Did you think that VHD files were only for Virtualization ? In this screen cast you can see the different ways that Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 can use VHD files, this will show different ways that we can configure boot from VHD, how we can work with VHD files from the command line and GUI, and even how you can access the files in a full image backup VHD file.
The announcement of Windows XP mode caused a lot of excitement, in this screen cast we have a look at how it is setup up, what users see and get an idea of what it can do.
Download XP Mode for Windows 7.
Want to learn how to "Boot from VHD" with the new operating systems we have coming? How about "Dual Boot" with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 ???
It's simpler than you think. Checkout this video and see the full background and details at http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2009/05/22/dual-boot-from-vhd-using-windows-7-and-windows-server-2008-r2.aspx.
Well that's a question!!! :o)
Recently the Microsoft IT team delivered a number of great case studies showing how “we” Microsoft do app-v internally! Its a great read and really shows how a large organization like Microsoft has really used App-V to assist us in moving quickly!
Microsoft Application Virtualization: Sequencing Applications for Deployment at Microsoft
Application Virtualization (App-V) sequencing consists of application categorization, package engineering, and dependency management. Thoughtful sequencing maintains the performance and functionality of virtual applications, resulting in a positive end user experience. This content provides an introduction to the tasks and standards that Microsoft considers when sequencing applications.
Added: Wednesday, 20 May 2009
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd871278.aspx
Architecting the Virtual Application Infrastructure at Microsoft
Microsoft is evaluating Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 (App-V) as a method to lower application management life cycle costs. App-V 4.5, in conjunction with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2, provides an infrastructure for deploying virtualized rich client applications within an enterprise environment. When planned carefully, the same tools can be used to deploy a virtualized application that would normally deploy a desktop application.
Added: Wednesday, 20 May 2009
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032415083&Culture=en-US
Enjoy!
Justin
With the public availability of Windows 7 RC, Windows Server 2008 R2 RC and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, you may want the Windows 7 RC Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) tools which are now publicly available.
What is RSAT
RSAT Client is the collection of Windows Server management tools which enable IT professionals to manage their Windows Server infrastructure from their PCs running Windows 7. RSAT Client is available to all customers as part of the supplemental Microsoft Software License Terms to Windows 7 licenses.
Where to Install
The main download page is here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=f6c62797-791c-48e3-b754-c7c0a09f32f3&displaylang=en
• Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 RC (x86): http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/F/C/1FC27A82-15D9-4D93-B3BC-24204175F9DF/Windows6.1-KB958830-x86.msu
• Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 RC (x64): http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/F/C/1FC27A82-15D9-4D93-B3BC-24204175F9DF/Windows6.1-KB958830-x64.msu
What is included in RSAT?
This is the list of Windows Server administration tools which are included in RSAT Client for Win7 RC:
Server Administration Tools:
• Server Manager
Role Administration Tools:
• Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Tools
• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools
• DHCP Server Tools
• DNS Server Tools
• File Services Tools
• Hyper-V Tools
• Terminal Services Tools
Feature Administration Tools:
• BitLocker Password Recovery Viewer
• Failover Clustering Tools
• Group Policy Management Tools
• Network Load Balancing Tools
• SMTP Server Tools
• Storage Explorer Tools
• Storage Manager for SANs Tools
• Windows System Resource Manager Tools
I have been getting slammed with this question, How can I download App-V CU1 for Terminal Servers? Many Many customers just did not know where to get App-V CU1 for TS and I must admit it even caught me a bit by surprise. So to help solve this I wanted to type this up…. many many moons ago I wrote an article which told you how to get the App-v TS 4.5 RTM product! Well this wont be too far off…….
