Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack

Last updated

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
Original author(s) Microsoft
Initial release1 April 2008; 14 years ago
Stable release
2015 / 17 August 2015; 7 years ago
Platform IA-32 and x64
Type System software
License Proprietary commercial software; available through volume licensing or MSDN subscription
Website https://partner.microsoft.com/en-ca/solutions/mdop

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) is a suite of utilities for Microsoft Windows customers who have subscribed to Microsoft Software Assurance program. [1] It aims at bringing easier manageability and monitoring of enterprise desktops, emergency recovery, desktop virtualization and application virtualization.

Contents

Components

The MDOP suite is grouped into 3 overall technologies: Virtualize, Manage and Restore

Virtualize

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V)

An application virtualization and application streaming platform that allows clients to run applications locally via on demand streaming from a centralized server. This makes sure that all clients run the application with the same configuration. App-V also allows standalone virtualized applications to run locally on the client. Starting with Windows 10 Anniversary Update, this item became part of Windows 10 and is no longer included in MDOP. [2]

Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V)

A replacement for roaming profiles that will allow user preferences and settings to roam between different environments and types of devices. [3] Starting with Windows 10 Anniversary Update, this item became part of Windows 10 and is no longer included in MDOP. [2]

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V)

A desktop virtualization solution: It allows a physical Windows 7 workstation to host one or more virtual machines that run their own operating systems on a Windows Virtual PC hypervisor, with some transparent integration of the Start Menu and desktop of the virtual machine into that of the host. Microsoft advertises MED-V as a compatibility solution that allows enterprises to run legacy applications that will not run natively on Windows 7 to be hosted on a legacy platform such as Windows XP, similarly to the consumer-oriented Windows XP Mode. [4]

Manage

Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM)

Provides enhanced management capabilities for group policy. It integrates with the Group Policy Configuration MMC snap-in and adds change control, offline editing, and delegation capabilities. Change control tracks and manages changes to Group Policy Objects (GPOs). It presents a virtual vault which houses the GPOs. To make any changes, a GPO must be checked out of the vault and the changed version checked in. The system enforces the latest version of the GPO and archives the older version, which can be restored back if need arises. Offline editing capabilities allow GPOs to be edited without a live connection to the network and Active Directory. The changes are merged on the next connection. AGPM also adds delegation capability, where the responsibility of managing the Group Policy can be divided among different administrators. Each administrator is concerned with only a certain set of GPOs, which can then be administered independent of others. Optionally, it can be configured so that changes are reviewed by other administrators before being applied. Advanced Group Policy Management is based on GPOVault, a product by DesktopStandard Corporation which Microsoft acquired in October 2006.[ citation needed ]

Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM)

A tool for managing, enforcing and monitoring BitLocker drive encryption across an entire organization from a central location. [5] MBAM consists of administration console which can be accessed using a web browser, as well as an agent which must be installed on every computer in the organization, either manually or using Active Directory. [6]

Restore

Screenshot of Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, one of the components of this software suite Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) screenshot.png
Screenshot of Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, one of the components of this software suite

Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), formerly Emergency Repair Disk Commander (ERD Commander), is a set of tools that helps diagnose an offline copy of Microsoft Windows. It comes on a bootable disc and is run during computer startup. It can uninstall installed hotfixes, perform crash analysis, recover deleted files and access System Restore's restore checkpoints on the offline operating system in an environment similar to Windows graphical user interface.

