Mick Huxley

Windows 7 A Week Away

It may seem strange that a Server Architect is more excited about the release of a desktop operating system than it’s server brother but that’s how I feel.  Next week Volume License customers (myself included) and TechNet / MSDN subscribers get their hands on the RTM version of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V Server 2.  So why am I excited about Windows 7 and not 2008 R2??  Simple.. it has more chance of getting deployed to it’s full extent sooner.

Many Organisations that I work with are not interested in Hyper-V, personally though, I quite like it.  When coupled with System Centre Virtual Machine Manager it is a great alternative to ESX.  However like all products it has it’s place in the market and until R2 and ‘live migration’ become a reality it’s place is somewhat limited inside the Data centre.

Score check: Windows 7 – 0, Windows Server 2008 R2 – 0

For many organisations that haven’t taken the plunge into full volume encryption, Bitlocker and particularly Bitlocker-to-go offer a great breakthrough.  With key escrow in Active Directory, rapid deployment times and being included as an out-of-the-box product on Ultimate and Enterprise SKU’s it’s a great way to get end point encryption deployed.

Score check: Windows 7 – 2 (Bitlocker and Bitlocker-to-go both score), Windows Server 2008 R2 – 0

Direct Access is a brilliant addition to Windows Server 2008 R2.  Basically it provides an always on VPN.  You fire up your corporate laptop on the Internet and it will tunnel back home and allow you to access devices as if you were sitting at your desk.  The downside is the amount of infrastructure required to get Direct Access working and the investment most Organisations already have in Remote Access so it can’t score a point here.  It also requires Windows 7, so would remain score natural either way.

Score check: Windows 7 – 2, Windows Server 2008 R2 – 0

MED-V and XP Mode in Windows 7 allows for Intel-VT and AMD-V procs to run a virtual Windows XP environment to run apps that are not compatible with Windows 7 inside a VM with full network connectivity making the transition to Windows 7 possible without the immediate requirement to get all the apps either updated or shimmed.

Score check: Windows 7 – 3, Windows Server 2008 R2 – 0

Branch Cache is another cool feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 which basically acts like a WAN acceleration device, think Riverbed or Expand, and caches files which have been accessed across the WAN, speeding up access times for all subsequent users.  Similar to Direct Access it requires Windows 7 and many Organisations already have an investment in this type of technology which rules out an immediate gain.

Score check: Windows 7 – 3, Windows Server 2008 R2 – 0

Staying on Windows Server 2008 R2, Active Directory Recycle Bin and Power Shell AD Administration.  The first requires 2008 R2 Domain Functional level so start upgrading, the second just a single 2008 R2 DC.

Score check: Windows 7 – 3, Windows Server 2008 R2 – 2

Finally at the end of the day I never forget that whilst we are IT Pros or Dev’s we are still users ourselves and therefore need to look at the user experience in Windows 7.  The performance gains over Vista, Jump Lists, search and library functions are enough to keep me happy.

Final score Windows 7 – 4 and Windows Server 2008 R2 – 2. 

Enjoy the RTM trip and I’ll see you @ Tech.Ed