We are happy to say that all MDOP 2008 R2 components due for general release in October are now available for customers to download! You can download MDOP 2008 R2 here: https://licensing.microsoft.com. As we blogged previously, one part of this release is Asset Inventory Service 1.5, and it’s going to be available to MDOP customers in November of this year. AIS 1.0 has been available to MDOP customers since November 2007, and many of our customers using the current version are anticipating the added license reconciliation feature that will be delivered with version 1.5.
David Driggers, System Center Configuration Manager Administrator from Energen, is one of those customers. He shared his experience with the Asset Inventory Service with us:
“I was amazed at how easy the AIS client was to deploy and how fast it started returning data from clients . After attending a TechED session about AIS I contacted our TAM about setting up access to the service. By lunch that day we were setup and ready to start testing the client install. I returned to my hotel room and downloaded the AIS client -- my laptop was the first test subject. The install was very fast, there was no noticeable impact to performance on the laptop, and within one hour inventory data was available on the AIS website. To say I was impressed was an understatement. One of the biggest issues we face at Energen is keeping an up to date inventory on the laptops we have. They are rarely in the office and when they do come in it is for a very short period of time. Having an inventory tool that can collect data over an Internet connection is something we have needed for a long time.
After testing the client on my laptop I connected to our network and setup a System Center Configuration Manager package to deploy the AIS client to a set of test machines. That test was flawless and once again the data was available in a very short period of time on the AIS website. The third and final test would be to 100 clients in the five-state region we operate in. As with the previous tests this one exceeded my expectations. The final step was to deploy the client enterprise wide. I started the deployment the night I returned from TechED and by the next morning 1000 of our clients had the client installed and inventory data was available on the AIS website.
The current version of AIS is very easy to deploy, very quick to collect and post inventory data and the web interface is very easy to use. Since this is a version 1 release of the product there are parts that are a work in progress like reporting but it is still a useful tool for collecting inventory data on clients especially clients that are not on the corporate network very often. It was worth the wait and I can hardly wait for version 1.5 to be released. “
It is always great to hear from our customers. If you would like to share your experience with the MDOP products, please drop us a line.
Just a week after my colleague Shanen Boettcher wrote about virtualization and its role in the Optimized Desktop, specifically announcing the RTM of Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5, commonly called “App-V”, I’m proud to let you know that the entire MDOP 2008 R2 suite of products has officially reached RTM status! New and existing customers can get App-V 4.5 starting TODAY, and will be able to get the other MDOP 2008 R2 components the first week of October!
As Shanen noted in his blog post,” the Optimized Desktop eliminates the “tug-of-war” that exists between IT and end-user needs in a traditional desktop infrastructure.” We know that this is where IT is going, and today’s news plays a critical role in fulfilling that vision. In an Optimized Desktop, a partnership is established in which IT can constructively maintain control over the desktop infrastructure, without getting in the way of the users they’re supporting. With MDOP 2008 R2 and Windows Vista, you get a solution that’s greater than the sum of its parts…a “1+1=3” scenario where IT is controlled and managed, users are empowered and productive, and the pace of business accelerates.
There are a lot of new and very useful upgrades and improvements in MDOP 2008 R2 in addition to last week’s upgrade to App-V 4.5:
Localization
App- V, Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM), and Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) technologies are now localized in 10 languages (Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified & Traditional Chinese, Dutch (App-V only), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Russian).
Asset Inventory Service 1.5 (AIS)
Asset Inventory Service is a hosted inventory service that scans and analyzes all the applications on customers’ desktops and translates inventory data into useful and actionable information. Basically, it’s a company-wide monitor that allows customers to track the software that they have deployed within their organization. With 1.5, customers can now see license reconciliation along with inventory information. This allows them to clearly see if all software deployed within their enterprise is compliant with license agreements. Having deployment and licensing information in one place is critical to software asset management, specifically when looking at true-ups, renewals, and license reallocation. This new version of the service will be available in November 2008.
