Q: What operating systems are you running prior to deploying Vista?
About the author
J. Peter Bruzzese is an independent consultant and has worked for and with Goldman Sachs, CommVault Systems and Microsoft, among other clients. He focuses on corporate training and travels frequently to speak at conferences. Peter is the author of Tricks of the Windows Vista Masters and writes for Redmond Magazine. Listen to his supplemental podcast on Vista deployment to hear more information about compatibility problems and Vista vs. XP.
Deploying Vista (or any new operating system) into an environment requires research into the existing operating systems to avoid communication problems later on. Knowing what users are currently working on will help you prepare for the caveats to any deployment, especially if file sharing will take place between the operating systems. One example of this relates to Windows XP in an environment that combines Vista systems. Windows Vista has a new feature called the network map that will show all connected devices surrounding that machine. However, there is a special piece called the Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) Responder that is required to bring the Vista Network Map to life.
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