Microsoft Vista in SCS

At the beginning of August, 2008, SCS Computing Facilities officially adopted Microsoft Vista as the baseline operating system for hosts deployed within the SCS environment. This change results from a comprehensive effort aimed at integrating Vista effectively into our environment.

What version of Vista will SCS Facilities support?

Carnegie Mellon University has a licensing agreement with Microsoft for "Windows Vista Enterprise".

What is "Enterprise Edition"? How does it differ from other versions available to consumers?

Vista Enterprise is only available to Microsoft volume-license customers and not for sale to the general public.

Microsoft offers several versions of Vista. In order of increasing capability/complexity, they are: Home, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. Microsoft refers to the version that SCS Computing Facilities will deploy as the "premium business and enterprise O/S solution." This package incorporates all features of commercially available versions, except the "Home Media" features of Vista Ultimate. Users who have been investigating new systems that include OEM installations of Vista Business should note that Vista Enterprise is superior in both features and functionality. There are also many advanced technical and management-oriented features that are only available in Vista Enterprise. You can find details on the various versions of Vista on Microsoft's website.

If I order a system with Vista already installed, will the OEM (factory) version be used?

No. All hosts built by SCS Computing Facilities will use the Enterprise Edition discussed above. Owners of new systems, especially laptops, are often concerned that certain OEM functionality (software, etc.) will not be included with their new SCS-customized build of Vista. Our team does strive to reproduce both basic and advanced features supplied by our OEM partners (Lenovo and Dell.) However, if you receive a new laptop and feel that some features are missing, or if you have questions regarding this process, please contact the SCS PC Engineering Team by way of the SCS HelpDesk, <help+@cs.cmu.edu> or x8-4231. We will do our best to answer your questions and make certain your concerns are addressed. Users will note that this strategy is similar to the one successfully used for PC desktop deployment over the past several years.

Are you currently upgrading systems running Windows XP to Vista?

SCS PC Engineering staff are currently filling requests for migration to Vista. Please note that systems are not upgraded in the traditional sense — Vista is not installed over an existing XP build. All requests to move from XP to Vista will require a complete wipe of the existing operating system and a fresh installation of the new one. All data will be backed up and restored to the new build. Additionally, all baseline applications will be reinstalled.

However, users will need to reinstall any applications they previously added under Windows XP (Adobe Acrobat Professional, Dreamweaver, etc.)

Users should also check to make sure that any non-baseline software they may require is Vista-compatible prior to the migration. Members of the SCS PC Engineering team will be happy to assist with this determination.

"Full baseline application support" — What does that mean?

Facilities-deployed hosts incorporate a customized operating system and an application suite that the SCS user community requires. Vista currently has several limitations in our environment:

• No support for the IPASS remote-access client
• The Cisco Systems VPN Client runs only on "clean" Vista installations; it will not run on systems upgraded from Windows XP to Vista
• No support for the Oracle Calendar client
• Several web-based campus applications remain potentially incompatible with Internet Explorer 7, which is integrated into Vista. Users who access Oracle financial tools via a web browser may encounter limitations, and CMU's Computing Services group, which supports the Oracle applications, continues to evaluate these issues. Affected packages include, but are not limited to:
  • Oracle Web Reports
  • Oracle Financials PCORA (via Jinitiator)
  • Oracle 10g Client

Computing Services' "Vista Status " page summarizes the current situation. For more information on Vista compliance and operation issues related to SCS baseline applications, refer to our Vista baseline page.

That doesn't sound so bad ... are you accepting "beta testers"?

SCS Computing Facilities' preparations for Vista are well past the "beta" stage. Early adopters who have a need for or simply wish to try the system are welcome to request a Vista installation. The SCS configuration runs Windows Vista Enterprise and the SCS baseline application package (with the exceptions noted above). Hosts running facilitized Vista will be built from scratch (no upgrades.)

If I become an early adopter, what can I expect?

Day to day operations (network access, email, printing, etc) will remain the same as under Windows XP. Users should expect to spend some time adjusting to the new Vista interface. Note that, as of this time, backup support for Vista hosts has not been certified. To become an early adopter or to ask questions regarding this effort, contact the SCS HelpDesk, <help@cs.cmu.edu> or x8-4231.

What are the hardware requirements?

Vista's hardware requirements and OS footprint (disk space required for effective operation) are considerably greater than those of Windows XP. Older hosts in the environment may thus be Vista-in compatible due to processor, memory, or hard-disk constraints.