To download it;
1) go to http://licensing.microsoft.com and sign in with your Windows Live ID
2) In the main page you should see a section for Product Downloads click here
3) In the product lists go to the Windows Servers section and under this you should find a Application Virtualization 4.5 For Terminal Services click the name to go to the download options. Now although the date of the released date will say 2008-10-09 (THIS IS THE CORRECT VERSION FOR CU1)
NB 13/05/2009 : The date for this has changed to 2009-03-15
4) Select you language and download speed and click Continue Download
5) Select your download method and away you go, notice that the .exe has a slightly different name to the original binaries that were located here
6) Once you download the binaries (SW_CD_App_Virt_CAL_for_TS_4.5_English_CU1_MLF_X15-51720.exe) you should be able to extract the .exe where the client binaries are located. You will notice that the Product Version is 4.5.1.1.5580.
Good luck for all the people implementing the product and UPGRADING!!!! May your Terminal Server boxes consolidate and stay highly available!!!
Today the Windows Virtualization Team, Blogged the availability of Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate. Jeff Woolsey and the team awesome.
I am off for a week and a bit so over to Mr Zarb for some MS insight :)
The Virtualization team is pleased to announce the availability of the Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate for download. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, our free standalone hypervisor, represents our continued commitment to providing high performance, hypervisor based virtualization for everyone, especially small and mid-market customers. This release underscores our customer focus by adding key new capabilities such as Live Migration and High Availability (and more.). The Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 Release Candidate is available here:
http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v-server/en/us/default.aspx
Free Live Migration and High Availability? Really?
A couple weeks ago, Zane Adam first blogged the news that Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 would include Live Migration and High Availability at no charge. The response from our customers was "AWESOME!! When is the final release?" :-) Understandably, the phone's been ringing off the hook, my inbox has been on overdrive and some folks in the blogosphere have been trying to imply <cough, cough, FUD> that there are some strings attached. So, I wanted to take a moment to provide more details about the upcoming Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 release and free Live Migration & High Availability.
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Availability
When Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 goes gold and is released to manufacturing (RTM) the bits will be available as a free download here:
http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v-server/en/us/default.aspx
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 will be available worldwide in 11 languages.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes Live Migration and High Availability. Period. No Strings Attached.
Live Migration is a great solution for planned downtime such as servicing the underlying hardware like adding more memory, storage or applying a BIOS update. Simply Live Migrate the virtual machines to another server (without downtime) shutdown the physical server and perform the maintenance. When the maintenance is complete, Live Migrate the virtual machines back and your done.
High Availability is a great solution for unplanned downtime. For example, suppose someone accidentally unplugs the wrong power cable on a server. The virtual machine on the server that just unexpectedly went down will automatically restart on another node without any user intervention.
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes both these capabilities as well as our new Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) capabilities to simplify storage management and run multiple virtual machines from a single LUN.
Managing Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Live Migration and High Availability can be managed in a few different ways:
- Failover Cluster Manager/Hyper-V Manager from a Windows Server 2008 R2 Server OR,
- System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 OR,
.using the FREELY (there's that word again) available Failover Cluster Manager/Hyper-V Manager for Windows 7. So, as you can see, there are a few different options depending on your needs and option three give you Live Migration and High Availability at zero cost.
BTW: If you decide to go with option #2 System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, you certainly can do a lot more such as:
- Heterogeneous Virtualization Management
- Rich PowerShell Support for Datacenter Automation
- Maintenance mode
- Virtual Machine Library Support
- Templates, Clones, Sysprep Integration
- Performance Resource Optimization (PRO)
.and a lot, lot more. But, I digress.
$$$ Comparison
Let's take a look at a few cluster configurations and compare costs for Live Migration and High Availability functionality.
| | Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 | VMware vSphere |
| 3 Node Cluster; 2 Socket Servers | Free | $13,470 |
| 3 Node Cluster; 4 Socket Servers | Free | $26,940 |
| 5 Node Cluster; 2 Socket Servers | Free | $22,450 |
| 5 Node Cluster; 4 Socket Servers | Free | $44,900 |
You may be wondering, "Did he choose the most expensive VMware configuration?" On the contrary, I chose the least expensive configuration ($2245 per processor) that offers both Live Migration and High Availability.
