Microsoft Installer See MSI . MSI Microsoft Installer ; also called Windows Installer . cf.: OCM . Microsoft application installer technology: [ More Info ]. Installation technology used by all versions of Visual Studio . Also used by all "Redistributable...

My name is Blair Neumann and I am the Microsoft Program Manager in charge of update deployment for the Developer Division Customer Product-lifecycle Experience (DD.CPX) team. That's a long way of saying that I am the person in charge of getting product updates (service packs and hotfixes) for Visual Studio and the .NET Framework into distribution channels like Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the Microsoft Download Center. Okay, that was longer.

In the bad old days, before specialized update deployment program management, it was the responsibility of the update release manager to deploy their own updates. And in a sense, things haven't really changed so much from the bad old days, except that they have. Let me explain.

I have a vision statement up on my wall. It says this: "Deliver the right updates to the right customers at the right time."

The intention of this blog is to help give the interested public some view into the complexities of servicing Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. Other blogs exist on the subject, and this blog is by no means official or authoritative. Rather, this blog represents the personal views of its author where that author is in the unique position of being responsible for the deployment of updates for Visual Studio and the .NET Framework.