There are quite a few enhancements in Windows 7 that directly address the work of system administrators. In particular, OS deployment will be improved. However, there is no wow feature like the new imaging capabilities of Windows Vista. Also noteworthy is the support of VHD files. This demonstrates that virtualization technology is moving more and more from the server to the desktop. The new PowerShell features are certainly nice, too. It has yet to be seen which of these will also be available on Vista and XP.

VHD image management and deployment

• Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files can be deployed using Windows Deployment Services
• VHD files can be managed using DISM (see below)
• Boot from a VHD file: This feature allows the reuse of the same master image for virtual desktops (VDI) and physical desktops

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The most significant network-related enhancements are about the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Some of these will only be relevant when you connect to Windows Server 2008 R2. It seems as if the Remote Desktop Services is one of Microsoft’s answers to the cloud hype. There are also quite a few improvements regarding wireless, which makes sense considering how important wireless networking has become. Note that I will discuss some of the features here in upcoming series about Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows Connect Now (WCN) (improved)

WCN supports now Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), an industry standard that simplifies WLAN setup.

Wireless device installation (improved)

• A new a device wizard allows you to connect wireless devices such as printers or network attached storage
• Drivers are downloaded automatically if necessary

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The fundamental security-related improvements were introduced with Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista. The new security features in Windows 7 can be considered as fine-tuning. I am a bit disappointed that there are only minor changes to UAC. Most interesting, from a system administrator’s point view, is the new AppLocker, which allows you to restrict program execution and the multiple active firewall profiles, which would solve problems with laptops that are used at home and in the corporate network.

User Account Control (UAC)

Windows 7 has two new UAC settings:

• Program-based changes only: Don’t notify when the user installs software or changes settings
• Notify only: The user is only notified through a balloon message, but doesn’t have to confirm a prompt

The first one is the default setting in build 6801. Microsoft also says that the number of system applications and tasks that require elevation has been reduced. Please check out my more detailed article about Windows 7 UAC.

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In this article of my Windows 7 feature series, I will blog about the changes in applications that are delivered with Windows and I will also write about functional enhancements. The most notable new application certainly is Internet Explorer 8 and the most important functional change is the new MinWin kernel. The better power management is also quite important. Vista has been criticized for shortening the battery life in laptops; this is significantly shorter than in Windows XP. The improvements sound interesting, but reality will show if Windows 7 is improved here.

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When I first had the idea to compile a list of all the new Windows 7 features, I thought that one or two posts would be enough. Well, obviously I underestimated the number of new features in Windows 7. There will be five articles in this series: User Interface, Applications and Functions, Security, Networking, and, last but not least, Administration. Of course, the last three posts are the best ones from an administrator’s point of view. I am also planning to publish another list of Windows Server 2008 R2 features.

This Windows 7 features list is mostly a summary of Microsoft’s Windows reviewer’s guide, which was only available for a couple of days. Perhaps this is a hint that they are already planning to drop features. It is also possible that new features will be added to the final version. Furthermore, it is quite likely that I didn’t include all known features.

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• EventSentry v2.90 has been released - I blogged about the free version of this nifty monitoring solution a while back.
• Robert McLaws used his Geek-to-Layman Translator to explain MinWin, the mini kernel that is included in Windows 7.
• Microsoft aims Windows 7 for 2009 holiday season - This would be much earlier than I expected. I still have my doubts.
• Windows 7 might cause new compatibility issues - From all I’ve read  Windows 7 probably isn’t as problematic Vista.
• Windows 7 Running on Laptop - This video demonstrates that Windows 7 might boot up faster than Vista.
• Microsoft: Windows 7 will run on SSD netbooks - Well, Vista does too. The question is how fast?
• Microsoft has officially retired Windows 3.1 - What a pity! It is lightening fast and not as bloated as XP.

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Microsoft will rename Terminal Services to Remote Desktop Services (RDS) in Windows Server 2008 R2. The new name makes sense because of the changes that RDS will introduce. Most interesting of these is that Microsoft will support desktop virtualization: see Bink.nu for a comprehensive article about this topic. (Note that parts of Stephen Bink’s text sound as if they have been written by someone from Microsoft’s marketing department. Several times he talks about “we” as if he is now working for Microsoft.) In this post, I will summarize the central points.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

It was only a matter of time until Microsoft would enter the VDI market. It is growing faster than server virtualization and might change our IT infrastructure more than any other virtualization technology.

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As expected, the number one topic in the Windows blogosphere is Windows 7. As I write this, about 30 or 40 Windows 7 articles have shown up in my RSS reader. In this post, I will just link to the best ones which will save you some time if you want to inform yourself about Microsoft’s new operating system.

Windows 7 Reviewer’s Guide - A First Look at Windows 7 (PDF) (not available at the moment)

This is the most comprehensive article about Windows 7. Microsoft explains all its new features on 119 pages.

Windows 7 At-A-Glance (PDF)

If you don’t have the time now to read about all the details, check out this short version, which has only 19 pages.

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PDC2008 will start tomorrow and everybody is expecting that news about Windows 7 will surface there. It seems that news already leaked today because some bloggers have information about new Windows 7 features. In this post, I will summarize the interesting things I’ve read today. However, I will exclude the features that I already mentioned in earlier posts. By the way, I have been invited to take part in the Windows 7 Beta Program. Thus, I will be able to report firsthand information about Windows 7 soon.

Mary-Jo Foley lists a couple of features in her post about the pre-beta of Windows 7. The main points are:

Device Stage: It is a central location for managing devices of all kinds. To be honest, I didn’t get a clear picture of this new feature from the description I read. One thing is for sure though, it is not just a revamped Device Manager. It seems to be more like a place where you can interact with devices. I think such a management tool makes sense. We connect more and more different devices to our machines and a central place where we can control everything could really be helpful. People often forget that the most important task of any operating system is to manage devices and this is Windows’ real forte. It is the main reason why cloud computing is no real threat to Windows. I doubt somehow that Google will be able to add a Device Stage to Chrome in the near future.

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Paul Thurrott has updated his Windows 7 FAQ. Some of the information has already been available for some time, but he discusses quite a few features I hadn’t heard about before. In this post I will summarize the new features that are specifically of interest to Windows administrators. I will also add a few comments and wishes. Not that I believe that someone in Redmond will listen to me, but my therapist always recommends expressing one’s wishes because it frees the soul.

Release date

Windows 7 is slated for early 2010. That means that chances are it will be available for Xmas 2010. I wonder whether those who decided to skip Vista will be happy with their decision, considering that that Windows XP will be almost 10 years old by then? Yes, I know XP works just fine, but so did NT.

Kernel

It is unclear if MinWin (the micro kernel) will be included in Windows 7. I somehow doubt it, because this might provoke more compatibility issues. The worst thing that can happen for Microsoft is that Windows 7 is not 100% compatible with Vista. It is more likely that Windows 7 will have better support for parallel processing capabilities.

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