You may be wondering, "Why isn't System Center management represented here?"
In this example, I simply wanted to compare the lowest cost for Live Migration and High Availability functionality from Microsoft and VMware with some real world configurations that a small/medium business may use. I will post a follow-up blog that adds management for small/medium businesses. As for enterprise customers, they typically have larger server farms with more sophisticated management requirements. That's another blog for another time.
You may also be wondering, "Why isn't the cost of guest operating systems included here?"
Simple, neither Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 nor VMware include any guest operating system licenses so if you need to run 4 copies of Windows Server, you need to purchase the appropriate license. That cost is the same whether you're running Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 or VMware so I didn't bother to include it.
While VMware claims to be more affordable the facts are clear and the value of Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is undeniable. Microsoft offers exceptional value especially for small and mid-market customers who have told us for years how they would like Live Migration/High Availability functionality and simply can't afford it.
Those days are over.
At this point you may be thinking we're crazy to provide virtualization live migration and high availability at no cost. Well, I wish we could say we were first, but the folks at Xen have been providing free Live Migration and HA for a few months. In fact, the only one still charging for Live Migration and High Availability ($2245+ per socket) is VMware.
Now that's crazy.
Jeff Woolsey
Principal Group Program Manager
Windows Server, Hyper-V
Continuing to build a community Talking About Windows the second video is now out. I really link this thinking with memories off many late nights.
<![CDATA[<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=a5865e30-5451-4273-9cdd-d42bd5480a0e" target="_new" title="Up All Night - Talking About Windows viral video #2">Video: Up All Night - Talking About Windows viral video #2</a>]]>
Morning all, its here just download and install and enjoy. Public release of Windows 7 RC.
Hopefully you have been able to get and install Windows 7 RC. If not I think we killed the internet yesterday due to demand certainly MSDN.
What's next? from an Application Compatibility and Virtualisation perspective I will be taking a look at the recently announced Windows XP Mode for Windows 7.
The great news is that it is also now available for you to try! Get it again from MSDN or TechNet.
From MSDN its filed under Windows Virtual PC
So for the past couple of hours I have been logged into the MSDN Site waiting, waiting, refresh, refresh, refresh…..
Its here all! As you can see the download for build 7100 is in progress. General Public availability is May the 5th.
For you all with MSDN or TechNet Subscriptions, get it NOW!
More information comes to light about Windows 7 and Windows XP Mode: I am looking forward to playing with this more soon. More information check out the press pass site.
REDMOND, Wash. — April 28, 2009 — As part of the upcoming Windows 7 Release Candidate milestone, Microsoft will release a beta version of Windows XP Mode, which allows users of Windows 7 Professional and above to launch many older Windows XP productivity applications directly from their Windows 7 desktop. The Windows XP Mode stand-alone feature is specifically designed to help small businesses that are using Windows XP applications move to Windows 7. For larger businesses, Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) MED-V 2.0 builds on top of Windows Virtual PC and provides centralized management of Windows XP Mode. MED-V 2.0 will be available in beta within 90 days of general availability of Windows 7.
PressPass spoke with Scott Woodgate, director of Desktop Virtualization and Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) at Microsoft, to find out how this new advancement is helping ensure a smooth transition for customers planning to migrate to Windows 7.
PressPass: What are you announcing today?
Woodgate: We are announcing the beta release of Windows XP Mode for Windows 7. Small businesses told us they wanted help upgrading to Windows 7. Windows XP Mode, an optional feature of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions, helps small businesses upgrade to Windows 7 by providing a virtual Windows XP environment capable of running many Windows XP-compatible business and productivity applications. Customers can run many older Windows XP business and productivity applications within Windows XP Mode and launch them from the Windows 7 desktop with just a single click. A beta of Windows XP Mode will be made available on April 30.
PressPass: How does Windows XP Mode work?
