RDP 8.0 for Windows 7 now available

The RDP 8.0 update will enable RDP 8.0 (including all the RemoteFX enhancements in Windows 8 that make RDP 8.0 the protocol of choice for VDI) on Windows 7 Service Pack 1. Specifically, the update will provide the following capabilities.

Client access devices running Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will benefit from:

• Remote Desktop Connection 8.0 Client: Remote Desktop Connection 8.0 client that is compatible with RDP 8.0 and allows users to use new features in RDP 8.0.
• Dynamic In-Session USB Redirection: Enables users to select USB devices for redirection even in the middle of a remote session.
• Improved single sign on experience for Remote Desktop Web Access: Simplifies and significantly enhances end user experience by enabling users to provide their user name and password just once when connecting to IT published apps and desktops. Users are not asked to provide their username and password for subsequent connections.
• Reconnect for RemoteApp and Desktop Connections: Enables end users to easily disconnect and reconnect to IT published apps and desktops.
• Support for Lync 2013 in VDI : Enables end users to have a fast and fluid video conferencing experience with Lync 2013 in their virtual desktops.
• Support for Nested Sessions :Support for running a Remote Desktop Connection session within another Remote Desktop Connection session

Windows 7 SP1 virtual desktops running in the datacenter will benefit from:

• RemoteFX for WAN: Enables end users even on WAN to have a fast and fluid experience by employing advanced techniques such as intelligent and adaptive UDP transports, network loss tolerance and recovery, etc.
• RemoteFX Network Auto Detect: Automatically detects network characteristics and optimizes user experience accordingly.
• RemoteFX Adaptive Graphics: Delivers a rich graphics experience that dynamically adapts to server load, client access device load and network characteristics.
• RemoteFX Media Streaming: Enables end users to get a smooth media experience even on WAN networks for all media content formats.
• RemoteFX USB Redirection for non VGPU Virtual desktops: Enables users to use their USB devices with IT provided RemoteApp applications and remote desktops.
• Support for Nested Sessions: Support for running a Remote Desktop Connection session within another Remote Desktop Connection session.
• Performance counters for monitoring user experience. Watch out for a blog post on this topic with more details.

More information can be found here and here; download update and RDP8.

App-V 5 RTM

App-V 5.0 helps businesses provide employees with access to virtually any application anywhere, without having to install the application directly on their computers. App-V 5.0 is a major release and includes many new capabilities to enhance the interaction with virtual applications as well as the administrative experience for IT departments. Improvements include:

• Integrated Platform: In App-V 5.0 virtual applications leverage Windows standards for a consistent user experience and work more like traditionally installed applications. This means that people don’t have to change the way they use an application just because it’s virtual. It also makes it easy for IT departments to work with virtual applications; this enhanced capability is called Virtual Application Extension.
• Flexible Virtualization: With App-V 5.0 businesses can connect individually packaged App-V applications and enable them to communicate with each other as well as with natively installed applications. This gives businesses the best of both worlds, providing isolation to reduce application conflicts and time spent regression testing – yet allowing applications to interact and communicate when needed. This new capability is called Virtual Application Connection.
• Reducing Storage Barriers to VDI: App-V 5.0 is designed to be easy and efficient to use in VDI environments, allowing IT departments to make the best use of expensive disk resources. They can simply choose to turn off local application storage and dramatically reduce the disk requirements for VDI while still streaming applications. This is called Shared Content Store.
• Improved Administration for IT: With App-V 5.0 IT departments will find it easier to centrally manage application interaction as well as administer App-V via the new web-based Admin UI. For those who prefer automation, PowerShell is ready for use with packaging and performing tasks on both the server and client.

More information can be found here and here;

MDOP 2012 RTM

As a quick refresher, MDOP includes six products. Its virtualization technologies help personalize the user experience, simplify application deployment and improve application compatibility with the Windows operating system, while its management technologies help to manage, monitor, deploy and repair key Windows features such as BitLocker and Group Policy. By using MDOP, IT departments are able to shift desktop repairs from reactive to proactive, save time and remove many challenges associated with troubleshooting and repairing system failures. And with 44 million licenses sold its clear businesses are finding value in the products.

With MDOP 2012 we are introducing an exciting new innovation for our customers – User Experience Virtualization (UE-V). UE-V provides a consistent and personal experience regardless of the device being used, meaning that employees have the option to change their device and keep their experience without needing to reconfigure their applications or desktop settings each time they login to Windows 7 or Windows 8. Key features of UE-V include:

• OS Personalization Across Devices: UE-V can roam personalized desktop settings including task bar configuration, desktop background and explorer options, thus removing the need for users to reconfigure each time they login to a new device. For organizations with multiple versions of Windows, UE-V delivers users a consistent, personal look and feel that matches their unique work style regardless if Windows is a rich desktop, a VDI session or a VDI desktop.
• Choice of Which Apps Roam: UE-V provides IT departments the flexibility to decide which applications can roam their experience between devices through the use of Settings Location Templates. The Templates tell the UE-V agents which application personalization should be made available and works for both traditional and virtual applications. This approach gives users a consistent application experience even if they have to switch devices on the fly.
• Easy Set-Up: UE-V delivers big value through simplicity – to set it up all that is needed is a file share for storing the settings that will roam and deployment of the lightweight UE-V agent. Once complete, people can roam the experience for the Windows desktop settings, Office 2010, and IE by using in box templates and IT departments can also choose to create their own templates.

more information can be found here and here;

Windows 7 Login Scripts – network share not mapping.

We recently encountered an issue with Windows 7 login scripts; specifically drive mappings not being presented.

If a different user logged onto the same PC the login script processed the request and the drive gets mapped, weird eh?

Things to check;
(1) UAC enabled?
(2) The user logging in has admin rights to the PC?

Solutions to try;
(1) Temporarily disable UAC and see if the Policy/Script works
(2) Remove the user in question from the local Admin Group on PC
(3) Refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937624/en-us