Troubleshooting Windows 7 deployments: Maybe two trips to Vegas are in my future
I hate Las Vegas. I've successfully whittled down my travel schedule so that I have only have to be there once a year (for Microsoft's Mix conference). But I'm starting to wonder whether I'm going to have to break my own rule and go twice in 2010.
The Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) 2010, back in Las Vegas yet again, has some interesting sessions on the docket, even for those IT pros who aren't Configuration Manager geeks. MMS runs from April 19 to April 23.
Microsoft is slated to detail in depth at MMS two new management products the final versions of which it is on tap to roll out a few weeks after the conference: System Center Essentials 2010 and Data Protection Manager 2010. There's the intriguing sounding "Troubleshooting Windows 7 Deployments" on the just-released full session line-up. And there are promises of more about the Dynamic Infrastructure Toolkit for System Center -- the tool Microsoft introduced this partner-centric offering a year ago with claims of it being a key piece of its foundation for its private cloud. The final version of the Dynamic Infrastructure Toolkit is due out in the first half of 2010.
System Center, Microsoft's suite of management products, is already over a billion-dollar business for Microsoft. And making management integral to everything from Windows 8 to Windows Mobile is top of mind inside Microsoft these days.
Yes, I used Windows 7 in the headline for this post because "DPM 2010: Coming soon" would scare off more than attract most readers. But the upcoming releases of Microsoft's key management wares are worth a look, in their own right.
System Center Essentials 2010, currently in the near-final Release Candidate test phase of development, is a new software deployment and patch app aimed at mid-size businesses with between 50 and 500 PCs. It is a bundle built with other System Center products -- and like other products in the Microsoft "Essentials" family, scaled to target mid-market users. DPM 2010 is all about protection and recovery of Exchange 2010 and 2007, SharePoint 2010 and 2007 and SQL Server 2008.
And here's more on that touted and potentially handy Windows 7 session from the MMS session line-up:
Troubleshooting Windows 7 Deployments Speaker(s): Michael Niehaus
When everything works, Windows 7 deployment is great. But what about when things break? In this session, we'll look at common causes and solutions for failed Windows 7 deployments, looking at issues with the Windows 7 installation process itself (SETUP and related tools), Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 (Lite Touch), and ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 (Zero Touch).
I'm hoping and expecting the Softies to say more about the "System Center Cloud" strategy/offering that Microsoft Server and Tools President Bob Muglia mentioned during his keynote last fall at the Professional Developers Conference. If they end up doing so, then another Vegas sojourn is definitely in the cards for me....