Windows XP Mode is the combination of two features. The first part is a pre-packaged virtual Windows XP environment. The second is Windows Virtual PC, which is used to run the virtual Windows XP environment. Customers can install their applications into Windows XP Mode using typical installation processes such as downloading from the Web or using the product CD. Once installed, the applications are automatically available on the Windows 7 Start Menu and can be launched just like any Windows 7 program. Optionally, these Windows XP applications can be pinned to the Windows 7 Task Bar and launched using just a single click from the Windows 7 desktop.
PressPass: What types of applications are suited for Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC stand-alone?
Woodgate: Windows XP Mode is best suited for older business and productivity applications such as accounting, inventory and similar applications. Windows XP Mode is not aimed at consumers because many consumer applications require extensive use of hardware interfaces such as 3-D graphics, audio, and TV tuners that do not work well under virtualization today. The sweet spot for applications that run in Windows Virtual PC is business and productivity applications that tend to conform to the basic Windows API (Application Programming Interface.) Small businesses operate under constrained resources and are highly sensitive to the time and expense required to upgrade their PC. Windows XP Mode provides small businesses with the ability to run many Windows XP applications, saving time and expense, but Windows XP Mode does not have 100 percent compatibility with all Windows XP applications. We encourage ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) and customers to install their applications in Windows XP Mode during the beta timeframe and provide us with feedback on their experiences.
PressPass: Does Windows XP Mode offer any benefits for larger businesses? How does this announcement relate to Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V)?
Woodgate: Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC as stand-alone features are specifically designed for small businesses and provide an unmanaged IT experience. For larger businesses looking to reduce the cost of ownership of deploying Windows Virtual PCs across hundreds of users, Microsoft provides MED-V. MED-V is one of the six components in Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), a dynamic desktop solution designed for better management and control of enterprise desktop environments. MED-V is the management tool for Windows Virtual PC; it builds on top of Windows Virtual PC to run two operating systems on one device. Basically, by adding virtual image delivery and policy-based provisioning, it facilitates centralized management. This is a great tool for IT pros who want to reduce the cost of managing and deploying Windows Virtual PC.
Key features that MED-V provides include centralized management, policy-based provisioning and virtual image delivery. MED-V v1 is available today for Windows Vista and provides management for Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. MED-V 2.0 will be available in beta within 90 days of the general availability of Windows 7 and will be extended to manage Windows Virtual PC on 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7.
PressPass: How do small businesses handle these management tasks?
Woodgate: An important consideration of working with virtualization technology is the fact that the user has both the physical and the virtual PC to maintain. Every PC requires a degree of maintenance including but not limited to keeping the operating system and applications up to date with patches, virus and malware protection, and backup. Windows XP Mode is pre-configured with the Windows XP firewall and to apply updates automatically from Windows Update. It is not pre-configured with anti-virus or anti-malware software, which is recommended. Because of the need to maintain the virtual machine, we recommend everyone make best efforts to upgrade applications to run natively in Windows 7 and use Windows XP Mode only when necessary.
PressPass: How does Windows XP Mode align with Microsoft’s commitment to application compatibility?
Woodgate: With Windows 7, we’ve worked very hard to maintain compatibility with Windows Vista applications. We have an array of tools and resources to help with application compatibility. Virtually all Windows Vista-compatible applications, as well as the majority of Windows XP applications, run unmodified on Windows 7. For those that do not, the Programs Troubleshooter in the Control Panel provides a wizard interface to employ compatibility features that allow applications to run natively on Windows 7. For IT pros the Application Compatibility Toolkit provides finer-grained control over the compatibility features, also referred to as “shims.” When an application cannot run or be natively shimmed, that’s when it’s most appropriate to use Windows XP Mode technology.
PressPass: How can customers get Windows XP Mode?
