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.

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 to deploy PC desktop systems 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 confirm, prior to the migration, Vista-compatibility of any software they may require beyond the SCS baseline suite. Members of the SCS PC Engineering team will be happy to assist with this determination.

What are the minimum hardware requirements for migration?

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-incompatible due to processor, memory, or hard-disk constraints. Each migration request will require a hardware analysis in order to determine Vista compatibility. Users will be responsible for any expenses attributable to hardware upgrades required for Vista compatibility.

To run Vista effectively, the "recommended" hardware is:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
  • WDDM Driver
  • 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
  • Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
  • 32 bits per pixel
• DVD-ROM drive
• Audio Output

Users may wish to consult the Vista Upgrade Advisor to confirm that their machine can run the new OS.