The final article in a series covering the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), will detail Microsoft’s Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V).

An organization deploying Windows 7 can be daunted with many issues. User training, setting migration, and application compatibility can all keep a Windows administrator up at night! The first two can be easily surmounted with proper planning. The third can prove a bit more difficult. While technologies, like the Microsoft’s Application Compatibility Toolkit, make this simpler; a critical application refusing to work with Windows 7 can completely derail a migration schedule.

Microsoft’s Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) can solve nearly any compatibility problem. MED-V is the enterprise version of Microsoft’s XP Mode. Choosing between XP mode and MED-V can be a bit difficult though. The table below breaks down the major differences between MED-V and XP Mode to make selection easier.

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This article, the fourth of seven in a series covering the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), will provide an explanation of Advanced Group Policy Management and a basic overview of configuration.

In terms of desktop management, Group Policy is the cornerstone of a Windows administrator’s arsenal. With Group Policy, you can deploy software, printers and drive mappings. You can configure default settings and manage client behavior. But how do you manage Group Policy? The built-in mechanics for managing Group Policy are simply inadequate for most organizations. Windows administrators either have complete access or no access by their addition and removal from the Group Policy Creator Owners Security Group. Further, Group Policy Object (GPO) management lacks in terms of change control, automated backups, and role based delegation. Microsoft’s Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) addresses all of these issues.

AGPM is comprised of a server side component and a client. The component will add a Change Control Node to the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) on the AGPM server.

The Change Control node within the GPMC

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This article, the second of seven in a series covering the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), will detail the Asset Inventory Service (AIS) including the configuration and deployment to clients.

Microsoft’s Asset Inventory Service (AIS) is an integral part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack. In any size environment, a core issue that all IT administrators deal with is asset management. In a day filled with solving technical issues, managing hardware and software inventories quickly gets put into the “when it slows down, I’ll get to it pile”. Unfortunately, for most of us, that pile just seems to grow.

The System Overview page allows you to quickly glance at computer count, agent health and software.

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This article, the first of seven in a series covering the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), will provide an overview of all six contained tools and their purpose in creating the automated Windows 7 enterprise client.

Microsoft provided an excellent manageable operating system with Windows 7 Enterprise. However, to get the most benefit of Windows 7 Enterprise, Microsoft has provided the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance customers. Here are the six tools included with MDOP:

Asset Inventory Service (AIS)

Microsoft’s Asset Inventory Service (AIS) is a cloud based hardware and software asset management tool. Because of its simplicity, it will probably be the first tool to setup. While many asset management tools exist (one of the most notable free one tools being Spiceworks), few are cloud based and even fewer are Microsoft licensing aware.

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In this second part of two I will describe some technical details of ManageEngine Desktop Central 7 and give an overview of the tool's systems management features.

Role-based access control

Desktop Central 7 uses a role-based access control (RBAC) motif in which you can log into the system as a full-fledged administrator or as one of a series of dedicated sub-administrative roles, including the following:

• Patch Manager
• Auditor
• Asset Manager
• Remote Desktop Technician

Once you are logged in as an administrator, Desktop Central offers you a plethora of administrative action options for managed devices; some of these are shown in the screenshot below.

Desktop Central 7 administrative options

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ManageEngine Desktop Central 7's is a powerful systems management software. In this article (the first of two) I will give an overview of the tool's functionality.

Zoho Corp., the publisher of ManageEngine Desktop Central raffles off two license of its desktop management software. The winner will receive a 100 computers annual subscription license of the Professional Edition (worth $995 USD) and the runner a 50 computer license ($545 USD). The deadline of this contest is January 7, 2012. If you want to have a chance to win one of the licenses, please send an email with the subject “Desktop Central” to .

Notice that Zoho Corp. also offers Desktop Central MSP 7 for managed service providers. This review is about Desktop Central 7.

Why do you need ManageEngine Desktop Central?

In a nutshell, ManageEngine Desktop Central is agent-based server and desktop administration software. Because Desktop Central 7 is managed by using a Web browser, you can perform systems management from any system in your organization, either on-campus or off-campus.

ManageEngine Desktop Central 7

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Workspace Manager Express stores desktop and application settings in a central database, which in some cases allows you to replace roaming user profiles.