Woodgate: Beta testers can download Windows Virtual PC and the virtual Windows XP environment later this week. When Windows XP Mode is released to production, there will be two ways for customers to get Windows XP Mode. The easiest way will be to get it pre-installed on a PC from an original equipment manufacturer or local value-added reseller. This requires minimum configuration and delivers the most compelling experience for small to medium-sized businesses. As an alternative, Windows Virtual PC and Virtual Windows XP will be available as downloads from Microsoft.com for Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise customers. Windows Virtual PC requires PCs with Intel VT or AMD-V hardware virtualization technology enabled in the PC BIOS. Windows XP Mode can be installed by anyone with reasonable PC maintenance experience; however, it is definitely easier to acquire via a new PC.
PressPass: Does Windows 7 have higher system requirements with Windows XP Mode installed?
Woodgate: Yes. We recommend that customers use Windows XP Mode on a PC with 2GB of memory. We also recommend an additional 15 GB of additional disk space for Windows XP Mode. In addition, Windows Virtual PC requires a PC with Intel-VT or AMD-V enabled in the CPU, as it takes advantage of the latest advancements in hardware virtualization.
PressPass: What have you heard from your customers about Windows XP Mode?
Woodgate: The early feedback we’ve received from customers on the concept is very positive, saying that they value our commitment to helping them manage their business. This new release reinforces our efforts to fuel business success by providing the right tools for our customers to flourish and succeed. By empowering our customers with Windows XP Mode, we are giving them the best of both worlds. They can now conveniently migrate to Windows 7 and move existing applications that may not have been compatible directly with Windows 7.
A really cool viral Video has been launched to showcase the new Talking About Windows web site. I just think this is really cool. Check out the video and learn all about BitLocker to Go from our Windows Experts and of course visit the site.
Talking About Windows – BitLocker to Go Talking About Windows is a new website that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Windows 7 from the Microsoft engineers who helped build product as well as showcasing real IT Professionals talking candidly about their implementations and experiences in considering a more modern OS. This is done through a series of videos hosted within the Talking About Windows Website.
Through Talking About Windows, IT Professionals can listen as our engineers discuss why certain product decisions and feature trade-offs were made in Windows 7 from the likes of Mark Russinovich – a Technical Fellow here at Microsoft (and founder of Windows Sysinternals) - as well as Jon DeVaan, Senior Vice President for the Windows Core Operating System. A great line-up of videos with the people behind Windows 7 can be found at Talking About Windows to with more on the way!
The Other day I posted around the SFT File Format. Well I wanted to also expand on some great work that some people in the field have done. For example Kalle Saunamaki has done lots of work around SFT file format and using .NET language, and if you need a helping hand in getting to grips with the format there are some tools out there to assist; for example Lib-V (http://www.gridmetric.com/products/libv.html).
Lib-V is a .NET -based library component that makes it possible for you to incorporate either reading or read/write capabilities of Microsoft App-V's SFT fileformat into your own applications. Making it possible to have full control over SoftGrid/App-V packages in your application and creating instant added value to it.
Lib-V is available in pre-compiled binary .NET assembly, with either read-only or read/write capabilities.
Its a rather interesting tool. and just shows what you can do with the SFT File Format knowledge!
Confirmation from the Windows Team Blog that the wait is almost over. RC is nearly here :)
There certainly has been a lot of discussion about Windows 7 in the last few weeks. A lot of folks want to know when they can get their hands on the official RC, when we are going to RTM, and what I had for breakfast.
I’m pleased to share that the RC is on track for April 30th for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th.
On behalf of everyone here, I would to thank all of our beta testers for helping us get to this point. You guys have been busy. At the peak of the feedback cycle, we were receiving a “Send Feedback” report every 15 seconds for an entire week. Since then, the engineering team has been busy analyzing the feedback, fixing bugs, and working hard to improve the overall experience. Many of your suggestions helped us refine the new and improved taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, Windows Media Player, and much more. In case you have missed the previous E7 blog entry outlining some of these changes in detail, you can read about them here and here