Advanced Group Policy Management 3.0 (AGPM)
Advanced Group Policy Management 3.0, which enables governance and change controls over the deployment of group policy objects in your IT environment, adds customizable permissions to enforce the use of the Group Policy change management tool within an organization. This new feature gives AGPM administrators the ability to customize the permissions that are set on production GPOs controlled by AGPM. Enhanced Tracking allows customers to use AGPM for compliance with branch specific regulations. The new version of AGPM is compatible with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1, and offers full support for 64 bit machines, as well as and the newly introduced Group Policy Preferences. It’s a major overhaul that makes AGPM a true “must-have.”
But wait…there’s more!
It’s important to note that this isn’t the end of our development cycle. Rather, it’s another milestone on our continuing mission to make 1 plus 1 always equal 3 (or more!) standard math when it comes to Desktops. Next, in the first half of 2009, we’re planning to release Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V). MED-V, which will be the first Microsoft-branded release of the recently acquired Kidaro technology, will be a key addition to MDOP; it provides a secure, fast, manageable, local hardware virtualization solution that complements App-V, and will serve to further strengthen our “desktop to datacenter” virtualization story.
We hope that you’re as excited with MDOP 2008 R2 – and the news that more is on the way – as we are. The question I have for you is: How will you use Windows Vista and MDOP to optimize your desktop experience? Leave us a comment and let us know!
Jameel
I'm relaying the following post on behalf of my colleague Shanen Boettcher, General Manager of Windows Product Management for the enterprise:
We’ve talked several times, most recently in May, and earlier in January, about our vision for the Optimized Desktop, and the critical role desktop virtualization plays within it. Today we’re announcing that we’ve reached a number of important milestones in helping customers harness the power of an Optimized Desktop, in which physical and virtual resources are centrally managed by IT, and seamlessly deployed to users via technologies like application virtualization. This enables IT managers to maintain complete control over user desktops, which results in higher uptime and levels of performance company-wide, but also drives end-user productivity by giving them great performance and flexibility on a computer that doesn’t feel “locked down”. In short, the Optimized Desktop eliminates the “tug-of-war” that exists between IT and end-user needs in a traditional desktop infrastructure. You’ve heard me talk about this before, and today, we’re taking the Optimized Desktop even further.
Application Virtualization with App-V 4.5: a win-win for end users and IT managers
First, I’m proud to announce that App-V 4.5, formerly SoftGrid Application Virtualization, has hit “RTM” (Release To Manufacturing) status, which means that it will be available as part of the forthcoming MDOP 2008 R2 release in the next several weeks. App-V 4.5 epitomizes what the optimized desktop is all about; centrally managed IT providing a seamless, unobtrusive, highly flexible solution for end users. It’s a win-win – IT maintains control over the infrastructure to ensure uptime, performance and end-to-end license compliance, and users have instant access to their applications, without worrying about software installs, application management, or potential software conflicts. It’s a completely customized, on demand approach to desktop management…and one that any fan of “instant gratification” will love!
App-V 4.5 is a big step forward towards making application virtualization a universally deployed desktop technology. Besides changing the name and making it the first Microsoft-branded release, we’ve included new capabilities that will help IT support large-scale virtualization implementations across many sites and provides multiple delivery options, including over-the-internet application delivery. Newly added support for eleven languages makes this a truly global release. Dynamic Suite Composition (DSC) provides administrator-controlled virtual application communication and interaction, and compliance with Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing and Secure by Default initiatives – two of our most important IT security programs - was also introduced in this release. A more detailed list of technical specifics is available on the App-V blog.
While App-V 4.5 is powerful by itself, great management unleashes its true potential. As I’ve said before, management is the killer app for virtualization, and it’s also the keystone of an Optimized Desktop infrastructure. With Microsoft management tools, you’re able to see a holistic view of your entire physical and virtual infrastructure which enables you to effectively manage resources and proactively prevent problems. This is why the release of System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) 2007 R2 and the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Management Pack for App-V 4.5 servers, and the App-V Group Policy Administrative template are so important. With these tools in hand, customers can natively integrate App-V 4.5 distribution and streaming technology into their Configuration Manager infrastructure, eliminating the need for separate tools to deploy, manage and track licenses for App-V 4.5 applications, and giving their IT departments the ability to more effectively control IT resources from a single location. Ask any IT administrator, and he or she will tell you that that’s an enormous time-saver and stress-reducer. For more technical details of how System Center and App-V work together to give IT admins easier control over their environment, visit the System Center Team Blog.
