Essential Tool for the Job - Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 for Windows Vista (RTM Announcement)

[Paul]

RTM Announcement - Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1
Hello,
It's been a few months since I last blogged about the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 - formerly known as WVHA or Windows Vista Hardware Assessment.
As you know, many of the IT pros out there like you are now spending a lot of time planning for Windows Vista deployments. But many question and challenges remain:

• Are my existing PCs compatible to Windows Vista when it comes to Hardware and Device Compatibility?
• Would my PCs have BIOS issue after the upgrade to Windows Vista?
• Which of these PCs are low hanging fruits for upgrade to Windows Vista? (e.g. CPU too old so it's time to replace them; or just add 512MB system memory and the PCs would be Windows Vista capable!)
• What kind of software have been installed?
• And, while I'm at it, are all of my PCs secure? Are Windows Securiting Center installed? Do they have Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware software installed? How about Windows Firewall settings?
• How about application virtualization?

The MAP Toolkit 3.1 is designed to address all of these desktop-side issues from a single tool! Yes, at Microsoft, we've heard from you that you like to see fewer tools from us. The MAP Toolkit is a tools platform that combines the strength of AGENTLESS discovery and report generation capabilities from the previous generation (Windows Vista Hardware Assessment).



As a matter of fact, if you view the latest MAP Team RTM blog post from yesterday, you will find that the MAP Toolkit 3.1 also have many server-side and virtualization features including a Hyper-V virtualization candidates assessment and SQL Server discovery!!
So, why wait? It's time to get going with your Windows Vista projects with the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1. It's been released, sitting right outside the MAP Team "oven" waiting for you to enjoy. :-)

• Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 RTM Version
• Read documentation about MAP operations on TechNet
• Learn tips and see video demos on MAP Team Blog
• Join MAP Fan Clubs on TechNet Forum or Facebook

Cheers!
Baldwin Ng (Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators - Virtualization Lead)

http://windowsvistablog.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=499674

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