MED-V v2 Beta now Available

Hello everyone, recently the Beta 2 of MED-V was released, and we wanted to make sure everyone on this blog was aware of it.  Originally announced on the MDOP blog, and the Windows for your Business Blogs, MED-V is an incredibly cool Desktop Virtualization technology that builds on System Center Configuration Manager.  For situations where App-V does not resolve your application compatibility challenges, MED-V may in fact be a solution.  App-V is an application to application compatibility solution, but may not remediate an app to OS issue.  This is where MED-V becomes interesting.  MED-V is a desktop virtualization technology that allows an app to be isolated from the host (Windows 7 ) OS.  In addition, MED-V provides:

• No dedicated MED-V infrastructure to deploy - MED-V 2.0 workspaces are deployed and managed using  System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 or higher
• Streamlined sign-on to the MED-V workspace - Users can save their passwords for seamless sign-on to the MED-V workspace
• Automatic application publishing – New applications deployed to MED-V workspaces, including App-V virtual applications, are available to the Windows 7 host automatically
• My Documents and Desktop redirection - Legacy applications work just like locally installed applications when it comes to opening, saving and printing documents
• USB device/SmartCard support - USB devices, including thumb drives and Smartcard readers can be shared between the host and applications running in the MED-V workspace
• New 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) 
• Automated guest hibernation at shutdown – The MED-V workspace is seamlessly suspended when the user logs off or shuts down the Windows 7 host

Some resources for you:

• The MED-V 2.0 public beta can be downloaded from Microsoft Connect
• The MDOP Blog is here
• The Windows for your Business blog is here
• Configuration Manager 2007 R3 is now available for eval here

Jeff Wettlaufer
Sr Technical Product Manager
System Center, Management and Security Division