Would you like to reduce your reliance on Windows roaming user profiles and the hassle that can be caused by corrupt profiles? How about having sub 20-second logon for all users? What about settings that work across all platforms and architectures, configured from one central place? Or applying just-in-time settings to applications as needed rather than all at the beginning of the user session?

Workspace Manager Express

Sounds great? All of this functionality is available for free with a tool that’s been around for a while: Workspace Manager Express from RES Software.

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This article discusses installation requirements of the free network monitoring software Spiceworks and contains a concise walkthrough of the Spiceworks installation process.

Spiceworks is a great free network inventory and monitoring tool that is very useful for administrators and help desk staff. Spiceworks supports hardware and software inventory, facilitates network monitoring, and offers help desk functionality. For a more detailed feature list, please read this overview of Spiceworks’s functionality. In this article, I will help you get started quickly with Spiceworks.

Spiceworks

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nspaces is a free Virtual Desktop Manager that allows you to password protect workspaces.

Submitted by Dion Zhu

Virtual desktops are always useful for separating your work into multiple workspaces for more efficiently organizing and managing your work. nSpaces is a virtual desktop manager application to manage multiple workspaces.

Virtual Desktop Manager – nspaces

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WMI Explorer allows you to browse WMI classes, objects and their properties and execute any WMI query.

This is part three of a three part series of articles covering two great WMI tools, the second and final tool being WMI Explorer.

WMI Explorer v1.10 is another lightweight (at 533KB), portable tool. To demonstrate its abilities I need to use WMI to find something I don’t already know and without using any books or the web. My example is to list the games I have installed and the path. The first step is to connect to a different namespace, as in the screenshot below.

WMI Explorer – Connecting to different namespaces

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This is part two of a three part series of articles covering two great WMI tools, the first tool being Microsoft's free WMI Code Creator.

WMI Code Creator is a tiny (300KB) Microsoft tool available here. To demonstrate its features, the code snippet below is for querying a machine’s model and gives us enough info to start using the tool.

strComputer = "."
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
strQuery="SELECT * from Win32_ComputerSystem"
Set col=GetObject("WinMgmts://" & strComputer & "/root/cimv2").ExecQuery(strQuery)
For Each WMIProperty in col
PCModel = WMIProperty.Model

First, I need to select the CIMV2 namespace and then find the win32_computersystem class in the class drop-down box. Without reference to a huge book or the internet, you would struggle to discover the properties in the class without perhaps writing a script. Code creator makes this trivial, with the click of a single button which lists all properties. The model is just one property of many, as you can see in figure 2 below:

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Delprof2 allows you to delete a user profile. It is an extended version of Microsoft's Delprof and works on all Windows versions including Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Submitted by Helge Klein – Website: helgeklein.com

While user profiles are great for personalization, sometimes a cleanup is required and some or all profiles need to be deleted. As it turns out, Windows has no tool for automating this task from the command line. There used to be a tool called Delprof, but it does not work correctly on Windows 7 and Server 2008 (R2). Delprof2 does. It is a kind of unofficial successor to Delprof. Although it is more powerful than the original it is still syntax-compatible, so existing scripts can be reused without any change.

Delprof2 – Delete user profile

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VisualCron is an advanced task scheduler for Windows that supports central management. Its power task scheduling features go far beyond the capabilities of the Windows Task Scheduler.

VisualCron raffles off three licenses of their central task scheduling software for Windows to 4sysops readers. The winner will receive a 5-Server license worth $717 USD. The two runners-up will each receive a 1-Server license worth $197 USD. The deadline of this contest is July 26, 2011. If you want to take part in this raffle, please send an email with the subject VisualCron to .

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VirtuAll User Environment Manager is free user environment management tool designed for virtual desktops but it can also centrally manage settings of traditional desktops.

Submitted by Pierre Marmignon – Website: VirtuAll Solutions

VirtuAll User Environment Manager (VUEM) allows you to eliminate login scripts and mange centrally manage user environments.

VirtuAll User Environment Manager (VUEM) navigation

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SimpleSysInfo is a free system information tool for Windows that allows you to retrieve any kind of system information because allows you to customize the displayed sysinfo.

So many sysinfo tools exist for Windows, and I’m guessing you already have a couple of them in your tool box. But SimpleSysInfo is worth a look. It is quite useful for help desk personnel who need to get an overview of a PC’s configuration, and it is also an interesting option for sys admins who have to retrieve the same PC settings frequently.

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