Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 : Choosing a Windows 7 Edition

These are the three basic editions that you won't see in an enterprise:

Windows 7 Starter

Some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) preinstall this edition on specialized computers. It includes the fewest features, and it will not be available in 64-bit versions.

Windows 7 Home

Basic This is available only in certain countries referred to as emerging markets, and it includes very limited capabilities. It will not be available in the United States.

Windows 7 Home Premium

Windows 7 Home Premium is designed for home users. It includes the Windows Media Center, which can be used to record and play back TV shows or other media. It can also easily integrate on a home network with other devices such as Xbox gaming systems. Systems running this edition can't join a domain.

If you're a desktop support technician or desktop administrator working in an enterprise, you'll focus on the following three editions used in work environments:

Windows 7 Professional

Windows 7 Professional is intended for high-end home users and small-business users. It can join a domain, support a remote desktop, and run applications in a virtual environment using Windows XP Mode. It does lack some of the more advanced features.

Windows 7 Enterprise

The Windows 7 Enterprise edition is available only to organizations that have a Software Assurance contract with Microsoft and is purchased through a volume license. Home users won't have access to this, but businesses with as few as five PCs can purchase Software Assurance.

Windows 7 Ultimate

The Windows 7 Ultimate edition includes all of the features found in the Enterprise edition, and home users using a single license can purchase it instead of going through the Software Assurance program. Home users can upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate from either Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional.

Table 1 shows a comparison of many of the features included in Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, and Windows 7 Ultimate. Since there is very little difference between Enterprise and Ultimate, they are shown in the same column. Some of the features that are more relevant for desktop administrators working in an enterprise environment are covered after the table.

1. x86 vs. x64

Windows 7 comes in both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) editions. Let me state the obvious—you must have 64-bit hardware in order to install the 64-bit edition. It is also possible to install the 32-bit edition on 64-bit hardware.

The biggest benefit of using a 64-bit edition over a 32-bit edition is RAM (random access memory). With a 32-bit system, you're limited to addressing and using no more than 4 GB of RAM. But even that is limited. Because of the way that RAM is addressed and used in Windows operating systems, only about 3.3 GB of RAM is actually available when 4 GB is installed; the rest of the RAM is unused because of how address space is reserved.

However, Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate all support as much as 192 GB of RAM on 64-bit systems. This gives you enough RAM to support multiple virtual environments hosted on a single system and also to support even the most demanding applications.

Years ago, many applications didn't run effectively on 64-bit editions of Windows because of various compatibility issues. However, the era of 64-bit systems has arrived. Many programs have both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and those that don't have a separate 64-bit edition usually work on a 64-bit system without any problems.

2. AppLocker

AppLocker is a new feature in Windows 7 that can be used to control what software is allowed to run on individual PCs using either Local Security Policy (nondomain computer) or Group Policy in Active Directory. It can be used to restrict unauthorized software from running on systems.

Although software restriction policies existed in previous versions of Windows, AppLocker provides improvements that solve many of the problems with these software restriction policies. For example, a software restriction policy could be used to prevent an application from running. However, when some applications were updated, the software restriction policy no longer recognized the application and no longer restricted the application.

AppLocker uses a rule-based structure that an administrator can build to ensure that the policy doesn't need to be rewritten each time an application is updated.

3. BitLocker

BitLocker Drive Encryption allows you to protect entire drives by encrypting them. This can be especially useful on disks in mobile computers when the data needs to be protected. When BitLocker is implemented, the entire drive is encrypted. It can be configured to unlock the drive automatically after the system verifies the drive is in the same computer or configured so that users enter a passphrase to unlock access to the drive.

The BitLocker to Go feature is new to Windows 7. BitLocker to Go can be used to encrypt and lock removable drives, including USB flash drives.

4. BranchCache

BranchCache is useful for clients in remote offices that access data over virtual private network (VPN) links. When data is stored on a Windows Server 2008 R2 server at the main office and BranchCache has been enabled, users in the remote office are able to store a cached copy of the data on their local computers. This is similar to Offline Folders, which has been available for many versions of Windows, but has a distinct difference. Data cached on one Windows 7 computer can now be shared with other Windows 7 users.

As an example, consider several users connected in a remote office over a very slow 56KB wide area network (WAN) link to the corporate office. Sally and Joe are users in the remote office, and their computers are connected to each other using 100MB network interface cards (NICs). Sally downloads an 8MB file from a Windows Server 2008 R2 server. Later, Joe wants to view the file and tries to access it from the same Windows Server 2008 R2 server. BranchCache verifies that Joe has permission to access the file, recognizes that the file is cached on Sally's computer, and recognizes that Sally's version is the most recent version. BranchCache then redirects Joe's computer to retrieve the file from Sally's computer instead of over the slow WAN link.

Users in remote offices can experience much greater speed when accessing commonly used files over the WAN link.

5. Windows XP Mode

Windows XP Mode is a virtualization application that allows users to run a completely separate instance of Windows XP within Windows 7. This can be especially useful for applications that aren't compatible with Windows 7 but will run in Windows XP.

Applications installed in Windows XP Mode will appear on the user's Windows 7 Start menu. While they appear to run on the Windows 7 desktop, they are actually running in the virtual Windows XP Mode environment.

1.1.6. Software Assurance

Windows 7 Enterprise is available only to businesses that have purchased the Software Assurance program, so you may be interested in knowing a little about it. It's a Microsoft program offered to organizations that purchase licenses through a volume-licensing program. Volume licensing allows a company to purchase licenses in bulk at a discount instead of purchasing multiple individual copies.

Organizations that can purchase Software Assurance include businesses with as few as five employees, government entities, schools, and campuses. It is actually purchased through Microsoft partners, and the benefits are coordinated through Microsoft once they are activated. Benefits differ based on how many clients and licenses are purchased.

The benefits may include

• Free upgrades to newer versions of the software during the licensing period

• The option to spread payments over a longer period of time (as opposed to the initial cost of purchasing all the licenses)

• Training vouchers for Microsoft courses taught by Microsoft partners

• Access to e-learning courses

• 24x7 telephone and web support