holger Brink, Managing Consultant, Login Consultants
Check out more App-V case studies!
Up until now, the predominant way for App-V customers to share how they’ve packaged particular applications with App-V is with text-based “recipes.” These recipes can be time-consuming to document and to follow. In App-V 4.6 SP1, we’re introducing a new way to create App-V packages and to share packaging knowledge. App-V Package Accelerators allow App-V administrators to automatically create App-V packages from application installation files. App-V Package The sequencing learning curve is eliminated and sequencing time for large, complex applications is slashed. App-V administrators can easily share App-V Package Accelerators instead of recipes.
We will release Package Accelerators for several of our own products, starting today with Microsoft Project 2010. We’ll release others, including Microsoft Office 2010, in April. We’ve also partnered with Adobe to offer a Package Accelerator for Adobe Reader 9.4. There’s more to come.
We’ve also taken many of the App-V sequencing best practices and built them right in to the new Sequencer. We’ve made other things, like sequencing to old-style “8.3” directory names, a relic of the past. Finally, I’m pleased to announce that we are extending support for the App-V read-only shared cache to include RDS as well as VDI scenarios. With this new support, you can save storage space no matter which desktop virtualization technology you choose for server-based computing.
MED-V 2.0: Solving the last mile of application compatibility
Businesses around the globe are adopting Windows 7 and enjoying its rewards. The recent release of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 will accelerate deployment plans. As companies plan their deployment, they'll find that many existing applications will “just work” in Windows 7. Other applications may require upgrades or compatibility shims. Some older applications will be retired or replaced. For those applications that remain – the ones that simply must run on Windows XP – there’s MED-V. MED-V bridges the “last mile” of application compatibility between Windows XP and Windows 7, allowing older applications to run inside Windows XP compatibility workspaces, but still integrate seamlessly into users’ Windows 7 environments.
Don’t confuse MED-V with Microsoft’s consumer and small business compatibility tool, Windows XP Mode. MED-V expands on the capabilities in Windows XP Mode by adding enterprise features, such as the ability to use a custom Windows XP image, automating first time setup and controlling URL redirection for Internet Explorer.
With MED-V 2.0, there’s no dedicated infrastructure. MED-V workspaces are distributed and managed with existing systems, such as System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 or higher.
We’ve also made changes that let you allow your users to save their Windows passwords for seamless sign-on to their MED-V workspace. MED-V 2.0 also supports USB devices, including Smartcard readers.
“MED-V 2.0 is simple to use and fast. Its performance is great, and because it doesn’t require a separate server infrastructure, it can be quickly and easily deployed.”
– Jean Claude Akin, Software Engineer, Systems Certification, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
Check out more MED-V case studies!
MED-V 2.0 integrates seamlessly into Windows 7, providing automatic publishing of applications from MED-V workspaces to the Windows 7 Start Menu. It also provides My Documents , Desktop, and network printer redirection, allowing legacy applications hosted in MED-V workspaces to work just like locally installed applications when it comes to opening, saving and printing documents.
And we’ve improved your Internet Explorer redirection options. IT administrators can redirect legacy web applications using wildcards (http://*.example.com), sites (http://www.example.com/hr), at the page-level (http://www.example.com/hr/benefits.asp) or by specifying a port (http://vpn.example.com:1234).
Our MVPs are talking about this exciting new release. They’re a fantastic resource for the community and they’re here to help you!
Just getting started? Check out the App-V 4.6 SP1 Trial Guide or the MED-V 2.0 Trial Guide. Need more information about App-V sequencing? Download the App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencing Guide. You’ll also want to check out the new App-V videos that walk you through some of the new features, and the new MED-V 2.0 video series. For information about all of Microsoft’s Desktop Virtualization solutions, visit the Springboard Desktop Virtualization Zone.
We’re proud of our work and we would love for you to take the next step: download MDOP 2011 today and try App-V 4.6 SP1 and MED-V 2.0 for yourself. I’d love to hear your feedback. If you’re attending the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas, March 21-25, 2011, stop by the Desktop Virtualization booth and say “Hello!”
Dave