App-V 4.5 will also feature a new Service Providers License Agreement (SPLA), officially called Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Hosting for Desktops, which will enable service providers to use App-V 4.5 to deliver third-party ISV developed applications to customers via the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. SaaS powered by App-V is a key enabler to closing the “digital divide” that exists between large enterprises with robust IT capabilities, and small businesses with limited resources. By outsourcing IT functions via service providers, small businesses are able to focus less on maintaining an IT infrastructure and more on growing their core businesses, which in turn allows them to compete more effectively in the marketplace. It’s an important opportunity for businesses to optimize their desktops, even if they lack the resources to build them out in-house.
New Licensing Changes Address Tomorrow’s Challenges
The Optimized Desktop isn’t just about addressing today’s challenges. To help give IT departments the flexibility to make their Optimized Desktop infrastructure ready for the next generation of users, we’re expanding the Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) license beyond VDI to provide additional flexibility for emerging use cases in the Enterprise. This proactive licensing change, which will take effect January 1st, 2009, will enable several nascent user scenarios:
· Employee owned machines: Traditionally, computers are purchased as company assets and distributed to employees based on job function. Some companies are trialing permitting users to buy the PC of their choice with a company stipend. The changes enable early-adopter companies to let users purchase with the PC of their choice, but still perform business tasks in a secure, standard Windows Vista desktop image running in a virtual machine. IT departments can enable this scenario via VECD for $110 per PC/year.
· Contract Workers: Companies can use VECD to deploy a standard, sandboxed, Windows Vista virtual machine for use on contractor machines for $110 per PC/yr. By enabling all workers, even contractors, to work with a standard image, companies can improve productivity and reduce IT headaches by enforcing application, security, and document standards.
· Desktop-based employees who occasionally from home: VECD also enables desktop-based workers to take a local copy of their Windows Vista virtual machine to any VECD covered Windows machine at work or to take it home. VECD permits this scenario for $23 per PC /year.
Microsoft + Partners = More flexible solutions for customers
Finally, it’s important to note that the Optimized Desktop concept isn’t just a Microsoft initiative. Rather, it’s something that our vast partner community is working towards as well. They know, as do we, that by working together, we’re able to provide the most flexible, complete desktop experience possible. That’s why I am proud that Citrix, one of Microsoft’s longest standing partners, will release a new version of Citrix® XenDesktop™ desktop virtualization solution that will integrate with Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (SCVMM) for quick provisioning and intelligent placement of virtual machines, and enable Windows Vista desktops to run on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. This integration is another example of how Microsoft and Citrix partnering to provide server hosted desktops and providing users with deployment choice as part of an Optimized Desktop strategy.
You’re probably thinking to yourself “Wow! That’s a lot of news!”, and you’d be right! But if you step back just a bit, you’ll see the real picture come into focus. This isn’t a series of isolated announcements; it’s a unified set of important advancements that drive the value - and the promise - of an Optimized Desktop as part of our broader virtualization strategy from the desktop to the datacenter. With today’s announcements, and the announcements that you’ll see from us in the coming weeks, Microsoft is moving forward and delivering on its promise to provide customers with a suite of virtualization, management and licensing options that truly optimize their computing experience by delivering scenarios that strike the right balance of end-user flexibility and productivity and IT Pro management and control.
WPC is here and our team is having a blast talking to people at the booth and throughout the conference. We really enjoyed talking to everyone who stopped by our booth. Just a reminder to those of you at WPC who haven't stopped by to say hi, make sure you do before the conference ends!
Hopefully by now you've all gotten a chance to see Allison Watson's Keynote address either in person or on the web, but for those of you who missed it, you can check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/digitalwpc/ in the keynotes tab. If you skip ahead to 1:51 you can watch our very own Jameel Khalfan demo the Replaceable PC.
