TechNet: 10 Things You Need to Know about Deploying Windows Vista

Another top ten list, this time from Technet on 10 Things You Need to Know about Deploying Windows Vista.

1. Windows Vista Images Are Bigger: With Windows Vista, image size begins at about 2GB—compressed and often around 5GB or more when deployed.


2. Security Is Enhanced. My most anticipated has been BitLocker for encrypting the hard disk in Windows Vista Enterprise and Ultimate. With so many laptops going issing each year—by one estimate, more than 600,000 computers are stolen each year—BitLocker is one of the features I’ve heard mentioned most when it comes to securing mobile deployments.


3. Windows Vista Is Componentized


4. Text-Mode Installation Is Gone


5. Boot.ini Is History


6. Settings Are Configured in XML


7. No More HAL Complications. In Windows Vista, the operating system is able to detect which HAL is required and automatically install it.


8. Windows PE Rules. Near and dear to my heart, the new version of WinPE for Vista is a welcome revision to the utility that administrators use to manage enterprise customized OS deployments and recovery volumes. (Now available for download here as part of Business Desktop Deployment.) 


9. It’s All about Images


10. Deployment Is Language-Neutral. Windows Vista is language-neutral, and language packs can be added to create a deployment image. Servicing is language-neutral, too.

• Desktop Deployment: Techniques for Simplifying Desktop Image Creation by Shelly Bird (05/2006)
  
• System Management: Getting Started with Windows PE by Wes Miller (09/2006)
  
• Windows Vista: Getting Ready for Windows PE 2.0 by Wes Miller (11/2006)
  
• Desktop Deployment: Design More Secure Desktop Deployments by Shelly Bird (03/2006)
  
• Utility Spotlight: Automate Device Driver Integration by Michael Murgolo (05/2006)

From the November 2006 issue of TechNet Magazine.