Windows Server 2008

Today’s post comes to us from David Trupkin, Sr Product Manager for App-V and MED-V

One of the ways I can tell it’s going to be a good day at work is when I look at my calendar in the morning and see that I’ve got some sort of IT Pro related activity on my schedule. As the product manager for Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) and Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V), I find your feedback particularly valuable. Considering my own background as an IT Pro, I enjoy helping you solve business problems.

According to Wang Dong who is a Vice-Director of the Information Management Head Department at Tsingtao Brewery, and the sixth largest beer producer in the world, it takes “40 minutes to perform a Windows 7 Enterprise deployment.” That’s fast!

We’ve had a great response to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) through the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update. Windows 7 SP1 continues to roll out on Windows Update. For customers with IT departments, today we are making SP1 available on the WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) catalog, which makes it available through management tools including WSUS, System Center and others.

Starting today, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 will be available to everyone via the Microsoft Download Center and start rolling out via Windows Update. Most people will simply get Windows 7 SP1 via Windows Update when it becomes available to them (See Learn how to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1).

Starting today, MSDN and TechNet Subscribers as well as Volume License customers will be able to download Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Next week on February 22^nd, everybody else will be able to download SP1 from the Microsoft Download Center or Windows Update. As people begin downloading and installing SP1, I thought I’d take the opportunity to highlight some tips and recommendations for people before moving forward with their installation.

Today we officially handed off the final release (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) to our OEM partners. On February 16th Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will be available for MSDN and TechNet Subscribers as well as Volume License customers. On February 22nd, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will become generally available for folks to download via the Microsoft Download Center and available on Windows Update.

When we first started designing Windows Home Sever code name “Vail” one of our initial focuses was to continue to provide support for multiple internal and external hard drives. Drive Extender provided the ability to take the small hard drives many small businesses and households may have acquired, and pool them together in a simple volume. During our current testing period for our SBS 2011 Essentials and Windows Home Server code name “Vail” products, we have received feedback from partners and customers about how they use storage today and how they plan to use it moving forward.

Today we are releasing the Release Candidate (RC) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) to the public.  This RC signals the last public beta build to be released prior to the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) final release.  As previously announced, the only new features added to the SP1 are the Windows Server 2008 R2-related virtualization technologies, Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX – please see the Windows Server Division Weblog for more

Have you downloaded the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP Beta yet?

For those of you who use the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool, we want to let you know that the Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 blockers will expire on August 24^th 2010. After the expiration date, Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 will be offered through Windows Update on computers that had previously installed the block.