New deployment scenarios in windows 8

The deployment strategies that the previous section describes are traditional. You install an
operating system on a physical PC. However, desktop virtualization enables new deployment
scenarios that can streamline and simplify Windows 8 deployment.
Windows To Go
Windows To Go offers a new alternative to traditional operating system deployment.
 Windows To Go is a Windows 8 Enterprise feature that enables users to boot and 
run   Windows 8 from a USB drive. It provides a flexible way for workers to access their 
personal desktop on any PC. The article “Windows To Go: Feature Overview” at 
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831833.aspx provides additional  information
about Windows To Go as well as step-by-step instructions for preparing, securing, and
 managing Windows To Go devices.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is an alternative desktop delivery model that
gives users secure access to centrally managed desktops running in the datacenter. VDI is
powered by Remote Desktop Services (RDS), which is a server role in Windows Server 2012.
It provides a single platform to deliver any type of hosted desktop, and RemoteFX provides
a consistently rich user experience. RDS enables organizations to choose the deployment
method that works best for them—all by using a single platform.

•    Session-based desktops  Session-based desktops provide users access to

 applications, data, and shared desktops centralized in the datacenter from a webpage,
through a SharePoint portal, on a local desktop, or over the Internet.

•    Pooled virtual machines (VMs)   Pooled VMs give users access to high-performance

desktops from any connected device. VDI assigns VMs on demand from an existing
pool to users. When they log off a VM, VDI returns it to the pool for use by another
user.

•    Personal VMs  Personal VMs give users access to a personal, high-performance

 desktop over which they have full administrative control.
With all three VDI deployment methods, user state virtualization maintains users’ data
and settings across physical and virtual sessions. VDI empowers enterprises with unified
 management of centralized desktops and corporate data by using System Center 2012. IT can
extend existing management tools and processes to the VDI environment.
Partner technology, such as Citrix XenDesktop, adds value to VDI by offering additional
scale and flexibility to enterprises. With Citrix technologies, users can access their Windows
environment even from non-Windows devices.
Chapter 11, “Windows 8 virtualization,” provides more information about Windows 8 and
VDI. You can also learn more on the Desktop Virtualization website at  http://www.microsoft
.com/dv .

Client Hyper-V
On PCs running Windows 8, Client Hyper-V provides a robust virtual platform for  d evelopers
and IT pros. It supports a broad range of devices and leverages the driver ecosystem of
 Windows 8 to run on the broadest range of 64-bit PCs. Client Hyper-V provides a rich user
experience, including multimedia, touch, and USB support. Because Client Hyper-V is a core
part of Windows 8, it leverages all of that operating system’s security and management
 features.
Client Hyper-V requires the following:
  ■ A 64-bit system
  ■ 4 GB of RAM is required
  ■ Support for Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)
SLAT unloads from the processor the process of mapping physical memory to  v irtual
memory. For intensive graphics, it provides significant performance improvements. It
is   r equired for Hyper-V on Windows 8, because most systems have extensive graphics
 capabilities. It’s only required for Windows 8 Server when enabling the RemoteFX role service.
For more information, see the article “Client Hyper-V” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/
library/hh857623.aspx.

Deployment strategies in Windows 8

Microsoft recommends a few targeted strategies for deploying Windows 8. These strategies
range from manually configuring Windows 8 on a few computers to using automation tools
and technologies to deploy the operating system to thousands of computers.
The following list describes the four recommended deployment strategies:

•    High Touch with retail media   This is a hands-on, manual deployment, where you

install Windows 8 on each client PC by using the retail installation media, and then you
manually configure each PC. Microsoft recommends this strategy if your organization
does not have dedicated IT staff, and it has a small, unmanaged network with fewer
than 100 client computers.

•    High Touch with standard image  This strategy is similar to the High Touch with

retail media strategy, but it uses an operating system image that includes your
 customizations and application configurations. Microsoft recommends this  strategy
if your organization has at least one IT pro (with or without prior deployment
 experience) on staff, and a small or distributed network with 100–200 client PCs.

•   Lite Touch, high-volume deployment   This strategy requires limited interaction

during deployment. Interaction occurs at the beginning of the installation, but the
remainder of the process is automated. Microsoft recommends this strategy if your
organization has a dedicated IT staff, and it has a managed network with 200–500
client computers. Prior deployment experience is not required, but it is beneficial for
using this strategy.

•    Zero Touch, high-volume deployment  This strategy requires no interaction

 during deployment. The process is fully automated by using Configuration Manager.
 Microsoft recommends this strategy if your IT organization has experts in deployment,
networking, and Configuration Manager, and it has a managed network with 500 or
more client computers.

User state migration in Windows 8

Operating system deployment always involves user state migration—the process of migrating
users’ documents and settings from one operating system to another. Even when you don’t
migrate user state during deployment, users can spend countless hours trying to restore their
preferences (such as desktop backgrounds, screensavers, and themes). Because this manual
process reduces user productivity and usually increases support calls, you might choose to
migrate some portion of user state to Windows 8 as you deploy it

User satisfaction is another reason to elevate the importance of user state migration in
your project. Users are simply more satisfied and feel less overwhelmed when they sit down in
front of a new operating system and they don’t have to recover their preferences. Unsatisfied
users can have negative consequences for future deployment projects

The primary tool you use to migrate user state during a high-volume Windows 8
 deployment is the User State Migration Tool (USMT). Version 5.0 is the most recent version of
USMT supporting Windows 8 migrations. USMT is part of the Windows ADK (see Chapter 5, 
“Deploying Windows 8”). USMT can perform complex, repeatable migrations of user state
data between earlier Windows versions and Windows 8.

There are a few different ways to use USMT:

•    Script USMT.

•    Run it as part of a Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Update 1 Lite Touch

Installation (LTI).

•    Run it as part of a System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Zero Touch Installation

(ZTI).

•    Run it directly at the command prompt.

 Running USMT in MDT 2012 Update 1 or Configuration Manager task sequences is
 probably the simplest way to use USMT. (System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with
Service Pack 1 is required for Windows 8.) Both include built-in support for running USMT
pre-deployment (to gather user state) and post-deployment (to restore user state). This   ability
allows you to focus on planning for and customizing the USMT to migrate the data and
 settings required in your organization.

Common compatibility problems in Windows 8

The following list describes common sources of compatibility issues for Windows 8,
 particularly when using an application originally designed for Windows XP.

•   User Account Control (UAC)  In Windows 8, by default, all interactive users, including

members of the Administrators group, run as standard users. UAC is the mechanism
through which users can elevate applications to full administrator privileges. Because
of UAC, applications that require administrator rights or check for administrator 
privileges behave differently in Windows 8, even when run by a user as administrator

• Windows Resource Protection (WRP)  WRP is designed to protect the system in a

read-only state to increase system stability, predictability, and reliability. This will affect
specific files, folders, and registry keys. Updates to protected resources are restricted
to the operating-system trusted installers (TrustedInstaller group), such as Windows
 Servicing. This helps to protect components and applications that ship with the
 operating system from any impact of other applications and administrators. This can
be an issue for custom installations not detected as set up by Windows 8 when they try
to replace WRP files and registry settings and check for specific versions and values.

•    Internet Explorer Protected Mode (IEPM)   In Windows 8, Microsoft Internet

 Explorer 10 processes run in IEPM with greatly restricted privileges to help protect
 users from attack. IEPM significantly reduces the ability of an attack to write, alter,
or destroy data on the user’s computer, or to install malicious code. This could   affect
 ActiveX controls and other script code that tries to modify higher integrity level
 objects.