Using Windows Vista Enterprise, Bitlocker, Profile Virtualization, and Application Virtualization, we were able to take a laptop with all of Allison's settings, backgrounds, files, and applications and drop it off the stage. Then we logged into a brand new laptop with her credentials and all of her data, settings, and applications instantly came down. This is a great solution that our customers and partners can implement today to help reduce costs and downtime for end users. Even if the PC is lost or stolen, Bitlocker will keep the data protected. Plus, it is a pretty impressive demo.
Thanks again to everyone out there for making WPC such a success!
-- Varun Chirravuri on behalf of the MDOP team
The MDOP PMG has been busy, and there’s no sign of us slowing down. Here’s some recent coverage of our activities, as well as a heads up on our upcoming events. Enjoy!
MDOP In The Spotlight:
The MDOP team made quite a splash at the Microsoft Tech-Ed 2008 conference in Orlando, which just ended on June 13, 2008. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Windows IT Pro highlights the Keynote speech given by Microsoft Senior Vice President Bob Muglia. In it, Bob demoed the newest member of the MDOP offering, Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization--formerly Kidaro. You can find a video of the keynote here, and if you skip to min 55, you’ll see none other than MDOP Product Management Group's own Jameel Khalfan on stage demoing the Kidaro acquisition! Way to go Jameel!
Redmond Channel Partner Online, Bink.nu, Scott Lowe's Blog, and Redmond Developer News also had excellent coverage of the event.
Upcoming MDOP News:
The MDOP team is gearing up for the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Houston, Texas. Heading out this year will be Jameel Khalfan (of TechEd keynote demo fame). Jameel will be giving a series of presentations as well as working our booth. Make sure you stop by to learn about our products or just to say hi!
Some important events to keep in mind for WPC:
Tuesday July 8:
8:30AM - Keynote address with Allison Watson featuring an App-V demo at the Toyota Center
4:30PM - Optimized Desktop session in room 362CF
Wednesday July 9:
3:00PM - Erwin Visser is presenting on new service models with Windows Vista and Desktop Optimization Pack in room 362CF
Thursday July 10:
1:30PM - Joshua Schnoll and Jameel Khalfan present on "Desktop Virtualization: Your Opportunity" in the General Assembly Theater
-- Varun Chirravuri on behalf of the MDOP team
Welcome all to The Official MDOP Blog, your official source for all things related to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack! This blog is published and managed by the MDOP Product Management Team and will be packed with information on updates, releases, tips & tricks, and important news that surfaces about our offerings.
What is MDOP?
I know that many of you are very familiar with MDOP, but for the sake of our new friends, I’d like to give you the quick overview of the Pack and what it includes. In short, MDOP is a way to improve IT effectiveness, accelerate processes, and reduce the total cost of ownership of Windows Desktops across your enterprise platform. The Pack includes 5 great tools :
· Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) – Dynamically streams software as a centrally managed service
· Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) – Enhances group policy through change management
· Asset Inventory Service (AIS) – Translates software inventory into business intelligence
· Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) – Accelerates desktop repair
· Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM) – Manages applications and operating system failures proactively
· Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) – Formerly Kidaro. Enhances deployment and management of Virtual PC images on a Windows Desktop. Coming soon.
To help you get to know MDOP better, there are a number of great free resources online. Be sure to check them out for the latest MDOP news, tips, tricks and success stories:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/enterprise/benefits/tools.mspx -- The Windows Vista site for Vista Desktop Management products. Watch demos, read whitepapers, and hear what benefits other customers have realized with MDOP products. Provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the individual technologies as well.
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/05/22/update-windows-optimized-desktop-for-the-enterprise.aspx -- The Windows Vista blog posts a message from our GM Shanen Boettcher detailing the benefits of MDOP. Does a good job summarizing the big picture to answer the question "why MDOP?"
http://blogs.technet.com/softgrid/ -- For those of you interested in learning about our Application Virtualization (App-V) product, their team has put together a great blog full of case studies, product updates, and links to web articles on App-V.
Well, that's all for now, but be sure to keep checking this blog for updates and news on the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack!
--Varun Chirravuri on behalf of the MDOP team