Microsoft DaRT is a successor of ERD Commander, which was part of the Winternals Administrator Pack from Winternals. ERD Commander later became a Microsoft property with its acquisition of Winternals on 17 July 2006. [7]

Microsoft DaRT is based on the Windows Preinstallation Environment. The tool set includes: [8] [9] [10]

ERD Commander originally included more tools, including a web browser. [12]

Releases

TitleDate
MDOP 20081 April 2008 [13]
MDOP 2008 R215 September 2008 [14]
MDOP 20091 April 2009 [15]
MDOP 2009 R220 October 2009 [16] [17]
MDOP 201022 February 2010 [18]
MDOP 2010 Refresh1 April 2010 [19]
MDOP 20119 March 2011 [20]
MDOP 2011 R21 August 2011 [21]
MDOP 20121 November 2012 [22]
MDOP 20139 April 2013 [23]
MDOP 2013 R22 December 2013 [24]
MDOP 201430 April 2014 [25]
MDOP 2014 R24 December 2014
MDOP 201517 August 2015

Related Research Articles

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Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft Corporation which provides a user with a graphical interface to connect to another computer over a network connection. The user employs RDP client software for this purpose, while the other computer must run RDP server software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group Policy</span> Feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems

Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that controls the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. Group Policy provides centralized management and configuration of operating systems, applications, and users' settings in an Active Directory environment. A set of Group Policy configurations is called a Group Policy Object (GPO). A version of Group Policy called Local Group Policy allows Group Policy Object management without Active Directory on standalone computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">System Restore</span> System recovery feature in Microsoft Windows

System Restore is a feature in Microsoft Windows that allows the user to revert their computer's state to that of a previous point in time, which can be used to recover from system malfunctions or other problems. First included in Windows Me, it has been included in all following desktop versions of Windows released since, excluding Windows Server. In Windows 10, System Restore is turned off by default and must be enabled by users in order to function. This does not affect personal files such as documents, music, pictures, and videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Server 2008</span> Fourth version of Windows Server, released in 2008

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Preinstallation Environment</span> Lightweight version of Microsoft Windows for deployment

Windows Preinstallation Environment is a lightweight version of Windows used for the deployment of PCs, workstations, and servers, or troubleshooting an operating system while it is offline. It is intended to replace MS-DOS boot disks and can be booted via USB flash drive, PXE, iPXE, CD, DVD, or hard disk. Traditionally used by large corporations and OEMs, it is now widely available free of charge via Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (WADK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyper-V</span> Native hypervisor by Microsoft

Microsoft Hyper-V, codenamed Viridian, and briefly known before its release as Windows Server Virtualization, is a native hypervisor; it can create virtual machines on x86-64 systems running Windows. Starting with Windows 8, Hyper-V superseded Windows Virtual PC as the hardware virtualization component of the client editions of Windows NT. A server computer running Hyper-V can be configured to expose individual virtual machines to one or more networks. Hyper-V was first released with Windows Server 2008, and has been available without additional charge since Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8. A standalone Windows Hyper-V Server is free, but has a command-line interface only. The last version of free Hyper-V Server is Hyper-V Server 2019, which is based on Windows Server 2019.

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Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a remote computer or virtual machine over a network connection. RDS was first released in 1998 as Terminal Server in Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, a stand-alone edition of Windows NT 4.0 Server that allowed users to log in remotely. Starting with Windows 2000, it was integrated under the name of Terminal Services as an optional component in the server editions of the Windows NT family of operating systems, receiving updates and improvements with each version of Windows. Terminal Services were then renamed to Remote Desktop Services with Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2009.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">.NET Framework version history</span>

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Windows 8, a major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system, was available in four different editions: Windows 8 (Core), Pro, Enterprise, and RT. Only Windows 8 (Core) and Pro were widely available at retailers. The other editions focus on other markets, such as embedded systems or enterprise. All editions support 32-bit IA-32 CPUs and x64 CPUs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Office 2013</span> Version of Microsoft Office released in 2013

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Server Core is a minimalistic Microsoft Windows Server installation option, debuted in Windows Server 2008. Server Core provides a server environment with functionality scaled back to core server features, and because of limited features, it has reduced servicing and management requirements, attack surface, disk and memory usage. Andrew Mason, a program manager on the Windows Server team, noted that a primary motivation for producing a Server Core variant of Windows Server 2008 was to reduce the attack surface of the operating system, and that about 70% of the security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows from the prior five years would not have affected Server Core. Most notably, no Windows Explorer shell is installed. All configuration and maintenance is done entirely through command-line interface windows, or by connecting to the machine remotely using Microsoft Management Console (MMC), remote server administration tools, and PowerShell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows 8.1</span> 2013 release of Windows NT

