Datasheet

6 Chapter 1
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Planning for the Installation of Windows 7
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 inter-
face 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. However, only Windows 7 computers can take advantage of
BranchCache. BranchCache will be explained in greater depth in Chapter 12.
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. Windows XP Mode is covered in more depth
later in this chapter, including how to install it.
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 pro-
gram. 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 acti-
vated. 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
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The option to spread payments over a longer period of time (as opposed to the initial
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cost of purchasing all the licenses)
Training vouchers for Microsoft courses taught by Microsoft partners
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Access to e-learning courses
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24x7 telephone and web support
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