Jan 21, 2009

Microsoft Tweaks Deployment Tools For Windows 7

Microsoft officials have said relatively little about the features and functionality the company is building into Windows 7 for business (as opposed to home) users. But a new blog post on the Windows System Deployment blog previews some of the changes enterprises can expect around Windows 7 deployment tools.

Post author Patrick Azzarello, a Senior Program Manager on the Windows OS Deployment Team, notes that the deployment changes with 7 should be smaller and less onerous than those introduced with Vista:

“Don’t worry though – these are mostly enhancements (where in Windows Vista we pretty much changed all the tools and infrastructure used to build and deploy Windows).”

In his January 20 blog post, Azzarello said the deployment changes in Windows 7 fall primarily into three buckets: Windows set-up; servicing infrastructure and tools that are part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (for corporate users) or OEM Pre-installation Kit for resellers); and network-based deployment.

In terms of set-up, Microsoft has moved the license key to the Windows Welcome page. It also is enabling “specific, licensed components,” as an alternative to re-imaging a system to make upgrading  from different Windows 7 versions (like Home Premium to Ultimate) easier, Azzarello blogged. (full Story)

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