Windows 8.1 is a release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and broadly released for retail sale on October 17, 2013, about a year after the retail release of its predecessor, and succeeded by Windows 10 on July 29, 2015. Windows 8.1 was made available for download via MSDN and Technet and available as a free upgrade for retail copies of Windows 8 and Windows RT users via the Windows Store. A server version, Windows Server 2012 R2, was released on October 18, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Server 2016</span> Eighth version of Windows Server, released in 2016

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References

  1. "Software Assurance Add-on Delivers Dynamic Desktop". News Center. Microsoft. 17 October 2006. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007.
  2. 1 2 Foley, Mary Jo (5 July 2016). "Microsoft confirms App-V will be bundled with Windows 10 Anniversary Update". ZDNet . CBS Interactive.
  3. Rose, Stephen (6 September 2012). "Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) Release Candidate Now Available". Springboard Series Blog. Microsoft.
  4. "Planning for Application Operating System Compatibility". Microsoft TechNet Library. Microsoft. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  5. "Getting Started With MBAM". MDOP Documentation Home. Microsoft. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  6. "Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring Evaluation Guide" (PDF). Microsoft. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  7. "Microsoft Acquires Winternals Software". Microsoft News Center. Microsoft. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  8. "Overview of the Tools in DaRT 8.0". TechNet Library . Microsoft . Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  9. "Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset" (PDF). Microsoft. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  10. "How to recover a non-bootable Windows installation – The Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset". 4sysops.com. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  11. Introducing Microsoft Antimalware Technologies. Microsoft. 22 June 2010. p. 9. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  12. "ERD Commander – Free Trial from Microsoft". Geek to go!. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  13. Flores, Chris (1 April 2008). "Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2008 Released". Windows Vista Team Blog. Microsoft. The Windows Blog. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  14. Jameel (15 September 2008). "MDOP 2008 R2 Release to Manufacturing!". The Official MDOP Blog. Microsoft. TechNet Blogs. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  15. Oelgiesser, Ran (1 April 2009). "Announcing MDOP 2009 to include MED-V 1.0, App-V 4.5 CU1 and AIS 1.5 Updates". The Official MDOP Blog. Microsoft. TechNet Blogs. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  16. Oelgiesser, Ran (20 October 2009). "MDOP 2009 R2 for Windows 7 is now available!". The Official MDOP Blog. Microsoft. TechNet Blogs. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  17. Protalinski, Emil (20 October 2009). "MDOP 2009 R2 with Windows 7 support released". Ars Technica . Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  18. Oiaga, Marius (23 February 2010). "Windows 7 Desktop Optimization Pack 2010". Softpedia . SoftNews SRL. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  19. Oiaga, Marius (2 April 2010). "Download Windows 7 Desktop Optimization Pack Refresh". Softpedia. SoftNews SRL. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  20. Trupkin, Dave (9 March 2011). "App-V 4.6 SP1 and MED-V 2.0 are available as part of MDOP 2011!". The Official MDOP Blog. Microsoft. TechNet Blogs. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  21. Smith, AJ (1 August 2011). "MDOP 2011 R2 Generally Available, Get MBAM and DaRT 7.0 Today!". The Official MDOP Blog. Microsoft. TechNet Blogs. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  22. Hornbeck, J.C. (7 November 2012). "MDOP 2012 available for download: Now with more App-V version 5 and UE-V!". The Microsoft App-V Team Blog. Microsoft.
  23. "Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2013 Now Available". The Official Microsoft Blog. Microsoft. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  24. Foley, Mary Jo (2 December 2013). "Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2013 R2 now available". ZDNet . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  25. Chernyak, Stella (1 May 2014). "Improving your organization's security and performance with the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack". Windows for Business. Microsoft.

Further reading